April Newsletter: Celebrating 8 Years of Transformative Education
WA-BLOC Celebrates 8 Years of Transformative Education
And just like that, WA-BLOC turns 8 years old! :) Happy Birthday, WA-BLOC!
Our beginnings were small but mighty. We were born of youth activists: a collective of students and young adults in Rainier Beach advocating for free public transportation for students to get to school and hustling to save our Freedom Schools. In 2016, this beloved summer program was nearly discontinued after its original funder abruptly withdrew support; the community quickly raised $30,000 to ensure that this source of joyful learning and conduit for student organizing could live on. We believed then, as we do now, that schools and youth are powerful agents of social change.
And here we are, eight years later, with the same energy and momentum to organize and build learning spaces of abundant justice, joy, and healing for and with young people. At the same time, we have grown tremendously. A passionate team of eight full time staff, we have partnerships with over 7 schools across Seattle Public Schools district and serve over 500 students and 250 educators annually. We have facilitated Freedom Schools summer program free of cost to hundreds of K-12th grade scholars consecutively for 8 years and have hired and mentored more than 90 college-aged young adults from South Seattle to lead classrooms for youth in their community. With youth, we have co-created more restorative and healing-centered classrooms and schools and helped sparked a unified vision for restorative practices in our school district.
Thank you to our entire community- current and former staff, scholars, families, school partners, businesses, healers, and practitioners - for organizing and partnering with us always. As we enter our 9th year, we are bursting with new Freedom Dreams!
Attention Freedom Dreamers!
Join Us in Celebrating 60 Years of Freedom Schools:
Past, Present & Future!
As we embark on our 9th summer of nurturing leaders of change through our summer Freedom Schools program, we stand on the shoulders of giants—honoring the legacy of thought leaders and changemakers who have paved the way for us. This summer marks the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer 1964, reminding us that "the struggle continues to transform educational spaces and schools into communities that are lifegiving, humanizing, and recognize the wisdom and joy within each scholar" (Mari Ramirez, 2024).
At Freedom Schools, we provide a space for scholars to be their whole authentic selves, learn from and celebrate the lives of past and present changemakers, and dream up new futures together.
Creating this nurturing, restorative, and literature-rich environment for the youth leaders of today looks like:
Providing scholars culturally relevant and anti-racist books that they keep at the end of the program to build their home libraries!
Offering equitable wages for our college-aged educators and
Removing access barriers by arranging daily bus transportation to and from home for scholars
Throughout our campaign, we'll delve into our program's legacy, its impact in the present day, and our hopes for the future. But we can't do it alone!
Are You Ready to Freedom Dream with Us?
Give BIG 2024: TODAY kicks off early giving for our campaign, culminating in two major days of giving on May 7-8. Help us reach our goal to raise 10k in support of Summer 2024 Freedom Schools!
Thanks to the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation, all donations up to $5,000 will be matched!
Ways to Get Involved:
Donate: Each dollar counts and will be matched throughout the campaign, doubling your impact! Want to go the extra mile? Sign up to be a monthly donor, your initial donation will still be matched!
Donate or Purchase Program Supplies: Check out our wishlist! You can order directly through the link or drop off donations at our office: 5609 46th Ave S Unit B Seattle WA 98118
Become a Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser: Sign up via email at marisol@wa-bloc.org , by May 1st to learn more. Participate and be entered into a drawing for a special prize from our team!
Together, let's continue the legacy, build community , and envision a brighter future at Freedom Schools!
Community of Practice Celebration for Seattle Public Schools Educators, Staff, and Leaders!
Please join us on Wednesday, April 24th from 3-5pm at Nova High School (2410 E Cherry St Seattle WA 98122), to be honored and celebrated for all the amazing Restorative Practices work you’ve led in your school community this year. You deserve it. Please also consider bringing 2 to 3 staff members who have worked hard to champion Restorative Practices alongside you. For this final Community of Practice event, expect games, prizes, and refreshments!
For folks interested in skill building - we will have one session focused on curating meaningful circle questions for circle participants in various contexts led by Huaryruro.
Mark your calendar and prepare to be inspired, recognized, and re-energized!
Restorative Practices, Community Learning Session
Join WA-BLOC for an interactive session about sitting in circle and understanding the basics of restorative practices.
FOR: Community-based organizations and staff partnering with Seattle Public Schools
DATE: Friday, May 3
TIME: 10 a.m. to noon
LOCATION: UW Othello Commons, 4200 S Othello St, Seattle, WA 98118
These sessions are available for any community partner. We encourage each organization to limit your number of registrants to five (5) or fewer so that we can be sure that many organizations have the opportunity to benefit from these trainings.
If you represent a large organization and are in need of training for more than five of your staff members please contact communitypartnerships@seattleschools.org
Braided Seeds Hosts Family Hikes & Outdoor Adventures
Join our community partner, Braided Seeds for a summer filled with family hikes and outdoor adventures!
Upcoming Braided Seeds and their partner family events include:
May 11: Golden Brick Events Refuge Fest at Pratt Park
May 26: Sundaes Outside Series at Be'er Sheva Park
June 2: StoryTime with Mermaid Storie with Families of Color Seattle at Seahurst Park
June 8: National Get Outdoors Day Family Hike with Trailhead Connect
September 28: Schurman Rock Bouldering at Camp Long
