I'm Organizing for the Quilt Campaign

I want you to know more about an organization that is important to me. Southside Family Charter School is a innovative, caring, successful, long-standing, small community of learners. With a philosophy grounded in a concern for social justice -- it is the only public K-8 school I know of that truly provides a high quality progressive, academic program for a socioeconomically diverse student body while preparing students for lives of positive, peaceful action: personally, locally and globally.

However, Southside is not immune to the political and economic realities of our public education system. Even before the current economic downturn, national educational policies and increasingly regressive public funding structures strained the school's capacity to carry out its mission. In 2009, rather than sacrifice critical programs, the teachers and staff at Southside Family Charter School voted to temporarily reduce their own pay and benefits. The school's board of directors also instituted cuts in academic and enrichment programs to balance the budget.

This is where I come in. I don't think this is right and I need your help in fixing it.

Underpaying staff and eliminating tutoring, field trips and visiting authors and artists is not a long- term solution. The school's social justice mission doesn't include permanently underpaid workers. And the commitment to social justice cannot be fully realized without enrichment programming that introduces kids to a broader world and complex issues.

I hope you will join me in piecing together a quilt of support for the Quilt Campaign by making a donation today. We are trying to expand the network of people who care about our successful model; one that infuses social justice into a daily academic curriculum. With every new person that I get to support the school we strengthen the school and the fabric of our whole community.

The school's 37 year history of success inspires me to reach out to sustain the program and collectively help it thrive. Your contribution will allow the school to be financially responsible, stable and secure.