Public School Stong, Ames

Iowa has seen decades of inadequate investment in its funding for Public Schools.  What can be done?

Join CCI, community members, and special guests from Chicago, School Board members Jitu Brown and Jay Travis, for a meeting to envision what fully funded public schools can be and can achieve.

At this meeting, we will talk about next steps in our ‘Public School Strong’ campaign, hear from veteran education organizers on lessons learned from decades of organizing in Chicago, and brainstorm ways to make fully funded public education a reality here in Iowa.  There IS hope: After all, Illinois had Vouchers, but recently rescinded them!

Mr. Brown is the National Director for the Journey for Justice Alliance, a network of grassroots organizations in over 30 cities. For 10 years, Brown taught African-American history at St. Leonard’s Adult High School, the only accredited high school in the nation that exclusively serves people who have been formerly incarcerated. He has been published in the national education magazine Rethinking Schools, the Washington Post, New York Times, and appeared in Ebony magazine and has been on several national and local talk shows.

Ms. Travis earned her bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in 1994 and her master’s degree from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago in 2002. Her professional experience includes working as the Executive Director at the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) for over ten years.