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Sarah
- Female
- Hudson, MA
- United States
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Profile Information
- First Name:
- Sarah
- Last Name:
- Krongard
- Hometown:
- Hudson
- School/Organization Name:
- Teachers21
- Job Title:
- Program Assistant
- City:
- Wellesley
- State:
- MA
Events
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Eagle Rock School Presentations of Learning
August 2, 2010 at 8:30am to August 3, 2010 at 5:30pm – Estes Park, CO
Groups
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Protocol for Free & Repo…
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First Amendment Schools
17 members
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Public Achievement
65 members
Discussion Forum
The ‘School Climate Challenge’ – Next Steps? 3 Replies
Hi, I would like to summarize where we are now and suggest that we begin by addressing four questions (in CAPS below). BACKGROUND: First, the white paper is garnering attention. Thanks to Molly, Dr…
Started by Jonathan Cohen. Last reply by Jonathan Cohen Sep. 22, 2008.
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© 2010 Created by Sam Chaltain.
Comment Wall (9 comments)
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thanks for writing…and thanksfor your interest in the DEC...
i sent the following message to kim...
i have been a “member” of forum for education and democracy since its inception and I’m a member of ASCD…
and so familiar with the 1st amendment school initiative since it began…
i have been involved in promoting shared decision making with students in school public classrooms and schools since the early 70s…only as we’ve entered the 21st century have I witnessed a surge in student voice initiatives… i attended the 2003 IDEC when it was here in the US…this experience inspired me to renew my efforts towards school democracy…i returned to indianapolis and helped start the democratic education consortium (DEC)…a group initiating a pro-democracy movement in Indianapolis schools…
since 2003, i’ve attended all the IDECs…thus the DEC can help the 5 freedoms group to have an international perspective…an aspect missing from the forum for education and democracy…i.e. what has been going on in the UK, ireland, europe, and especially israel with respect to democratic public schools is amazing…ireland and europe are way ahead of US w/ respect to high school student rights organizations…
since 2003 i have studied and discussed democratic education on 5 continents and have written extensively about my experiences…i am published in australia, israel, brazil, south korea, and america…
what has happened recently is why i decided to join the 5 freedom group…last year I was a stakeholder representative on the education committee of the Indiana Commission on Disproportionality in Youth Services (for youth of color)… due to my extensive background and travels, and especially the arguments of democratic urban schools stated in the paper for your review, “A history of democratic education in American public schools.” (see http://learningalternatives.net/weblog/post/category/loflin-john/ for all my democratic ed. papers) i was able to reason with the members of the education committee to endorse and pass forward recommendations regarding meaningful student engagement aka student voice. This unprecedented! See the section of the recommendations below:
Under this section is Recommendation # 44 on page 43 of the final report.
Education Long Term Recommendations
Recommendation # 44 Other: Indiana Department of Education
School corporations, local schools, community- and faith-based organizations, in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Education, should develop programs that can ensure students of color have the resources needed in order to be able to meet high academic and behavioral expectations and become more engaged in their educational program:
• Develop networks created and driven by students in order to increase
meaningful communications between students and staff.
• Increase student involvement in school-related decision-making.
• Explore models for increasing the democratic participation of students in their education.
the commission report came out late last year…since then, I am working with others:
• Student Alliance for Education, Indianapolis
• Zionsville (H.S.) Student Rights Union, Zionsville, IN
• NAACP, Indianapolis Chapter
• Black & Latino Policy Institute, Indianapolis
to collect letters of support…
this is a grand opportunity to bring meaningful student engagement to many public schools across the nation…once we get Rec #44 to become educational policy here in Indiana, this can set the precedent for other states and/or school districts!
i submit that the Obama victory will add to the already political orientation of the hip-hop generation (and global youth culture) and that a momentum is building in our youth to have more experiences with democracy…the place for this is our public schools—an institution with the major purpose of creating well informed citizens able to participate as civic affairs of a democratic society…this opportunity simply needs to the support and collaboration of national school democracy organizations in order to prepare a more democratic school culture…this pertinent to the urban schools…which is my main concern…
part of the issue is: can urban students do democracy in schools? the variety of democratic schools in the US are private and mainly those of the white middle class. I work with Jerry Mintz. See AERO web-site at www.eduationrevolution.org...the climate of control in some urban schools make urban educators back away from sharing power with students: “There’ll be chaos!” many say.
indianapolis writer Mari Evans notes that until African Americans become intensely involved in local politics (as was the case with the election of Obama here in Indiana), our U.S. democracy will be nothing more than a form of colonialism…our public schools must prepare opportunities for youth to learn the democratic habits of heart and mind (so they will know how to “do democracy” and how to “work the political system”); and, this can only be done thru the opportunities to share in classroom and school decisions in our public schools—democracy’s training ground and finishing school… the election proves youth want to be involved...and for some even though they can’t vote. This unprecedented and must be encouraged especially by those with minority numbers in the political system.
the election of Obama is a call to move beyond 20th century ideas of student involvement (student councils made up of a select few and with no real power) to a wide range of direct democratic models reflecting shared decision-making with all students.
i sense the 5 freedoms group can help us organize and get the student participation section of Rec. #44 to become Indiana public school education policy, but I am not sure how??? any ideas?
Sorry about a picture…I’m 65 yrs old and I’m computer illiterate…
I’d also suggest I get you e-mail address in order to send you important information…
johnharrisloflin@yahoo.com
I am with the Democratic Education Consortium here in Indianapolis. We are seeking letters of support for student participation in Indiana schools. Thru recent work, we now have a recommenation for student involvment and want you advice and support.
Plese send us your e-mail address so we can send you info so you can help.
John Loflin
Meanwhile, when do you graduate so I can hire you?
Great to see you here. How are you? This was a very busy school year. I am really happy to be part of the 5 Freedoms Project. Will you be in DC for the conference? I hope to see you. I think that for so many of the teachers in FAS, you are forever the student face of FAS. We will be leaving for DC in the morning. Elisa and I have a busy day of packing and getting ready to leave NY.
Hope to see you soon.
Thanks,
Dave
How's life? I miss my Macarena/Chicken Dance/Electric Slide partner.
Kate Q
Rob