Tell Education Commissioner King to listen to Buffalo on Aug 8th

With so many critical issues facing our education system and our children in Buffalo, we need officials to listen to our community. As parents, this is at the core of our hearts, and as Americans, this is at the core of our democracy.

Our laws call for community members and leaders to work together to shape our children's future. So do our faith traditions – in His Sermon on the mount, Jesus says that we must live into the law better than those who made it, to help the most vulnerable among us.

It's why we call on Education Commissioner King to listen to our community's stories on August 8th before he decides the education budget August 12th.

Stories like Elizabeth's – a Burmese parent and teacher's aid at Lafayette. She strives to speak English and communicate with her community the lessons in the classroom. She came to America with hope for the future of her children, a hope that is not limited to vocational training alone. Her hopes include the opportunity for her children to go to college. Commissioner King – you need to meet Elizabeth so you can hear about her dreams.

Commissioner King also needs to hear the tragic story of Jawaan Daniels. As he left the Lafayette campus after being suspended in 2010, he was shot and killed at a bus stop. Jawaan was a freshman. He'll never have the chance to go to college. And his parents can never have their son back.

As parents, pastors, and community leaders, we are fighting so what happened to Jawaan never happens again, and so mothers like Elizabeth can achieve the American dream for her children.

It's why we're calling on Commissioner King to meet with us, so we can share our stories, and call on him to take action to:
Restore full funding to Lafayette and East High Schools
Fund restorative justice in both these schools, and
Work with Lafayette to provide language access through translation

Please add your name by filling out the form to the right before our urgent deadline August 8th.