Information on rallies, protests and activities related to the assault on public education and worker rights is on our home page. Information about our annual Antiracist/Antibias Teaching Conference can be found here. Below is a list of other Network events. If you would like to join ENSJ in planning or co-sponsoring an event, please contact us.
ENSJ LGBTQ Event
Support for LGBTQ Educators and Allies panel and discussion Thursday, January 27, 2011, 4:30–6:00PM at the Alliance School, 850 W. Walnut Street, Milwaukee. Please join us to share, support and learn. Download our flyer and spread the word to allies about the event.
Our Immigrant Students: Their Rights. Their Future.
How can you support immigrant families? How can you be their ally? Join ENSJ and Voces de la Frontera at a public assembly on immigrant rights. Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 4:30pm at Voces de la Frontera, 1027 S. 5th Street, Milwaukee, WI.
Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture
Times Cinema
Thursday, 7 October, 7pm
Join ENSJ for a screening of Race to Nowhere: The dark side of America’s achievement culture, director Vicki Abeles new documentary about the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers in a system and culture obsessed with the illusion of achievement, competition and the pressure to perform.
Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, “Race to Nowhere” points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.
“Race to Nowhere” is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.
Co-sponsored by Great Lakes Teacher Training, The Institute for the Transformation of Learning (Marquette U), and the Community Transformation Project.
Rally in Support of Adam Hernandez
When: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 4:30pm
Where: Shorewood Village Hall, 3930 N. Murray Ave in Shorewood
On March 30th, Adam, a freshman at Shorewood High School, was given chicken nuggets by another student who was fasting and did not want them. Adam went to the lunch line to get sauce for the nuggets and was accused of stealing them. The assistant principal, Mark Harris, was notified of the “theft” of the chicken nuggets. Before approaching Adam to “investigate,” Harris informed the Shorewood police officer stationed at the school, who requested another police squad to intervene. Adam, who has no prior criminal history or Shorewood School District disciplinary history, was handcuffed and arrested at school during lunch. He was booked, fingerprinted and issued a citation for theft which states “defendant took and consumed a school lunch without paying and without consent.”
Though Shorewood High School assistant principal Mark Harris notified the police about the “theft of Shorewood school lunch,” the police are pressing the charges and not the school. Shorewood High School administrators and Shorewood superintendent McCann have stated that this matter does not involve the school and they will NOT be making any recommendation for dismissal of the charges. Despite Shorewood School District’s ostensibly “hands-off approach,” Shorewood High School assistant principal Mark Harris attended Adam’s pre-trial hearing, spoke with the prosecutor and allegedly insisted that Adam is guilty, resulting in the continued prosecution of Adam for theft of school lunch chicken nuggets valued at $2.60.
Adam will stand trial for theft charges next Tuesday, July 20th at the Shorewood Village Hall, 3930 N. Murray Ave.
A rally of support for Adam will occur before the trial on Tuesday, July 20th. The rally begins at 4:30pm and the trial begins at 5:30pm. Please join Adam’s family and community members to voice support for Adam and to encourage the Shorewood School District not to abandon its children by pipelining them into the criminal justice system. The school to prison pipeline must be broken.
The rally is co-sponsored by Urban Underground
Fight the MPS Layoffs — Defend Public Education
482 teacher and 233 educational assistant layoff notices were sent out on June 11 to MPS employees. Educators’ Network for Social Justice and Wisconsin Citizen Action gathered 715 pairs of shoes to set out in front of the federal building on Wisconsin Ave on Monday, June 21, to accompany our rally calling attention to the layoffs and the significant cut in resources that serve our children.
One key demand for people alarmed by these layoffs would be to emphasize passage of the Harkin “Keep our Educators Working Act”. Contacting US Senators to more fully fund education is essential. You can reach Senator Feingold here and Senator Kohl here.
Did A Standardized Test Ruin Your Day?
Join ENSJ for an enlightening conversation with Monty Neill, director of Fair Test, as we discuss the consequences of the testing craze and the upcoming reauthorization of NCLB. Thursday, 4 February, 2010, 4:30pm - 6:00pm. Alliance School, between Elm Creative Arts and Roosevelt Middle School on W. Walnut St. View and Download our flyer for the event.
Discussion between Chicago Teachers and Milwaukee educators and community members
Forty people from Milwaukee met with nine teachers from CORE — a rank-and-file teacher caucus in Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2 PM - 4 PM, at All Peoples Gathering (2600 N. 2nd St., Milwaukee) for a spirited two hour discussion. They described in detail the dangers of mayoral control and the negative impact that Arne Duncan had on the Chicago Public Schools. The CORE members invited Milwaukee folks to their anniversary event/rally on Saturday, Jan 9, 2010. Click here for more information on CORE.
Presentation and Discussion with Ann Pelo
Thursday, November 5, 2009, ENSJ co-sponsored event with Rethinking Schools author Ann Pelo about social justice teaching and the publication of the new book Rethinking Early Childhood Education. Alliance School, 850 W. Walnut St. (between Elm Creative Arts and Roosevelt Middle School). Parking available.
Presentation and Discussion with Linda Christensen
Friday, October 23, 2009, ENSJ co-sponsored event with Rethinking Schools writer and editor Linda Christensen. Linda will discuss her new book Teaching for Joy and Justice: Reimagining the Language Arts Classroom. Alliance School, 850 W. Walnut St. (between Elm Creative Arts and Roosevelt Middle School). Parking available.
