FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2021
CONTACT Edwin Stubbs Edwin@narrative-project.com 973.223.0525
(WATERBURY, CT) – Radical Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education (RACCE) will begin a citywide canvassing event in Waterbury on Monday, July 19. The campaign will last through August 20 and engage Waterbury Public School students directly to understand their perceptions of School Resource Officers, active and armed police officers in schools, and the impact policing has on teaching and learning. “We want to meet students where they are,” said RACCE Youth Organizer Michaela Barratt. “Armed police do not belong in our schools, and the presence of armed SROs increases the likelihood that youth, specifically Black and Latino youth, will be referred to law enforcement and/or arrested. This leads to the unnecessary traumatization of our children.” Barratt will head the event as RACCE will canvass at least once a week throughout the Brass City to advertise the survey, including with local businesses, recreational centers, posting flyers, and going door-to-door in multiple neighborhoods for brief 1-on-1 conversations with members of the community. RACCE will be canvassing in neighborhoods next to Hamilton Park, Fulton Park, Town Plot Area, Scott Road, Wolcott Road and Downtown Waterbury. The 16-question survey, offered in both English and Spanish, addresses the presence of SROs from a student's perspective based on conversations with a focus group made up of students in the Waterbury Public School system. Several questions give students the chance to share their opinions on their relationship with SROs, the treatment of students from SROs, and the potential of schools’ safety without SROs. All information will be kept confidential. The survey is expected to target nearly 500 students in the district and will be available until September 1. Students can take the full survey here.
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About Radical Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education (RACCE) Our mission is to challenge systems of oppression by advocating for culturally competent educational practices. Therefore, we believe the most effective way to triumph over systemic forms of oppression is to have an educational system that serves the historically underserved and underrepresented. This can only be accomplished if we advocate for an educational system that is positioned to provide culturally competent school professionals and curriculum, human services, and disciplinary policies, which combat: generational poverty, achievement gaps, implicit and explicit biases towards race, ethnicity and gender.