LOUISIANA COMMUNITY POWER SUMMIT

Parents are often overwhelmed by the busyness of daily life. Siloed in our own communities, we are left to fight our issues independently. The Louisiana Community Power Summit aims to massively expand parent power by connecting parents from all over the state who are all facing similar issues in their schools, districts, and communities. Together, participants will build their collective power around education, immigration, and criminal justice. Parents will foster community by building connections with parents from all over the state. Rather than just focusing on individual issues, or a single city’s issues, parents will take on the issues that they all face together. They will gain information through keynote speakers, panels, and on-site resources. They will take action by participating in break-out sessions and workshops, heeding calls to action from speakers, and participating in next steps through our larger organizing network.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THE SESSIONS:

Children are biologically and socially different than adults, which is why we have a separate justice system for young people. Yet in Louisiana, and particularly in New Orleans, district attorneys regularly prosecute and incarcerate children in the adult justice system in a process known as “juvenile transfer.” Participants in this session will learn about the effects of transfer on kids and public safety, and envision alternative ways to prevent and respond to violence in our community.
Childhood trauma is not something you just get over by growing up. It leaves tangible effects on the brain. This session will explore the connections with criminal justice. What are your rights as a student, parent, or guardian? This session will answer these questions and provide resources for dealing with trauma and empower you to seek changes in your child’s day to day life.
What are the impacts of poverty and toxic stress on cognitive development? Medicaid provides treatment for children but parents may be unaware of the scope of services and how to access them. Act 696 was recently passed and allows for outside mental and behavioral health providers to operate in schools at parents’ request.
Does police presence in school protect students? Or does it just perpetuate the “school to prison pipeline”? Many districts/CMOs employ police officers, aka School Resource Officers (SROs), to maintain law and order within schools, but what is the scope of their duties? How are they being used in schools? What are their connections with ICE? What are your rights as a student or parent/guardian? This session will answer these questions, provide educators with guidelines for restorative approaches, and empower you to demand changes in the way police interact with schools.

18.5% of American students under age 18 are Special Needs Children. This does not mean they are less smart, talented, or capable. It just means that they have specific challenges that other students would not face. Best case scenario is that an IEP or 504 plan is a tool that the child carries with them; but in too many contexts the diagnosis is weaponized. This session will take people through an arc of discussion to use it as a tool. What are parents rights and how can you best advocate for your child?
Is your child “on grade level”? How do you know ? What does that even mean? In the same way you might measure on a door post your child’s growth in height from one year to the next, student growth in math and reading is measured throughout the year. This session will explore the tools and methods schools should be using to assess student performance. You will be trained on how to read your student’s data and what steps you can take both at home and at school to ensure your student demonstrates progress at each performance assessment.
Learn how to help your school create access to post high school options for undocumented students in your family, friends or school community.
Does police presence in school protect students? Or does it just perpetuate the “school to prison pipeline”? Many districts/CMOs employ police officers, aka School Resource Officers (SROs), to maintain law and order within schools, but what is the scope of their duties? How are they being used in schools? What are their connections with ICE? What are your rights as a student or parent/guardian? This session will answer these questions, provide educators with guidelines for restorative approaches, and empower you to demand changes in the way police interact with schools.
Hear from youth and adults as they share their experience of immigrating to this country and discuss much needed changes to our system