We Want Next! Join the Fight for Police Free Schools in Washington, D.C.
Teaching for Change stands proudly with the local and national organizers and educators who are calling for Police Free Schools. Many of us have been inviting folk to reimagine safety in our schools and communities by divesting in police and investing in resources that create a safer, healthier, and more equitable environment. "Fund counselors, not cops" is one of the national demands of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action national campaign. Here in D.C., Black Swan Academy is leading that push, and also offering political education for educators, families, and youth on what that means.
We believe that Black youth deserve to learn in an environment that doesn't assume they are criminals, and doesn't rely on invoking fear or trauma through the presence of police. We believe that Black youth deserve us to challenge the status quo and the systemic racism that keeps us from investing fully in their humanity, in their development, their health and well-being. We are demanding Police-Free Schools and want to support others in joining this fight.
WE DEMAND:
DIVEST: Remove all forms of police from D.C. schools, including D.C. police officers and security officers contracted through the Metropolitan Police Department.
INVEST: Invest in resources that will create a safer, healthier, and more equitable school environment.
If you have questions, are interested in learning more, or are curious about what this new world we are dreaming up looks like, explore the resources below and watch the Stop Police Terror Project’s recent DefundMPD teach-in (ASL interpretation is included in the presentation).
GET INVOLVED!
If you haven't yet, we invite you to take action.
Sign and share the petition. Tell D.C. Leaders: We Demand Police-Free Schools!
Consider recording a video sharing your reason for removing police from schools. Submit your #PoliceFreeSchools testimony
Join us on social media and contact council members. Check out Black Swan Academy’s Social Media Toolkit, which includes sample tweets, graphics, and more!
LEARN MORE
We Came to Learn: A Call to Action for Police-Free Schools
The report centers the voices of young people from around the country who describe the everyday indignities that they experience at the hands of school police. It also, for the first time, catalogues known assaults of young people by school police officers. This report then documents the school policing model and discusses how school police became institutionalized in America’s public education system through funding and policy at both the federal and local level. Learn more at https://wecametolearn.com.