East Ramapo is the case for strengthening community power in public schools Public schools should be places where every student has the resources and support they need to learn, no matter their race, income, or immigration status. In East Ramapo, those in power have failed to live up to that responsibility. Black and Latine students are carrying the consequences of years of decisions that have led to underfunding of their public schools. The district's crisis is a fight for racial and economic justice and a question of who has the power to demand change. AQE has continued supporting families and advocates fighting for stronger state action in East Ramapo. Local control cannot become a shield when students’ education is being undermined, particularly after years of inadequate oversight. New York already recognizes a responsibility to intervene through state monitoring, and we will keep pushing the state to use its power when local systems repeatedly fail the students they are supposed to serve. Families need a voice in how the institutions that shape their lives are governed, and the state also has a responsibility to act when racial inequity becomes embedded in how those institutions operate. AQE will keep building public pressure for stronger accountability and stable funding so students have the resources and support their schools should provide. East Ramapo shows how racial equity can shape institutions while also influencing whose voices are heard and how people are treated in their day to day lives. Recognizing those connections helps us understand how racial harm is reinforced and where we can interrupt it. Black August calls us to study those patterns and strengthen our ability to interrupt them, which is why we hope you’ll join our August 20 virtual workshop, Interrupting Racial Microaggressions, with Natasha Capers and Barbara Gross of Liberation Spaces. Register today and share this invitation with your community bit.ly/BlackAugust20 Learning to recognize racial harm in everyday life is part of building the collective practice we need to challenge it in our public schools and beyond. We hope you’ll join us as we keep learning how to recognize that harm and build the power to interrupt it. In solidarity, Marina Marcou-O'Malley and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari Co-Executive Directors, Alliance for Quality Education Early bird registration is open for the Diapers to Diplomas: Reimagining the Continuum of Learning, Care and Opportunity conference on October 15 and 16 in New York City. Register today to secure your spot.

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