“Racial Justice is working in solidarity with each other to create change, growth and equity. It is listening and sharing and using what we learn to dismantle all systems of oppression.” – Lily Besaw, SRJA Student Leader 2021
THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT RACIAL JUSTICE ACADEMY was founded in the Spring of 2021 to address systemic racism in schools, build youth leadership capacity, solidify youth-adult partnerships in our school district and provide a healing space for students of the global majority and allies. Youth are financially compensated to serve as consultants to the school district, organize for change, and to share their stories. Scroll down to view the amazing work of the youth leaders over the years!
2021 Seven Days Article: At new summer academy Burlington students of color share stories and learn leadership skills
“An ah-ha moment I had was when I realized that we are all thinking the same thing. We all want to make a difference even if it is the little change in the classroom. Something that stands out to me is that everyone supports each other and I know that we don’t know each other well but we still know how to respect each other and that is really great.” – Nadia Sylla, SRJA Student
Recommendations for Change: Youth leaders at SRJA consult the school district and work to dismantle systemic racism. At the heart of their work are creating recommendations for change at BSD. Youth organizers use YPAR (Youth-led Participatory Action Research) to name a problem, collect and analyze data, brainstorm solutions and present their recommendations for change to school leadership as part of their capstone projects. Click on the links provided below to dive deeper into these recommendations and preview student work samples:
SRJA6 Recommendations for Change Student Mental Health, Teacher Bias, Sexist Double Standards, BIPOC Adults, Disability Advocacy, Passing Not Learning, Anti-Harassment, Diverse Curriculum
SRJA5 Recommnedations for Change Improving Teacher Vibes, Supporting Student Mental Health, Student Engagement
SRJA4 Recommendations for Change Emotional & Physical Safety, Staff Accountability, Youth Leadership
SRJA3 Recommendations for Change Improving Belonging & Wellbeing for Students of the Global Majority, Mental Health, Teacher Accountability
SRJA2 Recommendations for Change Antiracist Teaching Practices, Increasing Student Support Services, Staff Accountability, Peer Mediation
SRJA1 Recommendations for Change Revamp Discipline Processes, Overhaul Student Handbooks, High Quality Teaching & Learning, Role of Police in Schools, BIPOC Teachers, BIPOC students and class placement & more!
Public Service Announcements (PSAs): PSAs are written, directed, and starring students, with students serving as videographers. Visit the PSA website to view more PSAs created by BSD students over the years.
SRJA6 PSAs: Respect for Immigrants in Schools, Fan Behavior, Chronic Lateness, AI Chat, Asian Stereotypes, Being an Upstander, Hallway Dwellers, Take Care of our School , Islamophobia
SRJA5 PSAs: Rumors , Bullying, Toxic Masculinity, Microaggressions, Antibias Training, Propaganda PSA, Safety Week, Lockdown
SRJA4 PSAs: Name Calling, Recording Fights, Respecting Culture, Body Shaming, Cyber Bullying
SRJA6 PSA Team & Videographer
Capstone Projects: SRJA students choose passions projects and devote a majority of their work time towards organizing for change through Art-ivism (Arts Activism), Social Justice Education, Youth Organizing, Documentation, & Community Partner Consultancies. Read this article from SRJA2 written by our community partner from Up for Learning to get a glimpse of the capstone project presentations and check out the plethora of youth work samples below.
SRJA6 Capstone Presentation Slides SRJA5 Cspstone Presentation Slides SRJA4 Capstone Presentation Slides
SRJA3 Capstone Presentation Slides
SRJA6 Consultants
Social Education: Students visit elementary summer school programs and teach lessons on race and develop Professional Development Materials for educators.
Student-Made Lesson Plans:
Student Created Documentation Video SRJA1
“Something I got out of the experience was connecting with people, conversations we had, coming out of this program with a better understanding of race, how I can make a positive impact and how I can set an example.” – SRJA Student Leader 2021
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION WORK: Students worked to create teaching videos to stop discrimination, bullying and harassment in our schools.
“Students have a lot more to worry about than what the school thinks. Some students have more to worry about than others, usually non-white. We have to worry about racism on top of homework.” –Yacin Nour, SRJA Student
Anti-Bullying Facts Video 2023
Restorative Practices is a tool to strengthen relationships and build community connections. At the SRJA students used Circle Practice as a way to share commonalities and differences and to relate to each other by sharing stories in a safe and vulnerable space.
” I felt that everyone in the room is connected in a way. When we were in circle we were using the talking piece. I agreed with a lot of stuff like how as it gets closer to you the more you forget what you wanted to say and get butterflies.” – Binti Hussein, SRJA Student
Filed Under: Equity Stories, Uncategorized
