The CA High School Exit Exam Is Kaput
The Exit Exam is officially kaput. Rightfully so. A test should not measure a student’s potential; especially when that test only furthered racial inequity for low-income students of color across California schools. When the exam launched in 2000 — low-income students of color rallied to Sacramento in waves. “First they test us, then they arrest…
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Students Believe The Local Control Funding Formula Is Working – Zhihao Guo
The Institute for Educational Leadership held their National Family and Community Engagement Conference this past weekend. The conference brought 1700 participants from across the country to engage in conversation about family and community on a deeper level. Our Californians for Justice student leader Zhihao Guo participated as the only student leader on the Bay Area…
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Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
Today we honor teachers impacting the future of this country through the lives they transform in their classrooms. Everyday, teachers go above and beyond to support their students facing personal challenges; believe in students by pushing them to grow and reach their fullest potential; by simply making time to ask: how are you doing? …
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6 Reasons Why We Need Relationship Centered Schools
Relationship Centered Schools connects the dots. It breaks down walls, and brings people together. Here are the six reasons why we need Relationship Centered Schools: 1. 1 out of 3 students in California can’t identify a single caring adult If we applied the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids survey statistic to the 6.2 million students in…
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A Call for All California Schools to be Sanctuaries
Californians for Justice signed an open letter with 120 organizations urging California education officials to ensure that no school concedes to cooperating with the new Trump administration in raids, deportation and the profiling of immigrants. With 20 years of fighting for Racial and Educational Justice, we have been here countless times. We encourage you to join…
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It’s our duty to fight, it is our duty to win
As many of us struggle to make sense of the 2016 election results and it’s implications for our communities we wanted to offer up some positive news of the victories for racial and educational justice in California that were possible because young people organized and turned out to vote. These victories are a reminder that we…
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Victory for School Climate: Making the Invisible VISIBLE
Last month, California adopted a new way of grading schools, also known as the LCFF Evaluation Rubric. This marked an end to an over-reliance on test scores as part of the No Child Left Behind era, and a new opportunity to #RedefineSchoolSuccess. Throughout 18 months of deliberations on the LCFF Rubric, Californians for Justice student…
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20th Anniversary Youth Leadership Series: Introducing Francisco Cortez
Californians for Justice was the defining moment for me where I realized that I could make a difference in my community. Before Californians for Justice, I was shy and quiet. I wasn’t sure that I had what it takes to be a leader. Leaders can stand up in front of a room and talk to…
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Calling on our schools to VALUE all students
Californians for Justice launched the Student Voice Campaign in 2014 with one goal – for student voices to be heard, valued, and reflected in their schools. Our recent wins– from equitable school funding to more fair discipline policies have created an opportunity for great change in our schools. But before we can close the opportunity…
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