Student-led advocacy in Philadelphia

Posted by on January 14, 2005

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

STUDENTS ADVOCATE FOR THEIR OWN OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN

As advocacy groups across the country litigate, mobilize, and vote in favor of improving schools, no single group has more direct investment, or more potential power, than the students themselves. And though many of the adults advocating on their behalf can see the value in fighting to reform the system, students are inspired by a sense of urgency that comes of the knowledge that in the time it takes a lawsuit to move from one court to the next, they will have graduated. Facing worsening crises in their school systems, students in Philadelphia and Baltimore have begun fighting back, urging legislators, school board members, and administrators to listen to what they need. At the link below, Nelly Ward shares stories of successful student advocacy efforts.

http://www.schoolfunding.info/news/advocacy/12-14-04studentadvocates.php3