While Others Fight the Education Wars of Yesteryear, We're Ready to Start #SeekingCommonGround
Oct 6, 2021 12:00:00 AM
by Chris Stewart
While all the drama around the pandemic and its fallout sucks the life out of schools and communities, far too many heavy-hitters in the education policy and politics continue to sit in their silos and fight the battles of the 20th century around curriculum, testing and accountability.
Brightbeam refuses to stand by and watch this go on any longer. Our activists want to see the field stop spinning its wheels and take action for children and their families. That’s why we’re launching a series of four town hall conversations, #SeekingCommonGround.
https://citizen.education/seekingcommonground/
#SeekingCommonGround is about bridging the gap between local communities and national education leaders. It’s also about breaking free of the ideological shackles of yesteryear that stand in the way of a common agenda to benefit students and their families.
[pullquote]Our goal is to foster dialogue that points the way to a sensible, common-ground agenda that everyone can fight for, today.[/pullquote] Here’s how we’re getting there.
We’re talking with a diverse mix of national and local leaders about some of the most pressing issues in the field:
What young people should be learning as they emerge from nearly two years of isolation into the midst of a bitter culture war over how to teach U.S. history.
How to use student data responsibly to improve young people’s futures.
Building mutual accountability between school systems and the communities they purport to serve.
Supporting the whole child as the world recovers from the devastation wrought by COVID-19.
Throughout October, we’ll be talking with national leaders from Robin Lake at the Center for Reinventing Public Education to the NEA’s Becky Pringle. We’ll meet grassroots parent, educator and student leaders. Brightbeam’s own activist team, including Minneapolis School Board member Adriana Cerrillo and Atlanta Public Schools school board candidate Jason Allen.
#SeekingCommonGround will bring these leaders together to analyze how systems can better ensure that all students, especially perpetually marginalized Black and brown young people, take part in excellent, life-enhancing education.
[pullquote]This is not just talk; it’s a foundation for action.[/pullquote]
You are not just our audience for this — your thoughts and opinions can help shape our common-ground agenda. Join the conversation.
Chris Stewart
Chris Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer of
brightbeam. He was named CEO in April 2019, after formerly serving as chief executive of Wayfinder Foundation. He is a lifelong activist and 20-year supporter of nonprofit and education-related causes. In the past, Stewart has served as the director of outreach and external affairs for Education Post, the executive director of the African American Leadership Forum (AALF), and an elected member of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education where he was radicalized by witnessing the many systemic inequities that hold our children back. In 2007 Chris was elected to the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education. In that role, he helped establish the Office of New Schools, an area of the Minneapolis Public Schools to implement school reform strategies. At the same time he created the Equity and Achievement Committee, authored a board-level “Covenant with the African American Community,” and advocated safe, orderly, and rigorous schools that prepare students for the real world. In 2011, Chris organized community members for two campaigns in Minnesota: Action For Equity, a grassroots effort to spur innovation in family and education policy at the state level, and the Contract for Student Achievement, a coalition of community organizations working to achieve greater flexibility for underperforming schools through changes to Minneapolis’ teachers’ contract. Since 2009 Chris has been president and principal with Yielding Assets, LLC, a grassroots consultancy helping government, nonprofit, and foundation clients create self-sustaining, social good projects. Chris serves as chair of the board of SFER’s Action Network and also serves on the board of Ed Navigators. Chris blogs and tweets under the name
Citizen Stewart. He is based in the Minneapolis area. In August 2017, Chris came together with more than 40 other African-American parents, students and teachers to talk about the Black experience in America’s public schools. These conversations were released as a video series in
Getting Real About Education: A Conversation With Black Parents, Teachers and Students.
The fight for educational equity has never been just about schools. The real North Star for this work is providing opportunities for each child to thrive into adulthood. This means that our advocacy...
