PRESS RELEASE

The Badass Teachers Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  

MARLA KILFOYLE, Executive Director BATs

MELISSA TOMLINSON, Asst. Executive Director BATs

contact.batmanager@gmail.com

516-987-4405

BATs Open Air Restorative Justice Circle - Westlake Park - Seattle, Washington 7/23

The Badass Teachers Association, a network of over 200,000 teachers and education activists throughout the United States, will be holding an open air restorative justice circle at Westlake Park in Seattle, Washington on 7/23 from 10-2.  Local Restorative Justice Circle Keepers will facilitate a discussion with People of Color and Native Americans who have been harmed by institutional and structural racism in public schools. The open air event will seek to organize institutional transformation and generate a vision for public schools in which all children, families, educators, and communities feel well- educated, valued, and safe as human beings.

"There is no justice in our legal system. It is a criminal legal system designed to punish not rehabilitate. Restorative justice teaches us that healing and growing is more important than revenge and retribution. As educators we must let go of punitive discipline methods designed to fuel the school-to-prison pipeline and embrace restorative justice as a pedagogy of hope, healing, and liberation." ~Dr. Denisha Jones, Board Member, The Badass Teachers Association

“The work that we will be doing on this day is critical in addressing the structural and institutional racism that exists in public education. Institutional racism in our public schools is visible in the mass closings of public schools and inequitable funding given to public schools in predominantly black and brown communities. Our hope is to shine a bright light on the harm done to historically oppressed groups and to begin the process of repairing those harms.” ~ Marla Kilfoyle, Executive Director, The Badass Teachers Association.

"Healing and reconciliation are huge parts of what is missing in our fight to combat systemic and institutional inequalities in our schools. Together, open and willing, we can shape a very different future in which all of our students from all walks of life are seen as children and not as criminals in a zero tolerance environment. Restorative Justice is one piece of the bigger picture and creates an opportunity to rectify massive injustices perpetrated on our youth." ~Gus Morales, Board Member, The Badass Teachers Association


It is our hope that by conducting an open air restorative justice circle that others will join us and participate.  We hope to come together to repair harms, balance justice, and begin to shine a light on how institutional racists education policies such as school closings and inequitable funding impact children and their families.

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To get more information about the Open Air Restorative Justice Circle go here  https://sites.google.com/view/backtoschoolwithbats/723-event-information

To register for the 7/22 Education Conference go here  https://sites.google.com/view/backtoschoolwithbats/722-conference-registration

**The above press release was sent to all federal lawmakers, the Governor of Washington State, the Mayor of Seattle, and The Gates Foundation inviting them to attend and listen**