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THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP BETWEEN AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS AND WHITE STUDENTS - A JEWISH ISSUE? A WORKING PAPER BY JEWS UNITED FOR JUSTICE MARCH 2003 Justice, justice shall you pursue so that you may thrive... --Deuteronomy 16:20 “A person should be more concerned with spiritual than with material matters, but another person’s materials welfare is his/her own spiritual concern.” --Rabbi Israel Salanter “Racism is worse than idolatry. Few of us seem to realize how radical, how universal and evil racism is. Few of us realize that racism is mankind’s gravest threat to itself. Race prejudice is a treacherous denial of the existence of God. Faith in God is not simply as afterlife-insurance policy. Prayer and prejudice cannot dwell in the same heart.” --Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Researched and Written by Rabbi Randy Fleisher and Linda Holtzman HOW TO USE THIS WORKING PAPER This working paper, “The Achievement Gap Between African-American and White Students - A Jewish Issue?” can be used by indivuals, congregations and congregational committees, community groups, coalitions, families, school districts, faith-based educators, rabbis, discussion and dialogue groups. Our hope is that you will find a way to use this paper as a beginning tool for study, discussion and action. Some suggested uses include: • As a basis for a sermon or discussion in your congregation; • As a tool for forming a parent/community group to address the issue in your local public school; • As the foundation of discussion in an African-American/Jewish dialogue group; • As a source for family discussion to gain a better understanding of how the history of racism impacts achievement in school; • As part of a religious school lesson on equality. We welcome your feedback. Please let us know how this paper was useful and how it could be improved. Please send your comments or questions to Jews United for Justice via e-mail at info@jujstl.org. THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP BETWEEN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WHITE STUDENTS - A JEWISH ISSUE? A WORKING PAPER INTRODUCTION “The facts are right there, in black and white: If you’re an African-American student going to public school in America today, education is more likely to be a struggle than an opportunity.” On average, American white kids, no matter from what socioeconomic strata they hail, score higher on standardized tests, drop out of school at lower rates, are enrolled in ‘gifted’ classies and admitted to college at higher rates than their black counterparts. In St. Louis, one estimate holds that it would take anywhere from 4-53 years for African-Americana to reach the current level of white students and then only if the white students do not improve. One study concluded, “Whether segregated or not, whether by conscious design or through unconscious acceptance, public schools still offer young people of color an unequal, inferior education.” In this scenario, Jewish children who are also white are most often on the higher achieving side of the gap. For Jews who value education, equity and justice, this raises important questions. • How do we understand this Academic Achievement Gap between white students and students of color? • What makes this gap a Jewish issue? • How can we better understand the dynamics and differences between racism and Anti-Semitism? • What is being done to eliminate the Academic Achievement Gap? • What can you do to help? The Academic Achievement Gap is rooted in the legacy of racism which is reflected in individuals, families, cultures and institutions. Patterns of racism in neighborhood and housing segregation are at least part of the picture that impacts uneven patterns of academic achievement in schools. Another contributing factor is that the primary funding for public schools comes from property taxes. This funding favors public schools in communities with wealthier homeowners. In low income communities there are often scarce resources for the basics of books and teacher salaries. The funs to support programs designed to close the Academic Achievement Gap are often sorely lacking. The problem of the Academic Achievement Gap is complex and multi-faceted. This paper concentrates on some of the dimensions of the problem and the solutions. JUJ’s purpose in this Working Paper is to: • Focus on the research that examines the dimensions of the Academic Achievement Gap as it appears in U.S. public schools; • Provide information on Jewish teachings about education and discrimination and about Jewish responsibilities to take action on these issues; and • Offer strategies for individuals, organizations, congregations, and school systems to find solutions for this critical problem. Our goal is to start a conversation in our community that begins to ask and sicuss these issues and questions. UNDERSTANDING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP “Children of color frequently have the opposite educational experience from white children. They do not see themselves in teaching materials, their teachers do not share their cultural experiences, negative assumptions are made about them, quick judgments are made about their economic class, they are tested on items not norm-referenced to their group, and they are generally considered the problems of the school.” Often, while children attend racially desegregated schools, there is de facto segregation once they enter the building. Children are “tracked” by standardized testing and teacher recommendations that are frequently racially biased and disproportionately place white children in the top tracks and children of color in the botttom tracks. These factors are even more are further exacerbated by uneven discipline applied to white students and students of color. A disproportionate number of children of color are suspended and expelled compared to their white classmates. The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a nonprofit research organization located in Oakland, California. ARC is a prominent source of academic and practical research on critical problems involving racism, education, welfare, and other issues. In conjunction with community organizations in twelve public school districts throughout the country, ARC graded districts on several dimensions of the Academic Achievement Gap with the results that only one school district “passed” their report card with a grade of D. These report cards revealed similar results for small towns and big cities, for the North and the South, for school where students of color are in the minority and school where they are in the majority. Some of the key findings of the ARC study include: • From drop-out rates to access to advanced placement courses and entrance to college, students of color are at a serious disadvantage to their white counterparts. “Though the discrimination may not be intentional, its persistence and pervasiveness as measured by actualy statistical impacts, amounts to a deep pattern of institutional racism in U.S. public schools.” • African-American students especially, along with Latino and Native American students are suspended and expelled in numbers vastly disporportionate to white students. • Students of color are more likely to drop out of school than their white counterparts. • Students of color have less access to advanced and gifted classes. • The racial composition of the teaching staff is rarely parallel to the racial composition of the student body. The Terra Nova Test, part of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test, compares the academic achievement of children in districts throughout the state to that of children throughout the nation. According to this report, white students in the St. Louis region score far above that national norm, averaging in the 67th percentile. African-American students in the St. Louis area score far below the national norms at a percentile of 41. These numbers also demonstrate that there is a 26 point gap in achievement among African American students and white students throughout St. Louis city and county. There have been many explanations of why these inequities exist. Some say it may be because of economic differences. Others say that it is because of cultural differences. Still others believe that one race is superior to another. Whether these explanations are benign or hateful - they are all myths. Institutionalized racism is at the root of the Academic Achievement Gap. It is often the kind of racism that is historic, built deeply into institutions and less visible than the blatant kinds of hate speech and belief in white supremacy that we tend to think of as racism. It is often the kind of racism that is the legacy of beliefs, policies and decisions that were instituted in the past and have lingered in our schools. But whether or not it is intentional, our schools frequently operate with racism that is embedded in the educational system. The system is set up in such a way that encourages the potential of white children to achieve and stes up obstacles for the achievement of children of color. THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP IS A JEWISH ISSUE What is the responsibility of the Jewish community, with our own children on the fortunate end of this gap, to become involved in helping to solve this insidious problem? We believe that Jewish tradition has much wisdom to guide the answers. Judaism teaches us to look beyond ourselves, our families, and our own people; to become involved in the greater community. “Jewish teaching is eminently clear on this issue: Every human being has been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) or as the mystics put it: “each person is a portrait of God [himself].” Therefore, each one of us is intrinsically holy and unlimited in potential. This must be our starting point in any religious discussion of the achievement gap. There is no gap in ability or potential, the gap centers squarely on racial inequity. When the Jews were forced to leave their land in 586 B.C.E., for the first time a large group of Jews began to live outside of the land of Israel. The Bible recorded the prophet Jeremiah’s advice to them in a letter he wrote to the community of Jews living in Babylon: “Seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you.” (Jeremiah 29:4). Hundreds of years later, as the Diaspora continued, the Mishnah emphasized the same points: “Don’t separate yourself from the community.” (Pirke Avot 2:4) Maimondes, the great Jewish scholar of the Middle Ages, taught: “What is the meaning of the verses, ‘And you shall love others as yourself? Whatever I want for myself or my friends, I want the same for the other. And whatever I do not want for myself or my friend, I do not want for that other person.” Hasidic mystics add that we are commanded to love others as ourselves because, in essence, your neighbor is yourself, we are all one. As Mainmondes and the mystics suggest, it is for this reason that the Torah continually reminds us that we are obligated to help others: We are commanded neither to harden our hearts nor shut our hands against anyone that comes in contact with us. (Deuteronomy 15:7) The contemporary Jewish philospoher Emmanuel Lavinas says that we recognize these obligations to others when we recognize the image of God in each face we encounter and in those faces of people we may never meet: (block quote) The ethical relationship cannot be limited to a practice that is based on the conviction that all human beings are equal in having basic rights...principles based on the Torah are more profound and demanding. Recognizing the face of the other is recognizing that the other is superior to me in terms of a human existence with needs that surprise and inevitably obligate me. In each face-to-face encounter, a third face shines in the face of the Other. It represents the multitude of those who, like this Other before me, appeal to my devotion. The immediacy of the one-for-the-Other would turn bad were it to enclose me in the intimacy of those to whom I can and want to dedicate myself through direct contact. Since all Others, independent of whether I have met them or not, have a face, everyone looks at me and concerns me for the same reason. The fact that I cannot get to know everyone and that most other people cannot get to know me, does not negate the fact that the Other, all Others, concern and obligate me. (end block quote) Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel sums up the Jewish attitude with regard to communal obligation: “The opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference. In a free society, few are actually guilty (of creating social problems), but we are all responsible,” (for searching for a solution). “We will not persist in existence,” warned Heschel’s contemporary, the Jewish theologian Martin Buber, “if we do not learn anew to persist in it as a genuine We.” The education of children has always been one of Judaism’s highest priorities. Education is the major way Jews, the ‘people of the book,’ have transmitted their values through the generations. When we recite the Sh’ma we say, “You shall teach them diligently to your children.” (Deuteronomy 6:7) Again, it is Mainmondes who turns a general statement of Torah into an ethical (however strident) imperative: “Appoint teachers for children in every country, province and city. In any city that does not have a school, excommunicate the people of the city until they get teachers for the children. If they don’t destroy that city because the world exists only because of the breath of children studying.” (Mishna Torah 2:1) Without question it was this type of attitude that led the Supreme Court to conclude in its historic Brown v. The Board of Education decision: “It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.” Judaism has a strong set of laws regarding speech--it is almost forbidden to speak about another person even if the information is true. However, in the body of laws known as Lashon Ha-ra (“evil” speech), it is acceptable to inform parents when a teacher (and one can extend this principle today to an entire school system) is substandard, so important to us is the education of the next generation. Our ‘wisdom literature’ even understands the need to focus in on one group of students on the basis of a discovered need: “Educate a child according to his way.” (Proverbs 22:6) This corresponds nicely to the recommendation of the Applied Research Center on the issue of the Academic Achievement Gap. Ignoring racial disparities like those detailed in this report will not make them go away. To the contrary, at all levels policy makers and school official must replace colorblindness with race consciousness. Our midrash teaches: “Teachers and school children are the precious jewels of our community.” And, like jewels, they periodically need to be polished. Our tradition emphasizes our role in creating a society and institutions that are fair, equitable, and full of opportunities for all. “Justice, justice, shall you pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20) is an oft-quoted line from Torah, and ensuring equal opportunity is surely one way to fulfill that obligation. The Torah teaches us to remove stumbling block (Leviticus 19:14) and make sure everyone has the sustenance that they need to succeed. (Deuteronomy 15:7) We learn in the Torah portion entitled Behar Sinai (On Mount Sinai) about the “Jubilee Year”. Every fifty years, each individual (or descendant) was to “return to his holding”. Rabbi Arthur Waskow comments:
This vision of society teaches us, any “gap”, which is created as a result of the mistakes made by one generation, should not be improved or corrected by the next generation. As Dr. Meir Tamari writes, “Even if poverty and inequality are pervasive and perhaps endure forever, one is halakhically bound to mitigate suffering and injustice.” “It is not incumbent upon us to complete this work,” reminds the Mishna, “but neither are you free to desist from it.”
The phrase, tikkun olam (the repair of the world), is used often in contemporary Judaism to refer to a commitment to social action. In 16th Century Sefat, Jewish mystics reffered to the same phrase as a belief that every positive human action or mitzvah had a profoundly real impact upon God and the cosmos. But the term has its earliest origin as a catch-all explanation in the Talmud. Whenever a legal issue was settled and the only reason given for the decision was the need to return balance to a situation that was slightly off kilter, the Talmud claimed the settlement was mipne tikkun olan, for the sake of “fixing up” the world.
In all of its permutations, tikkun olam, the mandate to make reparations where we are able, gives us solid rationale to take action to close the Academic Achievement Gap. When we do, it surely will give fullness to the prophet Amos’ exhortation that we “let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:24)
According to Judaism, we too will gain when others achieve.
Finally, education is not a zero-sum game with one group succeeding only if another one fails. In more ways than one does a rising tide carry all ships. Our tradition teaches us that we reap both material and spiritual rewards as we advance the cause of others. In Proverbs (11:25), it is written: “A generous person enjoys prosperity; whoever satisfies others shall be sated.” Rabbi Israel Salanter of the ethically oriented Musar movement echoed that sentiment when he claimed, “A person should be more concerned with spiritual than with material matters, but the material welfare of other IS his/her own spiritual concern.” A common Jewish saying is, “Chazak, chazak, venitchazek,” as each one grows stronger, we are all strengthened.
RACISM AND ANTI-SEMITISM
As American Jews who care about justice and equity, it is often difficult to sort out our long, long world history of oppression as Jewish people and the racial privilege that white Jews have access to in the United States. Anti-Semitism still exists in the United States in its most virulent and hate-filled forms. Audre Lorde said, “There is no hierarchy of oppression.” This is wisdom at its core. Anti-Semitism is not worst or better than racism. Racism is neither worse nor better than sexism and so on. But the history, current conditions, and consequences of each form of oppression are very different.
As Jews, it is critical that we understand these differences so we don’t get confused about where and why our children often are situated on the higher achieving side of the Academic Achievement Gap. It is true that there is a strong cultural commitment to education among Jews which has helped our children achieve. It is also true that those of our Jewish children who are also white, have the same advantages and privileges in schools that are afforded to other white children. The way that racism is embedded and operates in the public schools tends to advantage Jewish, white children.
It is also true, that there is a strong cultural commitment to education among African Americans which has helped many children pierce the barriers of segregation and inequity to reach great academic excellence. But the way that racism is embedded and operates in the public schools does tend to systematically disadvantage African American children.
In the United States public schools, this is not a level playing field.
Jews and people of color share a common istory of being ostracized, enslaved, or murdered because we have been seen as “the other”. Jewish history and tradition teaches us that it is wrong to treat anyone as “the other” becuse we have all suffered from this because we are all connected. In order to continue to work for justice and equity in the public schools, it is critical that we hold two thoughts simultaneously: 1) Jewish children occupy a position of racial privilege in education and children of color are disadvantaged by this system of racial privilege and 2) to paraphrase Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, while we may not be responsible for this situation, we have a communal obligation to search for a solution. Rabbi Heschel teaches:
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ELIMINATE THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP?
The Applied Research Center (ARC) has worked with community groups throughout the country to examine the dimensions of the Achievement Gap and to identify what it will take to close the gap. ARC has determined that the gap is rooted in legacy of systemic racism that remains embedded in the school systems and educational programs throughout the country. While this does not necessarily mean that school administrators and teachers are blatantly and deliberately racist and hateful, it does mean that school policies and practices have absorbed the many years that racism has impacted this country.
ARC has identified nine specific strategic areas to close the Academic Achievement Gap. These strategies are bassed on research that analyzes the problems in the educational system and identifies best practices in school districts throughout the country:
1. Keep and publish statistics disaggregated by age, race and sex. This will allow school districts and community members to measure the gap as well as its progress as action is taken.
2. Design racial equity plans at school, district, state, and national levels to be assessed with quantifiable goals. This will further allow progress to be measured and keep school districts accountable.
3. Take immediate action to correct uneven application of punishment. One of ARC’s significant findings was that students of color are punished more frequently and severely in schools than their white classmates and that this inequity contributes to the gap.
4. End academic tracking and open challenging curriculum and advanced classes in the early school years through high school. Have all high school offer a full range of courses. ARC found that a disproportionate number of white students were tracked in honors and advanced placement courses and that often predominantly white schools offered more challenging and rigorous classes. Early on, this sends a message to students of color that they are not expected to have high academic achievement.
5. Eliminate exit exams. Much of the research demonstrates that these tests don’t measure or encourage excellence in the schools and are culturally biased.
6. Place multicultural, multi-racial textbooks and teaching methods in the core curriculum and in teacher preparation. Most textbooks and curriculum are dominated by white historic figures and characters. With the exception of Black History Month, U.S. history is often taught as if it is European history. The leadership and contributions of people of color are often omitted. This sends an erroneous message to both white students and students of color--that the most important people in our history and literature are white. This recommendation calls for changing and expanding the content of curriculum and providing training and support for new teaching strategies.
7. Recruit, train and retain teachers of color. ARC’s research demonstrated that teachers of color provide a solid role model for both white students and students of color that contributes to closing the achievement gap.
8. Eliminate zero tolerance policies. The research shows that most school districts have significant racial disparities in suspension and expulsion that are based on subjecting judgment of the student’s offense. By increasing school expulsions, zero tolerance policies have a disproportionate adverse impact on students of color. This recommendation calls for clear definition of prohibited behavior, protection of school safety and access to due process of the accused student in place of zero tolerance policies.
9. Create a challenging, culturally appropriate and respectful learning environment and multi-racial and multi-cultural training for all teachers and administrators. Even the teachers and administrators with the best intentions have been affected by years of racism that permeates the education system. Teachers and administrators often reinforce the achievement of white students differently than the achievement of students of color. Even without malicious intent, the resulting gap may still be the same. This strategy will help school personnel better understand the dimensions of the academic achievement gap, its roots in the legacy of racism, and policies and practices that can eliminate the gap.
LOCAL ACTION
In St. Louis, The Black Leadership Roundtable has taken the lead in the community to close the Academic Achievement Gap in area schools. They have worked with school districts to sign the following pledge:
The Black Leadership Roundtable has formed community based accountability groups in several school districts. These groups regularly attend School Board meetings to continue to raise the issue of the Academic Achievement Gap and to press School Boards to adopt the pledge and to develop and implement appropriate strategies.
Jews United for Justice is working as an ally to support the Roundtable’s leadership on this issue. JUJ’s Education Task Force has made a commitment to provide information and to create opportunities for discussion in the Jewish community on the dimensions of the gap, how it is impacted by systemic racism, and what action Jews can take to help close the gap. This work by JUJ includes preparing and distributing this working paper and providing educational forums in Jewish congregations throughout the St. Louis area.
Some Approaches Around the Country that are Getting Results
• In Fort Wayne, Indiana, the district instituted diversity training for its staff, changed the curriculum to include more content on contributions of people of color, and maintained an across-the-board policy of not letting down on high expectations of African American and Latino students. The district also eliminated many lower level classes such as consumer mathematics to insure that all students have access to academic courses. They also instituted a Reading Recovery program which mandates that teachers spend 45 minutes with first graders to evaluate their reading abilities. Those who stumble receive individualized tutoring.
• In Evanston, Illinois, the district clustered African American students in advanced and honors classes. These moves allowed high achieving students to feel less isolated and therefore encouraged to continue.
• In Durham, North Carolina, the district scrapped the idea of admitting students into advanced classes based solely on test scores and began looking at work samples and teacher recommendations. This gives students of color greater access to advanced classes.
• In Boston, Massachusetts, the district has been creating small learning communities to provide individualized attention and support to students. Boston currently has the highest graduation rate of African American students in the country.
• Charlotte, North Carolina schools have responded to studies that teachers in low-performing schools were sorely lacking. They offerend programs to improve existing teachers’ skills and offered financial incentives to attract better-qualified teachers.
What Can You Do?
The suggestions below are intended as a jump start to action rather than a prescription. Individuals, organizations and congregations can contact JUJ to work together to think through next steps in our work towards equity in our schools.
• You can support the work of the Black Leadership Roundtable by attending monthly meetings of the St. Louis Board of Education. This will demonstrate to the school board that the Black Leadership Roundtable has braod support. During these meetings there is an allotted time for public input and the Roundtable has a speaker prepared each time to propose the Emergency Action Resolution Pledge on the achievement gap.
St. Louis School Board meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. and are located at 1004 N. Jefferson at Carr Street.
• You can learn more about what the School District you live in is doing to close the Academic Achievement Gap. You can ask officials in your local school district if they have signed the Black Leadership Roundtable pledge to close the Gap. You can help organize a parent/community group to monitor the district’s progress on signing the pledge and working toward solutions.
• You can join Jews United for Justice in its work to better inform the Jewish community on the dimensions of the gap. You can join JUJ’s Education Task Force.
• You can educate yourself on the Academic Achievement Gap. A good source is the research of Applied Research Center which can be found on its website: http://www.arc.org.
If you would like Jews United for Justice to make a presentation and/or facilitate a discussion and for more information, you can e-mail JUJ at info@jujstl.org.
ABOUT JEWS UNITED FOR JUSTICE
Jews United for Justice-St. Louis is dedicated to working in coalition with partners and allies for the goals of economic, social and racial justice in the St. Louis metropolitan area. JUJ was organized to be a progressive presence in the Jewish community and a Jewish presence in the progressive community.
In its first few years JUJ operated as an all-volunteer organization and engaged in lengthy discussions in the Jewish community to determine the need and direction for such an organization. Through this process JUJ members determined that our priorities would be to:
• Work with local partners for racial equity in St. Louis area schools;
• Worked with local partners to improve the conditions of workers in the health care industry;
• Provide information in a Jewish context about the issues above in the form of materials and presentations in the Jewish community, and;
• Provide JUJ members, Jewish congregations and organizations with social justice materials for the High Holidays and Passover.
JUJ now has a membership list of over 100 members, and over 30 members that are consistently active in its Steering Committee and action task forces. In March, JUJ hired a part-time community organizer to help facilitate its work and has applied for its own tax-exempt status.
WHAT JUJ HAS ACCOMPLISHED
With the support of the Simon Foundation and the Jewish Justice Fund, JUJ has made solid progress on its initiatives as described below.
1. Racial Equity in St. Louis Area Schools
JUJ formed an active Education Task Force that educated itself on the dimensions of the gap in achievement between African American and white students nationally and in the St. Louis area. We have formed a partnership with the Black Leadership Roundtable to help close this gap. With the help of Rabbi Randy Fleisher, JUJ has written and distributed a Working Paper on the academic achievement gap that puts the work for educational justice in a Jewish context and provides opportunities for people to get involved. JUJ has begun making presentations to local congregations about this issue and is learning more about the concerns, questions, and educational needs in the Jewish community around educational equity.
2. Improving Conditions of Low Wage Workers in the Health Care Industry
JUJ’s Health Care Worker’s Rights Task Force has educated itself on the problems of low wage workers in this industry. We have found that it is the lowest wage workers who are taking care of our loved ones in hospitals and nursing homes. There is a strong link between the improvement of workers’ conditios and improvements in patient care. With the help of Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, JUJ developed and distributed a Working Paper on a Jewish Perspective on Workers’ Rights. This paper has been discussed and distributed at meetings or shabbat services at Brith Sholom Kneseth Israel (BSKI), Central Reform Congregation, United Hebrew and Shaare Emeth. JUJ has formed partnerships with the Service Emplyoee International Union, the Social Action Network, Janitors for Justice, and the Catholic Action Network to collaborate on finding equitable solutions for this critical problem.
3. Jewish Holiday Materials
With the help of Rabbi Randy Fleisher and Rabbi Janine Schloss, JUJ has collected and distributed materials for the High Holidays that provide information that join the tradition and liturgies of these holidays with social justice. These materials are being distributed to and used by the Rabbinical Association as well as to the Jewish Social Action Network and JUJ members. JUJ has recently been notified of a grant from the Simon Foundation to support setting up a website to provide information about social justice issues and events for the St. Louis area Jewish community.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN JEWS UNITED FOR JUSTICE
• Sign up to get informative e-mails and mailings about JUJ activities, meetings and other social justice work;
• Join the Education Task Force and work on planning and implementing strategies to close the academic achievement gap;
• Join the Health Care Workers’ Rights Task Force and work on planning and implementing strategies to improve workers’ conditions and patient care at local nursing homes;
• Help conduct research on critical issues in workers’ rights and health care;
• Work on developing and distributing social justice materials for the High Holidays and Passover; and
• Join the JUJ Steering Committee and work on training, membership development, fund raising, and membership events.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT JEWS UNITED FOR JUSTICE VIA E-MAIL AT info@ims-stlouis.com |