Vote for candidates that LISTEN to youth!

Whether or not they’re of legal age to vote, our youth are paying close attention to Providence’s future – and to the local elections that shape it. Whoever wins these races (mayoral and gubernatorial) will have a significant say in ensuring that our schools are safe. As such, Youth Leaders feel it imperative that they listen to what students have to say.

Over the last few months, we (as PASS) have been busy sending out questionnaires and getting to know our candidates’ stances on school safety, so as to help the voter body make an informed decision. You can see their responses here.

Then, last night, we marched down to watch the gubernatorial debate and made our presence known. Youth not only got to engage with and learn about the civic process, but met many of the candidates and spoke to them face-to-face about issues that concern them.

We were especially touched by the number of audience members, old and young, that came up to tell us how much they supported our work.

Image 1: Staff and youth from ARISE and PSU watch the gubernatorial debate from the bleachers, holding up our handmade posters. Sitting with us (in the purple shirt, centered) is Bella Noka, Narragansett tribal member and Indigenous rights activist.

Remaining images: Staff and youth from ARISE and PSU march down to John Hope.

March to Oppose HB8310

On Jun 14th, 2022, ARISE and PSU co-coordinated a march on the statehouse to oppose House Bill 8310, which proposed placing 2 officers in every Rhode Island public school.

In the weeks leading up, youth from both organizations worked together to design and create a number of protest signs, which you can see in the images here. They wrote testimonies, based on their own lived experiences; mobilized their friends; and spread the word through social media and flyers.

On the day itself, our youth – and the crowds they’d gathered – convened at 3pm to begin the protest. With bullhorns blasting and signs waving, they marched down to the statehouse steps.

The crowd sat across the lawn as youth gave speeches and led the audience in chant. When it was time for the House to begin session, they filed into the statehouse and took turns presenting their testimony.

#JusticeForJayJuan

A timeline of events

February 1, 2022: A 16 year old student at Mount Pleasant High was physically assaulted by a school resource officer, arrested, and taken to the police station without justification. He was held in custody for a total of 20 hours. Video footage shows Jay-Juan, the student, being body slammed, choked, and restrained by Officer Leonel Pichs despite having fallen unconscious. [Read more here]

February 11th, 2022: We release a coalitional statement in response to the incident, as co-signed by 21 different organizations and published on UpriseRI.

February 26-27, 2022: PrYSM and SEE organized art builds to create protest signs, banners, T-shirts, pins and tote bags for our protest. [Read more here]

February 28, 2022: ARISE and PrYSM organized a direct action protest, outside of City Hall, to demand the immediate clearing of charges against Jay Juan and the firing of Officer Pichs. [Read more here]

March 1, 2022: ARISE, PrYSM and SEE gather outside the Garrahy Judicial Complex during Jay-Juan’s hearing to show support for the family. [Read more here]

Related Blog Posts

Protect Students, Not Cops

Community members gather outside the Garrahy Judicial Complex

Photo by By Steve Ahlquist, UpriseRI

A month ago on February 1st, Jay-Juan, a 16 year old, was assaulted and beaten by School Resource Officer Leonel Pichs. He has been held under house arrest since then.

Jay-Juan, rather than either the school or the officer, is being held responsible and charged for this incident. His court date was yesterday, Mar 2nd. Members of ARISE, PrYSM and SEE showed up as a means of demonstrating our frustration with this injustice and our continued support for Jay-Juan. We’re calling for all charges to be dropped and for Jay-Juan to be allowed to resume his education at a different school.

We are shocked and appalled by Governor McKee’s doubling down of support for SROs in wake of this incident. To learn more, read here.

* Please note: out of respect for Jay-Juan and his family, and in compliance with Family Court rules, trial details will not be made public.

Protest for Jay Juan

"JUSTICE FOR JAY-JUAN! JUSTICE FOR JAY-JUAN!”

Kennedy Plaza was buzzing all afternoon, as swarms of people gathered to demand Jay’s immediate release.

A 16 year old student at Mt Pleasant, Jay-Juan was assaulted and arrested, without cause, by School Resource Officer Lionel Pichs. To protest to this ongoing injustice, ARISE, PrYSM and SEE called for people to gather at City Hall on February 28th.

And while we’ve always known that Jay is deeply loved, nothing could’ve prepared us for the total outpour of friends, family and allies that showed up to brave yesterday’s cold.

Crowds and crowds of people, coming from all ages, races, and walks of life, took up banners, posters, and bullhorns to show support for Jay-Juan. Children as young as eight came out with their parents to demand justice. Teacher allies showed up with home-made signs. Local businesses came down to offer free food and drinks. It was an awesome display of community resilience, and one that the city cannot ignore.

In an attempt to deter us, they closed the entrances to City Hall. So we adapted. Instead of entering the building as originally planned, the crowds gathered around the Kennedy Plaza monument, where leaders from PrYSM and PSU performed speeches and poems.

The evening ended with protestors forming a wide circle, then growing silent, as a way of showing respect, support, and solidarity for the victims of police abuse. The event was of particular significance to Jay-Juan’s mother, who stood with us, and to Jay-Juan, who – while he remains under house arrest – joined via Facetime call.

To read our coalitional response and list of demands, see here.

#JusticeForJayJuan - Art Build

Mark your dates for February 28th, because we’re showing up and showing out to demand # Justice for Jay Juan.

This week, our team attended PrYSM’s art build (as pictured on the right) to design posters for the action on Monday. On top of signs, we’ve made shirts, pins, and tote bags, all of which will be handed to protestors on the day.

Over on College Hill, our folks in SEE have been similarly busy, creating their own signs for the day itself (pictured below).

Things are ramping up, and we’re psyched to see all of you there - outside City Hall, Feb 28th, 4:30pm! Contact us for any questions.

I Have A Dream...

Honoring MLK means both dreaming AND doing. Our ARISE youth are doing just that.

See below to check out how they're turning their dreams of racial justice into reality.

Martin Luther King Jr Day, 2022

Myth: MLK believed that peace, love, and tolerance alone were the solutions to racism.

Reality: MLK called on us to not blame activists for disrupting peace, but the structural conditions that made such activism necessary.

To honor him today, we continue to work on advancing his dreams for racial justice within our home state of Rhode Island.

Community Statement on Equitably Reopening RI Schools

On July 1, 8, and 15, we hosted a series of community-driven panel discussions about reopening schools in Rhode Island. The candid conversations uncovered many questions, ideas, and concerns that youth, parents, and educators have when it comes to the upcoming school year. While the current public conversation about reopening schools seems to drift into polarized viewpoints, we want to lift up what we have heard and felt from the youth, parents, educators, and other community members in our work. There are no easy answers to the questions we all have about how and whether we can reopen schools safely and equitably. However, we hope that what we have pulled together here represents a thoughtful balance of considerations that will put us in positions to develop the best possible response for reopening schools this year. 

As the leaders in our state are working hard to develop school reopening plans, we strongly believe that one approach to reopening schools will not serve ALL students equitably. Parents and district staff should not be judged or shamed for the choices they make for themselves and their families. It doesn’t matter what the choice is, in the end, every family situation is different and all of us are faced with impossible options, whether you are a parent, caregiver, teacher, or other district staff.

Given the lack of clarity about the choices in front of us, the uncertainty surrounding our public health needs and context, and the need for educators to adequately prepare for presently undefined modes of learning, we appreciate the delay to the start of this school year to ensure that the health and safety of students, educators, and staff is the top priority. We believe that in order to keep students and school staff safe, it is not possible at this time for schools to implement any full in-person reopening model. 

We cannot talk about an equitable reopening of schools without addressing the challenges that distance learning presents for differently abled learners, multilingual students, and working parents. Furthermore, due to systemic racism, it is no mistake that the communities most affected by coronavirus in RI are working class communities of color. No matter how we respond, working class communities of color are most vulnerable to BOTH coronavirus AND inequitable learning environments. These are realities in our communities and they cannot be ignored. 

An equitable reopening of schools will include BOTH in-person learning for special needs populations and children whose families require in-person schooling for childcare and other services AND robust distance learning options and supports for families who want to be engaged in the school community but are not confident in the health and safety conditions of the schools to send their children for in-person schooling. ALL options must be expressly anti-racist and oriented first toward the health and humanity of young people, their families, educators, and our communities. 

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES FOR IN-PERSON LEARNING

In-person learning must strictly adhere to public health and safety guidelines that protect students, teachers, administrators, and all school staff as much as possible from exposure to coronavirus. At the very least, this includes:

• Efficient COVID-19 screening, testing, and contact-tracing infrastructures;

• Small stable group class sizes (maximum of 15 people to adhere to current social gatherings limitations);

• Mask-wearing requirements and provisions; 

• Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line educators and staff, including N95 respirator masks; 

• Updated air ventilation and filtration systems and the increase of airflow throughout all indoor learning spaces; 

• Physical distancing of six feet or more between individuals;

• Outdoor learning environments and breaks whenever possible;

• Thorough and consistent cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces and materials;

• Clean, accessible, and fully stocked bathrooms and washing stations for students and staff with clean water and soap;

• Strict attention to alternative transportation schedules to support physical distancing and stable groupings; and

• Staggered start times, recess, lunch breaks, and other innovative schedules to maintain the smallest gatherings possible.

EQUITY MEASURES FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

The conversation around distance learning is very different if you speak English, learn without much support or modification of mainstream curriculum, already own and know how to navigate computer technology, can afford high-speed internet access, and can work from or stay at home during the day. These factors represent inequitable and unearned advantages for families with privilege and means. Distance learning plans must work to eliminate these advantages by providing: 

• Multilingual support and communication that is consistent, clear and shared by multiple channels of communication; 

• Special education accommodations and modifications as mandated by IEPs and 504 plans;

• Culturally-responsive and engaging curriculum and pedagogy;

• 1-1 personal Chromebook devices;

• Free high-speed internet with WiFi routers and adapters; and

• In-home and/or community-based educational support services wherever necessary. 

More broadly, our state, country, and society must provide universal health care, paid leave from work to support dependents, extended and supplemental unemployment benefits, protection against eviction and foreclosure, food security, and access to high-quality child care. Without measures like these, distance learning will fail our most vulnerable families and communities.

ANTI-RACISM MEASURES FOR ALL LEARNING CONDITIONS

We must acknowledge that our systems inadequately served our most vulnerable populations prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, with increased and exacerbated trauma as a result of the pandemic, and in the context of popular uprisings against police murders of Black people and systemic racism, school systems must be even more intentionally anti-racist and attentive to the social and emotional needs of students and families. Black Lives Matter at school, whether in-person or remote. The xenophobia, racism, and fear being stoked by many in the context of coronavirus have no place in our learning environments and must be actively fought against. In all learning modes, districts and schools must increase investments in culturally responsive, anti-racist, and social and emotional learning and supports:

• Law enforcement, including School Resource Officers (SROs), must be removed from schools;

• Restorative and transformative justice models must be implemented to replace punitive and exclusionary discipline practices that continue to disproportionately target and harm Black and Brown youth;

• Funds that have supported the criminalization of Black and Brown youth in the form of police in schools need to be redirected to social and emotional supports to increase the number and services of counselors and social workers who are representative of and responsive to the cultural diversity of our communities and student body; and

• Educators in all contexts must be continuously trained in anti-racist pedagogy, provided culturally responsive curriculum, and supported to attend to students’ social and emotional needs and growth.

We face unique challenges as a society in these times. We must rise to these challenges by reimagining our schools, social services, and systems overall. As we support young people to learn, we must also cultivate a world in which they will grow to lead. We owe them nothing less than the thoughtful intention we hope to have conveyed here. We call upon our elected leaders and public officials to work together with communities to do what is right and necessary.

PASS Student Walkout

Image: Students gathered behind PSU’s #CounselorsNotCops banner

Photo Credits: Steve Ahlquist, UpriseRI

In April, the Providence Student Union (PSU) mobilized a student walkout to demand #CounselorsNotCops. PASS students, along with their friends and allies, came together to stage a powerful two-day walkout to demand change, justice, and the end of the school-to-prison pipeline.

The students of Classical High marched out of class and looped through the city in the pouring rain, protesting all the way. Along their route, they stopped at the Providence Public School Department, the Providence Public Safety Complex, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). At each building, students used megaphones to share their experiences and make their demands.

The momentum continued into the second day of the walkout, as participants remained committed to their cause. The protest grew even larger, reaching a wider audience and drawing attention to the urgent issues raised by the students. To see videos of the students’ powerful speeches, go here.

This action was part of our ongoing coalitional campaign, Counselors Not Cops. Since 2018, we’ve been working with several other student organizations to make 4 demands:

1. Prevent armed officers, security officers, and/or police from being stationed in schools.

2. Eliminate the eight person SRO presence currently rotating among Providence schools under a contract between the Providence Police Department and the Providence Public School Department.

3. Use funding currently allocated for SROs within the Providence Police Department to support the hiring of the new health and safety staff described below.

4. Hire health and safety staff focused on alternative measures for conflict resolution

To read more about the coalition and/or campaign, click here.

Stop building for us but build WITH US

We have so much to share with you. While we want to highlight the success of our summer programs, we believe that we need to share ARISE’s actions and organizing in response to the state takeover of the Providence Schools.

As the state moves to take over the Providence schools, it is essential that the state formally centers the voices of students and parents who are in this system. A state takeover offers one potential avenue to address the huge, systemic shortcomings of the Providence schools: but this will only work if the state listens to, responds to, and amplifies the voices of students and parents.

To that end, ARISE -- along with our partners at the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Youth in Action (YIA), the Providence Student Union (PSU), and many students and parents -- filed a motion to intervene today with the RI Department of Education (RIDE) asking for an updated plan. A plan to be informed by the community, a plan that is clear, a plan that is transparent and accountable and to be shared with the public before it is implemented.

In the words of our Youth Organizer Nancy Xiong and recent Classical High School graduate, "We are asking that you stop building for us but build WITH US."

Represented by the Rhode Island Center for Justice, we are asking the Commissioner of Education, Angélica Infante-Green, to ensure that there is a formal role for parents and students to help inform, to preview and weigh in on the plan for improving the city’s schools, the leaders who will implement it, and the goals, progress and criteria for assessing impact. You can find a link to the press release here.

We are only asking RIDE to put in action what they have publicly stated about “needing and valuing” the input of parents and students. The Commissioner’s 122 page proposed draft to reconstitute the schools does not reflect this.

In this challenging moment, we are asking for you to please amplify the work of our young people by sharing this message using the links below as we work to make sure that this takeover is done in true partnership with parents and students. You can also donate to support ARISE’s work, including our advocacy and organizing during this time. If you are interested in learning more about ARISE’s recent work, you can also see this recent highlight in the news.

We are committed to educational justice by centering those most impacted. We will continue working and fighting as this process unfolds.

Visibility Event 2019

THANK YOU to everyone who attended and supported "Discovering our Hidden Narratives: Strengthening our Roots," ARISE's annual visibility event in May. It was an amazing night to highlight the work of ARISE Youth -- you can find a full recap below. We also want to CONGRATULATE our seniors who have graduated from high school!

We also wanted to highlight our Ethnic Studies program and remind people about our upcoming summer programs. We still have spaces available, so please forward this to anyone who may be interested.

Visibility Event

ARISE Youth Leaders showcased the culmination of our year long research project on the educational experiences of Southeast Asians in Rhode Island. They courageously shared their personal experiences with ARISE, highlighting their holistic growth and passionately spoke about their foundational work on the Counselors Not Cops Campaign.

We also honored our VALUE award recipients:
ACCESS: Tina Meetran
EQUITY: Jennifer Wood
SUCCESS: Providence Student Union

If you weren’t able to make it and still want to support, please consider making a donation here.

Summer Programs

We still have space in our summer programs-- please find the registration information here. All programs are free, with food and transportation provided! Can you share this information with people you know who may be interested?

This summer we are offering:

Hidden Lotus Circle: 7/15/19-7/26/19 (M-F) 10:00am-2:30pm, RWU Providence Campus
Honoring Our History and the Warriors Who Came Before Us: 7/29/19-8/02/19 (M-F) 9:30am - 3:30pm, RWU Providence Campus
College Access: 8/12/19-8/16/19 (M-F) 10:00am-1:00pm, RWU Providence Campus

If you have any questions, please email Rosey at rosey@ariseducation.org

Ethnic Studies

This year, we were excited to offer our ethnic studies class at Alvarez High School, Classical High School and Woonsocket High School. This course included an introduction to the concepts of power, privilege, and oppression; lessons on the war in Southeast Asia; and current social issues the Southeast Asian community is facing. We concluded with students identifying and reflecting on how power, privilege, and oppression play out in the social context of the Southeast Asian community and in their personal lives. We saw immense learning, reflection, growth, and power in our youth participants: we look forward to continuing to offer this course.

Board Shoutouts!

Sarath Suong, ARISE’s founding board co-chair, recently represented ARISE at the annual AMOR Grill Off fundraiser and was named the Grill Off champion! AMOR (The Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance) is “an alliance of community based grassroots organizations mobilizing and organizing rapid response to resist increased instances of individual and state sponsored violence.”

Todd Flaherty, ARISE’s founding board co-chair and a life-long educator was recently named the Interim President of Johnson & Wales, Charlotte, North Carolina Campus. He is continuing to serve with passion and commitment for educational justice.

John Murphy, founding board member at large and a life-long humanitarian, received an honorary doctorate degree from Providence College this past May

Intro to Khmer

ARISE piloted "Intro to Khmer" in June 2018, in partnership with Roger Williams University. This class was a credit bearing course in the Rhode Island Department of Education Advanced Course Network, with free enrollment for all high school students.

Makna Men served as our course instructor. He has been involved with the Cambodian Society of RI (CSRI) since the early 1980s and worked as an educator and guidance counselor in many different settings, including at BMC Durfee High School in Fall River, the Providence School District, and Brown University. He co-wrote and published the book Determination in 2016 and currently works at Bristol Community College as Senior Academic Counselor overseeing the Academic Advising Center.

YWCA honors Chanda Womack at the 13th Annual Women of Achievement Awards

Our Executive Director, Chanda Womack, received a 2017 YWCA “She Shines” award. Below is the piece she wrote.

“We have to do as the Americans!”

This was a statement that was constantly shouted around in my household growing up. We were refugees who had escaped a genocide that claimed over 2 million lives and my parents were in search of the “American Dream.” I was taught at a very young age that survival meant assimilation; assimilate is what we did even if it meant losing parts of what made us Cambodian.

I grew up having very little knowledge of Cambodian history, culture, customs, traditions and language. We were so immersed in survival mode that we forgot the importance of historical and cultural preservation. It is this search for my identity that led me to educational justice work.

I knew by the age of 10, I had to become a doctor or a lawyer, after all that was what my parents wanted and needed from me. They wanted the big house and the white picket fence.

As a fifth grader in 1992, I enrolled myself in a new academic, social support summer program called Providence Summerbridge. Providence Summerbridge now known as Breakthrough Providence has a dual mission: to create a pathway to college for low-income, academically motivated middle school students and to encourage talented high school and college students to pursue careers in education. I could vividly remember the Executive Directors coming into the classroom and pitching the program. “Come learn about who you are and what you are capable of!” It was this exclamatory statement that gave me ammunition to apply. I still say, I was a guinea pig of the program because I was part of the first graduating cohort. I was committed to the program for 2 years and during that time I developed as a young leader with strong academic and social skills.

My parents were overjoyed, I needed to be strong academically if I was going to be lawyer or doctor. While I did not learn much about my Khmer culture, I did learn to embrace ME. I learned to value the differences in people, to cultivate and sustain meaningful relationships and to take on a proactive role when faced with adversity.

Breakthrough Providence builds and instills a culture of success that is unlike any other. The impact was life changing for me as a student.

I started teaching at the summer program at the age of 15. I dedicated 4 consecutive summers to teaching Numeracy (Math.) I remember the unshakeable bonds and non-traditional experiential learning I was encapsulated in as a student and wanted to continue to be part of this infectious movement. I knew as a young educator, I wanted to dedicate my life to educational justice work. I wanted to infect change in the lives of those who were underserved, marginalized and disenfranchised.

At age 37, I have come to understand that the “American Dream” never existed for a family of refugees and education alone will not level the playing field. My parents’ true desire was not for me to become a prominent doctor or lawyer but to have a fulfilling life with unlimited access and opportunity. I am a descendent of WARRIORS, warriors who escaped mass annihilation. Resiliency is embedded in my DNA, to honor them I will continue to fight for social justice.

Chanda Womack awarded the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award

The NAACP Providence Branch announced Executive Director of ARISE, Chanda Womack, as the recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award for her advocacy work.  The Thurgood Marshall award is given to individuals who advocate, promote and facilitate the economic, cultural, and social benefits of the people of color in their inclusion in American society. We are extremely proud of Chanda!