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We Never Give Up | February 2015
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Marian Wright Edelman on PBS
In case you missed it, CDF President Marian Wright Edelman appeared on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS February 19 to discuss real solutions to child poverty in America — identified in CDF’s groundbreaking report, Ending Child Poverty Now. The report shows that by investing an additional 2 percent of the federal budget in existing programs and policies that increase employment, make work pay, and ensure children’s basic needs are met, the nation could reduce child poverty by 60 percent and 97 percent of poor children would benefit. Please watch the interview and share with friends, family, neighbors and members of your faith community.
Poor children need a voice. Speak up to help #EndChildPoverty now!
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Aloha from CDF Freedom Schools!
Did you know
the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® movement expanded to the Hawaiian
Islands in 2013? And in just two years,
under the leadership of Project Director Lilinoi Grace, the CDF Freedom Schools Hawaii Knowledge,
Opportunity, and Achievement (KOA) program has made a difference and spread to
13 sites planning to serve 650 children this summer. The
program seeks to increase academic performance of Native Hawaiian students in
reading, math, and science and improve student knowledge of the Native Hawaiian
culture and language. The dedicated staff — including 70 college students and recent graduates
— have all been trained to deliver the empowering CDF Freedom Schools
model. The success of the CDF Freedom Schools expansion in Hawaii
further demonstrates how the program curbs summer learning loss and closes
achievement gaps, and is a key to CDF’s work to ensure a level playing field
for all children in Hawaii and across the nation.
For two decades the CDF Freedom Schools
program has helped boost student motivation to read, generate more positive
attitudes toward learning, increase self-esteem and connect the needs of
children and families to the resources of their communities. Your support today will help empower
children to make a difference in themselves, their families, communities and
our country.
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Legislative Action
CDF provides a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who
cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves. When child advocates like you speak
up, our legislators listen and often learn about the critical needs of children.
February has been a busy month on Capitol Hill.
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Protecting Education for Poor Children
Serious threats to essential
education supports for poor children will likely pass today or tomorrow when
the House of Representatives considers H.R. 5, The Student Success Act, approved
by a party line vote by the Education and Workforce Committee earlier this
month. H.R. 5’s “portability” provision
will unravel the intent of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA) by taking resources away from children in areas of concentrated
poverty and offering extra resources to wealthier schools and districts with a
few poor children who may not need them. The poorest students in schools with
the highest concentrations of poor children need extra help to combat poverty’s
barriers. Compounding this huge backwards step, H.R. 5 also removes strong
accountability provisions required to make sure the children who need help most
will actually be helped. It is way past time for us to level the educational
learning field for all children, especially those left behind.
Take action now,
tell your representative to promote educational success for poor children by
voting “no” on H.R. 5.
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Held Captive
The Ohio Department of Education recently reported that
children in Ohio’s public schools were secluded about 5,000 times and
restrained approximately 9,000 times last year. About 80 percent of those
restrained were children with disabilities. “Force in schools should be used
only as a last resort. Overuse of seclusion and restraint does lasting
harm to our children, especially those with disabilities,” said Renuka Mayadev,
Executive Director of CDF-Ohio.
This month CDF-Ohio released a hard-hitting brief, “Preventing
Seclusion and Restraint in Ohio’s Schools,”
that explores the
negative physical, psychological, and developmental consequences of seclusion
and restraint on children, as well as how the use of seclusion and restraint
destroys school culture and often unfairly targets students of color and
students with disabilities. This brief recommends alternative policies that would further limit the
use of these aversive practices, with a goal of eliminating—or at a minimum
reducing—the use of seclusion and restraint in Ohio schools. Read,
download, and share the report. Together we can make a difference for
children in Ohio.
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CDF-NY to Host 2015 Beat the Odds® Awards Gala
On March 4, 2015 New Yorkers will gather at The Pierre to celebrate five exceptional youths who have overcome tremendous odds to
succeed academically and give back to their community. Each one will inspire with their story of
hardship and perseverance. Each one will
be closer to realizing their dream by receiving a CDF Beat the Odds®
scholarship and support through the college admissions process. Join us Wednesday, March 4, 2015,
at The Pierre (a Taj Hotel) as we salute these extraordinary young people who beat
the odds stacked against them. Help us make their dreams come true.
If
you cannot attend, please give as generously as you can to support the CDF Beat the Odds scholarship and leadership
development program that has changed lives for 25 years.
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