PAST EVENTS

2004-2006

Philadelphia Student Union members at Bartram High School organized and won a formal process for students and staff to air their grievances and build meaningful relationships in a supportive environment.

2004-2007

Philadelphia Student Union raised awareness about the inequitable distribution of qualified and experienced teachers throughout the school district. We organized and won teacher incentive grants to attract and retain qualified and experienced teachers at hard to staff schools.

2007-2010

Philadelphia Student Union worked with West Philadelphia school leadership to use Restorative Practices and decreased violent incidents by 70% in three years.

2008-2009

Philadelphia Student Union was the major youth voice in a historic campaign that resulted in a new education funding formula that increased funds to public schools throughout Pennsylvania.

2009

Philadelphia Student Union members conceived and built the Campaign for Nonviolent Schools (CNS). CNS is now a city-wide collaborative effort with 10 youth leadership organizations aimed at improving school climate and safety without pushing students into the criminal justice system.

APRIL 2009

Philadelphia Student Union members at Sayre High School won the right to be involved in training their School Police Officers – the first student-led model to build communication, trust, and political understanding between students and school police in the nation.

2008-PRESENT

Philadelphia Student Union became a founding member of the Alliance for Educational Justice, a national alliance of youth and parent organizing groups working on the national level to impact federal educational policy.

2009-2010

Dr. Ackerman, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent, expanded Student Success Centers to all high-needs high schools in the city.

2010-2011

Philadelphia Student Union led student trainings of over 50 school police officers, which overwhelmingly changed the officers’ views on young people, their interactions with students and stereotypes.

2010-2012

Philadelphia Student Union members at Furness High School PSU members worked collaboratively with the principal to improve student attendance and climate, resulting in five percent increase, a 50% reduction in serious incidents, a 30-point increase in math proficiency and a 10-point increase in reading proficiency.

2010-2012

After a violent incident against Asian immigrant students erupted at South Philadelphia High School, Philadelphia Student Union members organized monthly meetings between Black and White (American-born) students and Asian immigrant students (some Mandarin and Vietnamese speaking) at South Philly High, building unity for the first time in the school’s history. By Fall 2012, South Philly HS was removed from the persistently dangerous schools list.

2012

The Campaign for Nonviolent Schools won changes to the Code of Conduct. Students in partnership with the ACLU and the Education Law center created a “dicipline matrix” that reduced the number of suspendable offenses down to 12 from 24.

2013

The Campaign for Nonviolent Schools won a pilot program to use restorative justice models in 10 Philadelphia high schools in the School District of Philadelphia.

MAY 2013

2,000 students walked out of school to protest the impact that deeper budget cuts would have on their education.

2014

Philadelphia Student Union members produced three short films on the topics of School Closures, the School-to-Prison Pipeline and Standardized Testing.

DEC 2014

Philadelphia Student Union members organized a die-in along with Asian Americans United and Boat People SOS to protest violence in all forms in support of #BlackLivesMatter. It became a national day of action for Alliance for Educational Justice.