North Bay Organizing Project’s*
Education Justice Task Force
The North Bay Organizing Project’s* Education Justice Task Force advocates for Education Equity in Sonoma County schools. Through empowerment based community organizing we are creating a democratic, grass-roots means for working class, immigrant and low-income families and students to secure positive changes in school policy and practices.
Based on a three-month community listening campaign, we have created three working groups:
Our Ethnic Studies Working Group works to establish an Ethnic Studies course as a standard component of the curricula at all Sonoma County high schools. This working group is also considering advocacy on other issues of cultural sensitivity and awareness among teachers and students. Contact: Omar Medina – omedina@sonic.net – (707) 318-6631
Our Restorative Discipline Working Group is monitoring the implementation of Santa Rosa City Schools’ new restorative discipline program at its High School and Middle School campuses. In 2014, the creation of district-wide restorative school discipline was a major victory for our task force. We are committed to making sure the program gains teacher buy-in, and uses truly restorative methods. Contact David Hoffman – dhoffman@sonic.net – (707) 206-2650
The Algebra Project is a methodology for teaching Algebra to students who do not readily learn Algebra via conventional math curricula. It also involves parent and student organizing strategies. Our Algebra Project Working Group is in consultation with Project founder Bob Moses, former director of S.N.C.C. civil rights organizing in Mississippi during the 1960s. They are hosting a study group on the Second and Fourth Thursday of each month, to read and discuss the book Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project, by Bob Moses and Charles E. Cobb, Jr. For information about joining to this study group contact Paul Robbins – RobbinsPS@yahoo.com or John Williams – john.s.williams99@gmail.net.
* The North Bay Organizing Project (“NBOP”) is a coalition of more than twenty religious congregations and community action groups in Sonoma County, California. NBOP advocates for racial, economic, gender and environmental justice.