“Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Now that we’ve learned together about the many challenges facing our school systems and students, it’s time to get to work. School inequality and the pressure on students is a serious issue, and we are the ones who can make change. Let’s get to work!

Resource List:

• Talk with your Temple Youth Group’s Social Action Vice President and your synagogue’s Social Action or Social Justice Chair
• Contact your local Jewish Social Services and/or Jewish Federation about action projects
  • Madison
  • Milwaukee
  • Minneapolis
  • St. Paul (Includes services for Duluth)
  • Winnipeg
• Jewish Community Action – Safe Schools and Racial Justice Campaigns
• Religious Action Center (RAC) – subscribe to their emails for justice information
• URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) – subscribe to their emails for justice information

Action Steps:

• Call local schools to see what supplies they need then host a drive at your synagogue
• Volunteer at an elementary school reading to students
• Host mindfulness events with your youth group to help with the pressures teens face, and invite yoga teachers, meditation experts, and other people who specialize in stress relief
• Create a mindfulness club at your school
• Connect with a local church or mosque’s youth group; gather to talk about your lives and how to work together to create change in your communities
• Get members of your youth group or synagogue trained by the RAC to lobby your local school board or state legislators about school funding, standards, teacher pay – pick an issue you care about and get to work!

Compiled by Kim Rosenthal, Temple Beth El, Madison, WI who is the best.