The Sheff Movement Coalition has been involved in a multi-year initiative to broaden community engagement and organizing in its decades-long effort to make quality integrated education available for all children.

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School-Based Advocacy Teams (SBATs)

 

School Based Advocacy Teams (SBATs) lay the groundwork for raising awareness and strengthening crucial alliances for quality integrated education. SBATs center the voices of those most impacted by the effects of unequal educational opportunities and the efforts for integration - addressing how this inequality affects all aspects of their lives in and out of school. 

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School Based Advocacy Teams (SBATs) are working groups of parents, educators, and students that develop skills and resources to improve school climate and advocate for the needs of their school communities and the wider system. 

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Each SBAT team is designed and led by students, parents, and staff at each school. 

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Read more about SBATs here.

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Current SBAT Highlights:

 

-Students at Farmington High School (FHS) were invited speakers at SMC July public meeting.  They shared about their annual Social Justice Week initiative which is in its 7th year and the ongoing work of FHS students to raise awareness and solidarity among students and to provide spaces for dialogue and learning for students as well as teachers and staff.  The SMC organizing team will continue working with the FHS team this year, while also branching out to work with students at Irving A. Robbins Middle School. 

 

-This summer, eight rising seniors at Capital Preparatory Magnet School participated in a four-week summer internship with the Coalition. These students engaged in activities and discussions oriented around the core themes of the SBAT program:

 

-History of Sheff v O’Neill and the movement for quality integrated education.

-Sheff Movement vision and values

-Civil rights and social justice

-Public education in the U.S., Connecticut, and your town and school

-Anti-racist organizing, activism, and advocacy

-Leadership

 

The students also contributed to developing core SBAT activities and resources. The SMC organizing team will continue to meet with students at Capital Prep this academic year, further developing this work and supporting them with their amazing senior social justice projects.

 

-New SBAT teams are in the process of being launched at several Hartford and Goodwin University magnet schools, while others are reinvigorating their work after the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for updates on these coming soon!

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Community-Based Advocacy Teams (CBATs)

Building on the success of the SBATs, the Sheff Movement Coalition is now engaging with students, educators, caregivers, community leaders and others through important community organizations, such as Ebony Horsewomen and the Center for Latino Progress, to create Community-based Advocacy Teams (CBATs). 

Read more about CBATs here

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Current CBAT Highlights:

 

The Coalition is honored to welcome our first two community partners in the CBAT initiative:

 

Ebony Horsewomen (EHI) “is a one-of-a-kind, urban riding center in Hartford Connecticut. Since 1984, [they’ve] served our community’s youth, families, adults, and military veterans through equine-assisted psychotherapy, therapeutic riding, and a variety of youth programs “ https://ebonyhorsewomen.org/.

 

Center for Latino Progress (CPRF) (previously known as the CT Puerto Rican Forum) has a mission “to advance the socio-economic conditions of the community at large, with emphasis on Hispanics through education, training, supportive services, leadership development and advocacy” https://ctprf.org/.

 

Students at each organization have started the process of engaging in activities and discussions oriented around the themes of the CBAT initiative with our organizing team. Stay tuned for more updates soon!