Human Rights Education


The Importance of Collaboration: How You Can Support SHR
By Jessamyn Waldman

As this issue of Article 26 makes clear, the year-one accomplishments of the School for Human Rights have been wonderful: human rights lessons infused in all subject areas, extra-curricular activities that support human rights learning, above city average attendance rates, high levels of student engagement, and kids who are intensely proud of their school. Our first year represents the genesis of a human rights school that can be a model for other schools like it. However, our small staff cannot achieve this goal on our own. The School for Human Rights needs the strong support of individual people, as well as partnerships and collaboration with organizations, to fulfill its mission.

In New York City, the small school movement, committed to academic rigor and the provision of high quality education, has had success in ensuring that each student’s right to education is protected. To do this, small schools are required to establish partnerships. There is power in these partnerships; school reformers understand that students need to engage the community at large and access resources outside the hallways of the school buildings.

Since the planning committee first met in fall 2003, the School for Human Rights has been a model of collaboration and partnership that is characteristic of the small school movement. The planning committee included parents, students, teachers, Amnesty International staff, and academics. The strength of the SHR proposal is a direct result of those diverse perspectives and input from the larger HRE community. Once the school opened in September 2004, we began to experience the power of this partnership model. As lead partner at the school, Human Rights Education Associates’ role is as much coordinating collaborators as it is creating programs and lessons. In other words, we know that partnerships and committed individuals are crucial to the success of the School for Human Rights.

This year’s successes--some of which the students, parents and teachers of SHR describe in this issue--are a result of partnership and outside support. Some of the partnerships and collaborations that have been crucial to the School this year are listed below:

As the School for Human Rights grows--next year we are doubling the number of staff and students at the school—these kinds of partnerships and assistance become even more important. There are many ways that you or your organization can support the School for Human Rights:

Service Learning opportunities:
One of the goals for the 2005-06 school year is to give every student an opportunity to participate in a service-learning project. Service learning is project-based study where students connect an academic lesson to a project in the larger community. Two examples are a science lesson on the plant life cycle that culminates in tree planting in an empty lot, or an economics lesson that culminates in working at a soup kitchen.

If you are in or around New York City and have a project or organization that could use student volunteers, please consider students and teachers from the School for Human Rights. It isn’t necessary to be able to host an entire class. Contact Jessamyn Waldman to discuss these opportunities.

Lessons and curriculum:
As the School for Human Rights, we are constantly working on new and interesting ways to integrate human rights into our daily teaching. We are challenged to be creative and stretch the boundaries of state and city standards. If you or your organization has developed successful lessons or teaching methodologies that are within the HRE framework, please share them with us. We are always looking for great lessons, especially in math and science!

Volunteer your time:
Throughout the year, SHR has events and programs that require adult help. If you live in the area and are interested in learning more and supporting the school, volunteering your time is a great way to contribute. You’ll meet terrific kids and engaged teachers.

Donations:
Limited resources circumscribe our ability to build creative human rights programs. Field trips and extra-curricular projects such as the Skateboard Club and the Creative Writing Camping Trip are expensive, and the families of our students can rarely afford the additional expenses. Through HREA, we gratefully accept tax-deductible donations- www.hrea.org/donate-to-shr.html. Also, in-kind donations of sporting equipment (e.g., skateboards and pads) and technology (e.g., televisions and DVD players) are greatly appreciated.

Exchange Opportunities
As the SHR students get older (right now we only have 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th graders), we would like to create exchange opportunities for students. These exchanges can be within the United States or abroad. If you know of an opportunity or a school that would be interested in hosting a student from the School for Human Rights, Brooklyn, New York, please contact Jessamyn Waldman.

We are grateful for the impressive amount of support the School for Human Rights has received from the human rights community. This collaboration has been crucial to our successes, and as we grow our needs are increasing. Please contact me if you are interested in collaboration, partnering with, or in any way supporting us here at the School for Human Rights.

Jessamyn Waldman
Lead Partner Program Associate
School for Human Rights
Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)

School Address:
600 Kingston Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11203
T: (718) 771-4793
F: (718) 771-4815

Address for Donations (please note that donation is for School for Human Rights):
HREA- US Office
PO Box 382396
Cambridge, MA 02238
USA