August 2019: Back-to-School Issue

School Is in Session, and Our Guides Are Here to Help! There's no better time than Back-to-School to start learning and advocating for children. Georgia Appleseed recently completed its new Help Guides , one- to two-page informational handouts , to support caregivers of children with behavior and learning challenges. These guides are meant to be easily accessible and shareable. Topics include IEPs , Section 504 , Student Support Teams , School Discipline , and more. You can read them as a collection or click to the topic that's of most interest to you. Please read and help us share these guides. And if you'd like to help make them even better, let us know what you think: Each person who signs up to fill out a survey about the Help Guides will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 gift card.

Register Today! School-Based Behavioral Health Forum in Albany on September 13 Free and open to the public, the half-day Southwest Georgia School-Based Behavioral Health Forum will bring together stakeholders to explore the current status of school-based behavioral health in Georgia, approaches to implementation, and overcoming barriers. Educators, parents, policy leaders, and behavioral health experts are encouraged to attend.  Registration is required. Questions? Contact Terrence Wilson at twilson@gaappleseed.org .

A Back-to-School Meeting of the Minds As the school year kicks off, Georgia Appleseed continues to bring people together to tackle the difficult issues that face Georgia's children. On August 20, Georgia Appleseed Executive Director Talley Wells and Director of Projects Michael Waller met with Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, APS Police Chief Ronald Applin, and Fulton Juvenile Judge Renata Turner to discuss our new Help Guides for Children with Behavior and Learning Challenges and Judge Turner’s Pathways Committee. Pathways is a partnership between the juvenile court, APS, and Fulton Schools. A key focus of the discussion was the number of children who change schools or miss school due to housing instability and unhealthy housing. Also present were Assistant Superintendent Katika Lovett, APS Executive Director of the Office of Partnerships and Development Rachel Sprecher, attorney and Georgia Appleseed volunteer Caroline Durham, and APS Partnership Manager of the Office of Partnerships and Development Upenda Dubose.

Housing Conference in Clayton County on August 27 & 28 Georgia Appleseed will be in Clayton County on August 27 and 28 at The Healthy Housing Conference to provide information about the recently passed HB 346 , which prevents landlords from evicting tenants for requesting needed repairs. We'll also be leading a discussion to learn about people's experiences with housing conditions and to collect insights as part of the Georgia Appleseed-led Georgia Healthy Housing Project . This event is free, but registration is required. Call (770) 997-4517 to reserve your space. More information can be found on the Hearts to Nourish Facebook page .

Welcome back  Part of our annual Back-to-School tradition is attending back-to-school events to welcome students and share resources like our Keeping Kids in Class Toolkit and our new Help Guides for Children with Behavior and Learning Challenges . Pictured: Staff Attorney Terrence Wilson at the Bibb County PBIS Back to School Bash.

Announcements: Upcoming Events

August 25 — Teen Anxiety Forum : Georgia Appleseed will be tabling at this community event for teens, parents, and educators. RSVP at teenanxietyexpo@gmail.com. August 27 & 28 — Clayton County Housing Conference : We'll be sharing information about the new law against retaliatory eviction. Call (770) 997-4517 to register. September 13 — Southwest Georgia School-Based Behavioral Health Regional Forum in Albany: Georgia Appleseed is partnering again with The Carter Center and Voices for Georgia's Children to promote school-based behavioral health and school climate reform in Albany, GA. Register here .

Additional Reading Want to learn more about some of the ideas and issues we've been thinking and talking about? We got you covered! The start of the school year is a great time to learn a little more about your local schools. This Georgia Department of Education dashboard will tell you valuable information about school climate, discipline approaches, and more. Director of Projects Michael Waller was recently a guest on Lewis on the Law talking about our work. Watch the video of that interview. A recent AJC article explores how constant moving affects the education of children in foster care: "Georgia works to raise graduation rate for foster children" This piece by The Marshall Project looks at risk assessment tools used in courtrooms and asks, "Can racist algorithms be fixed?" The New York Times Magazine recently launched The 1619 Project, which views our country through the lens of slavery and its legacy. This PBS interview with reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones reveals the thinking behind the project: "The 1619 Project details the legacy of slavery in America." In this piece for the Chronicle of Social Change, Georgia's director of the Department of Family and Children Services Tom Rawlings offers guidance on how to respond in the wake of a tragedy: "Leading Child Welfare Systems Past the Worst Tragedies."

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