Report to the Community |
 Superintendent of Schools Brian Osborne will give the opening remarks at our annual Report to the Community on Thursday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m., at the Baird Community Center, 5 Mead St., South Orange.
The Report to the Community is an open dialogue between Coalition leaders and residents regarding our work to create a community free of racial segregation in housing, civic life and schools.
In his New Beginnings welcome speech, Mr. Osborne recently echoed our desire to create a schools community that brings out the best in all of our students. We look forward to hearing more from him!
The event and the refreshments are free. |
Integration Matters a Success! |
Nearly 200 guests and local dignitaries filled the Columbia High School Cafeteria on Sept. 17, to participate in our Integration Matters! event featuring noted civil rights expert john a. powell, pictured at left with Community Coalition Board of Trustees Chair Carol Barry-Austin and South Orange Village President Doug Newman.
 Prof. powell, director of the Kirwan Institute on Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University, discussed the state of integration today and answered questions from local residents.
"I don't think the country understands that 45 percent of children in this country have parents of color. What kind of country do we have if we don't address issues of integration?" said Prof. powell, adding, "The country should be celebrating what (Maplewood and South Orange) are trying to do. The experience of integration is rare."
Pictured, from left, East Orange Mayor Robert L. Bowser and his wife with CCR Trustee Leonard Santucci.
|
Parent Advocacy Workshops |
Closing the Racial Achievement Gap and improving our schools for all students an essential part of the Coalition's mission. As part of this effort, we are offering two new Parent Advocacy Workshops this month for our elementary and middle school parents:
 Tuesday, October 16, 7:30 p.m. Elementary School Parent Advocacy Workshop, co-sponsored by The Parenting Center at Seth Boyden Elementary School. This event will feature discussions led by psychologist Linda Cameron, pictured at left, and school counselor Karen Weiland.
Tuesday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. Middle School Parent Advocacy Workshop at South Orange Middle School, featuring psychologist Linda Cameron.
Come prepared with a pad, pencil and your questions... we'll supply the answers! |
| Introduction to the Coalition |
Interested in learning more about supporting the Coalition as a volunteer or a patron? Please join us at one of three informal Introduction to the Coalition events on:
Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.
These events, held in private homes throughout Maplewood and South Orange, are informal discussions about the work and mission of the Coalition. Please call the office to RSVP and for location details, 973-761-6116 x6. |
|
| Coalition Youth Connection |
The Coalition Youth Connection is back and better than ever! Our first youth volunteer event will be a flyer blitz during the Halloween parades in Maplewood and South Orange, on October 31, from approximately 3 to 6 pm. If you'd like to help out, please contact Audrey Rowe at 973-761-6116 x4, or audrey@twotowns.org.
The Coalition Youth Connection will be enrolling student volunteers throughout the year to be  included in our forum discussions, work on community service projects that support the Coalition's mission and to serve as ambassadors at Coalition events. Pictured at right is Junior Ambassador Samiel Cameron, who recently won the Princeton Prize for her presenation, "Highlighting CHS: Facts, Fears and Folklore," sponsored by the Coalition. If you'd like to join our student volunteers, contact Audrey Rowe at 973-761-6116 x4 or audrey@twotowns.org. |
| Pre-School Open House |
Looking for a pre-school or child-care agency for your little one? Be sure to join us for our Sixth Annual Pre-School Open House, on Wednesday, November 14, from 7 to 8:30 pm, at the Columbia High School Cafeteria.
The evening will start with a brief presentation on preparing for Kindergarten, followed by a tradeshow-like exhibition featuring more than twenty child-care providers from the surrounding area.
Admission is free.
Child-care agencies interested in participating in this event should call our office at 973-761-6116 x4. We'd love to have you join us! |
We hope that you enjoy receiving our newsletter. If you'd like to share our good news with a friend, please click on the "Forward email" link below ...
Have a question or a comment about the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race? Send us an email, info@twotowns.org,
or call our office, 973-761-6116 ext. 6.
For more information regarding the Community Coalition and its programs, please visit our website, www.twotowns.org |
|
|
| October is
Coalition Month |
October 1st marks the beginning of Coalition Month, a month-long celebration of the work that we do in support of our truly integrated community of South Orange and Maplewood. Yet, on the eve of this celebration, I struggle more than usual with the subject of this message.
I could write a stimulating synopsis of our recent forum, Integration Matters!, or our upcoming Report to the Community and Aim High Parent Advocacy Workshops.
I could write endlessly about the history of the Coalition and site examples of why this organization is so vital to all of us. Yes, current examples, like the June 2007 Supreme Court decision striking down voluntary integration plans in the Louisville and Seattle schools, a step backward from the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education victory. But chances are if you are reading this message, you are aware of the unsettling reality that our work is not over.
And so the subject of this message is how you can help the Coalition to advance the vision of true integration.
First, let me dispel some myths: to become involved with the Coalition it is not necessary for you to have been a victim of racial bias. You don't have to have children in the school system to seek equity in our public schools. You don't need a lot of money and you don't need a lot of time.
One of the most vital needs of the Coalition is community outreach. Do you have an hour or two once a year to distribute literature at the Farmer's Market? Do you have an hour or two, once a year to host an informational coffee in your home? Did you leave a career as a writer to stay home with your family want to maintain your skills by helping out with our newsletter?
In addition to hands-on volunteer help, we also need funding. While large monetary gifts are certainly welcome, if every household in our community donated just $10.00 it would add up to an impressive $160,000!
As we progress from the staggering blow of the recent Supreme Court decision and into Coalition Month, the Coalition needs your time, talents and treasure now, more than ever. The tagline on the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's NAACP Legal Defense Fund website reads, "If you think the struggle is over, think again."
Robin
Robin Burns Saunders
Executive Director |
|
About Us |
The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, now in its tenth year, is a nationally recognized non-profit organization of more than 200 volunteers working to build a community that is free from racial segregation in housing patterns and community involvement. The pro-integrative work of the Community Coalition serves as a model for communities nationwide.
For more information, please visit www.twotowns.org or call 973-761-6116 ext. 6. |
| Calendar |
or call 973-761-6116 x6
for details on
all of our events!
October 10
7:30 p.m.
Introduction to the Coalition
Call office for location
October 14
2 p.m.
Introduction to the Coalition
Call office for location
7:30 p.m.
Elementary School
Parent Advocacy Workshop
Seth Boyden Elementary School
Report to the Community
7 p.m.
Baird Community Center
October 28
1 p.m.
Introduction to the Coalition
Call office for location
October 30
Middle School
Parent Advocacy Workshop
7:30 p.m.
South Orange Middle School
November 14
Pre-School Open House
7:00 p.m.
Columbia High School Cafeteria
November 27
"Highlighting CHS: Facts, Fears or Folklore?"
A program for middle school parents and students
7:30 p.m.
South Orange Middle School
November 29
"FUNraising Dessert"
7:30 p.m.
Women's Club of Maplewood
|
|
|
