On March 23^rd, in TC’s Cowin Conference Center, students of color from three New York City high schools will perform “10467,” a play they have written about violations of their constitutionally guaranteed educational rights.

Created as part of the “Know Your Educational Rights” initiative of the College’s Campaign for Educational Equity (CEE), which includes a collaboration with the Epic Theater Ensemble, the play will highlight an evening devoted to youth activism in education, hosted by CEE.

The event will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and admission is free. To researve seats, visit www.bit.ly/eduequityplay or (for groups) email equity@tc.edu.

“As part of our youth engagement work and our efforts to expand the role of young people in the fight for educational rights, CEE has conducted workshops with students to educate them about their rights under state law and about the different levels of government and their roles in monitoring and providing basic education resources,” said Joe Rogers, CEE Senior Researcher/Public-Engagement Specialist. “We set up interviews for them with a diverse group of leaders, including members of the New York State Board of Regents, parent activists, school administrators, and a member of Governor Cuomo’s cabinet. But it was the students’ idea to create a play, and they have done so under the mentorship of the Epic Theater Ensemble.”

The 50-minute play features several original rap pieces and a song about how failure to deliver education resources has kept young people from fulfilling their potential and reinforced inequities in society. The students premiered the “10467” in August at the National Black Theater in Harlem, and have since performed it at the New York State School Board Association annual meeting in New York City, the New York State PTA Conference Legislative Conference in Albany and at a community forum on educational equity in East Ramapo, New York. They will perform it again at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Washington, D.C. on April 9^th.

The evening will also include remarks by TC President Susan Fuhrman; CEE Executive Director Michael Rebell; Rogers; Michelle Knight, TC Professor of Education, who along with Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Associate Professor of English Education, is faculty sponsor for the event and helped secure funding for it from TC’s Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community; and a school parent who works with the Adelaide Sanford Institute, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that works to remove barriers that prevent Black and Hispanic students from accessing a high-quality public education.

“We want to highlight how parents are beginning to use our research to conduct their own research and activism around the availability of resources for their children,” Rogers said.

Prior to the play, audience members will be able to visit “Know Your Educational Rights” learning stations. After the performance, Rogers will lead a community discussion about youth activism in education. 

Published Wednesday, Mar 16, 2016