Parent advocates from the organization Gwinnett Parent Coalition to Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline formally started their efforts in April 2007 to change the culture of discipline in Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia.
The organization was formed after individual parent advocates realized other parents were also asking questions about the same issues – namely the school to prison pipeline. Energy and leadership from the ACLU of Georgia and the Gwinnett County branch of the NAACP helped invigorate parents even more. Initially, leaders sent out information alerts and communications to parents, helping them become more informed about the issue. Through word of mouth, blasts on various social justice listservs, door knocking, flyers, and relationships with legal services offices and the local NAACP, the Coalition began to grow, and more importantly, parents started to question the district’s lack of accountability to the community. The Gwinnett branch of the NAACP, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Rho Kappa Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, and the ACLU of Georgia became founding coalition members, helping increase awareness and participation.
In February 2008, parents made their presence known at the local school board meeting - demanding greater support for their students, performance measurement accountability for the county’s two alternative schools, and more honest data reporting. After creating a stir at the meeting, the Coalition was able to meet with the Superintendent and upper level administration to discuss a partnership. The district expressed some resistance, insisting that the Coalition change their name, losing the School to Prison Pipeline portion. In response, the Coalition refused to change their name if the partnership did not include:
• Transparency from the district;
• Access to data;
• A seat at the decision-making table; and
• Participation in periodic meetings to review and analyze data.
One year later, the Coalition consists of approximately 70 parent members, with 5 leaders who serve as co-chairs. Their focus remains on public education on the school to prison pipeline and accountability. As a result, the Coalition has performed a pilot study uncovering juvenile arrests by race and infractions and organized workshops for parents. The workshops are designed to increase their education and understanding of issues facing their children. Workshop topics include:
• “What Your Student/Parent Handbook Didn’t Tell You: Reading Between the Lines,” focusing on the disconnect between disciplinary policies as written vs. the implementation of those policies;
• “Has Your Student Received an In-School or Out-of-School Suspension: Is it Time for an Intervention?”, exploring challenging behavior problems and when schools need to look deeper into the source of that behavior problem; and
• “Rule 12: What Does it Mean,” focusing on the Georgia law that refers a student to a disciplinary hearing before s/he is referred to an alternative school.
The Coalition intends to continue hosting workshops and expanding them so that their audiences include not only members and other parents, but also other local organizations in an effort to build an even stronger and bigger base. In addition, the Coalition assists individual parents on specific cases concerning their children, keeps the public informed about school-based issues, and provides guidance and technical support on fighting the pipeline to various groups around the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Thus far, through the Coalition’s pressure, the district has taken a few steps in the right direction, such as informing parents and students what misbehavior may result in arrests and complaints filed. In the past, this information was only shared with school administrators. However, the Coalition is unsatisfied and remains steadfast in ensuring that their demands are met.
In the near future, the Coalition continues to forge alliances within the area and hopes to recruit other community groups to participate in this fight, including partnering with JUSTGeorgia to expand their network. It is also currently in talks to host a school-to-prison pipeline forum with the Interfaith Children’s Movement and local NAACP and ACLU branches.
Resources:
Gwinnett Parent Coalition brochure
Gwinnett Parent Coalition info and facts booklet
For more information, contact:
Marlyn Tillman
Co-Chair
Gwinnett Parent Coalition to Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline
tmarlyn@yahoo.com
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