Our Issues
We exist so that Black, brown and low-income children will no longer be inhibited by racist and classist public education. Together, we envision a Connecticut where the racial funding gap no longer exists. We imagine and pursue a future where the quality of the school you go to isn’t determined by your race, your property taxes, your address, or how much money your parents have. That is what we fight for every day.
At the State Level
Fund One Connecticut
We are fighting to fund One Connecticut Education System, where all students receive a fully-funded education. In 2023, we won a historic $150 million for public education. This is a monumental step toward education equity, and we will continue fighting to increase funding and to make sure that funding is fairly distributed.
We are a state of two Connecticuts – one is white and affluent, with well-funded, excellent schools. The other is lower-income, and it’s where most Black and brown students live. It is home to under-funded schools that are not adequately serving our kids. Right now. a Black student in Mississippi gets a better education than a Black student in Connecticut.
In addition to our organizing wins, we’re building a lasting base of statewide political power through nonpartisan civic engagement. Our programming makes people more likely to vote, more likely to make informed decisions when they do, and more likely to engage in organized advocacy after the election is over.
Support More Educational Opportunities
We are fighting for a better public education for all our children, including our children who attend public charter schools.
- 96% of public charter students are students of color.
- 5,000 children are stuck on charter school waiting lists.
We need to remove barriers so that the two Black-led charter schools preparing to open in Danbury and Middletown can do so without further delay.
FaithActs helped two new charter schools in New Haven and Norwalk secure funding in the 2023 budget. But in Danbury and Middletown, white legislators are still blocking opportunities for Black and Brown kids. Our state already has the largest academic gap between white and Black students in the country – and Middletown has the worst gap between white and Black students within this state. We know our students in Bridgeport face deep educational injustice. And a Black student in Middletown receives a worse education than a Black student in Bridgeport.
We also support legislation that would improve teacher evaluations, and one that would improve schools’ work with school resource officers. In addition, we are continuing our fight for better teacher diversity initiatives.
At the Local Level
We advocate for strong superintendent searches in Bridgeport and New Haven and improved governance led by accountable boards of education in Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. We fight for the fair local distribution of federal funding, for access to open choice seats, and for more resources for our children.
And, in all of our communities, we work hard to get out the vote so that we can hold our elected officials accountable and get results for our communities.
