The Freedom to Learn Campaign

District Reform: Padres & Jovenes Unidos discuss strategic student interventions & supports with Dr. Aquino, Chief Academic Officer of Denver Public Schools.

The Freedom to Learn Campaign is the umbrella that encompasses all of our work for educational justice.

Jovenes Unidos' Freedom to Learn Campaign is based on the ideas that education is a right, not a privilege. All students, regardless of race, income, or immigration status, deserve a high-quality education and have the right to attend quality schools, be prepared for college, and succeed. Through youth and parent led and owned organizing campaigns, Freedom to Learn directly addresses the root causes of institutional racism and poverty that manifest themselves as low expectations and lack of investment in the education of low-income students of color. Through inter-generational, school-based and community organizing, our issues, needs, and demands have coalesced into a powerful, comprehensive model for educational reform.

Jovenes' call for educational reform in our Freedom to Learn Campaign has resulted in real movement towards district-wide school reform. All Jovenes' core demands have been incorporated into the strategic plan for Denver Public Schools. Our wins this past year included district-wide adoption of graduation requirements that will prepare all students for college, redesign of North High School into an Institute for World Learning / College Preparatory High School, and the pilot of a restorative justice programs and new discipline policy designed to reduce the numbers of youth sent to jail for discipline issues. The year 2007 will be a pivotal year for our hard-fought-for initiatives. North High redesign and district-wide College Prep for All phase-in at the ninth grades are scheduled for Fall 2007 implementation. Strategic student supports must be in place to ensure student success. The Denver Public Schools Board will be evaluating our discipline policy proposal. The teachers union is fighting implementation of North redesign, calling for the superintendent's dismissal, and supporting anti-reform board candidates. We must maintain our vigilance at local schools and continue our participation at the policy-making tables to ensure that reform results in all students receiving a quality education that prepares them for college.