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Education advocacy coalition EmpowerED Birmingham is hosting a community event this weekend where parents, current and former students, teachers, community organizers, and other concerned citizens will learn how they can influence positive changes in education.
The event will take place on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at Hemphill Elementary School. Lunch will be provided from Sista’s Soul Food and another food truck to be determined, and free tutoring sessions with Learning Little People will be available for K-5 students.
Prior to lunch, EmpowerED Birmingham will facilitate community-led design sessions to start developing recommendations for a blueprint that aims to shape the future of education in the city.
“The driving force behind EmpowerED Birmingham is the community of parents, students, teachers, and concerned citizens who have the solutions for improving education but are not equitable investors in how our education systems are implemented. Our aim is to give them an ownership stake in those systems,” said Clifford Stockton, Director of EmpowerED Birmingham.
EmpowerED Birmingham coalition planning team, consisting of 21 city leaders, representing 18 organizations, set the framework for excellent education in Birmingham during a two-day retreat in the summer of 2021.
The framework focuses on three areas — community power, access to information, and stronger community partnerships. The organization proceeded to solicit ideas and feedback from the community through a series of house meetings starting Jan. 27 and running through March.
After this week’s event, EmpowerED Birmingham invites attendees to continue participating in the design process by joining one of five working groups that will meet weekly over the next eight weeks. Community members can also apply to join via the EmpowerED Birmingham website.
The work will result in the establishment of an education blueprint, which will be released later in the second quarter of 2022 and guide the coalition’s work moving forward.
EmpowerED Birmingham is a coalition of community members who are designing a blueprint for the future of education in the city. The coalition is guided by a planning team of 21 city leaders from 18 organizations.
