JCEA commits to continue its work on tearing down the institutional systems present in our society and in our education system born from white supremacy culture. We know that as educators, we are part of this system and we have a unique responsibility to change it for the lives of our students who very much matter.  

Therefore, JCEA calls for Jeffco Public Schools to engage with our communities of color about the use of security and law enforcement in our schools.   We must listen to and learn from our communities about the impact of these practices on our students and families.  We must ensure our district policies allow students from marginalized communities to feel safe and protected. We also demand increased training for all of our educators around issues of white supremacy culture, institutional racism, implicit bias, privilege, restorative discipline practices, and culturally responsive educational practices.  We call for any law enforcement working with our schools to have this training as well.

JCEA commits to continue leading by example in our own work. We will continue to support the work of the Ethnic Minority Organizing Action Team (EMOAT) and listen to their guidance as we work to become a union that is anti-racist both in word and in practice. We will continue to support the partnership between EMOAT and Jeffco Public Schools’ HR department in recruiting and retaining educators of color.

JCEA recognizes that this work must be intentional, focused, and on-going. We also recognize that creating structural change will take many people doing the work in many many different ways.

Please let us know how you want to get involved.