RedConnect
Connecting Red Hook residents to all things education through live streaming, storytelling, and sharing resources
In short, RedConnect is Red Hook's connection to the education conversation happening now in District 15.
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In this all-in-one platform, families can get involved with local educational policies affecting children in District 15 through live streams, personal stories, and curated resources.
With this platform you can:
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Watch live streams of public education meetings
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Weigh in on the current conversation
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Find opportunities to get involved in local education groups
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Learn about hot button education issues in District 15
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What is RedConnect?
Historically, Red Hook residents have felt left out of conversations around public education in District 15.
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Due to the lack of attention the Department of Education has given to public schools in Red Hook, some residents feel wary about trusting the DOE, limiting their involvement with public education forums. Other residents are so busy working and raising their families, that they are not able to show up to meetings even if they wanted to participate. And some residents, simply don't know how to get involved.
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As a result, neighborhoods like Red Hook are often excluded from important conversations around policy changes in their district. This absence of communities of color is particularly detrimental when the current conversation centers around creating more equity opportunities for students in District 15. When the DOE conducts conversations about diversity, people of color must be present in the room in order for those conversations to be truly equitable. This absence of neighborhoods like Red Hook in public meetings does not go unnoticed by other families in the district.
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After attending multiple Community Education Council meetings, and speaking with parents from neighborhoods across District 15, it is clear that both people living in Red Hook and people living in other neighborhoods want families of color to weigh in on the conversations happening in District 15, specifically around the Diversity Plan and future plans for elementary school rezoning.
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"There definitely is a lack of community involvement. And there's a reason behind it."
-Edwin Pacheco, Lead Pastor at Redemption Red Hook church
“I don't feel like we have the resources that help engage our own communities, and really make sure everybody's got a voice. I'm skeptical that we’ll have success on integration without more tools.”
-Lincoln Ritter, parent in District 15
“The vice principal of the [Red Hook] school was in my group. She had a lot of really interesting things to say that I had certainly not considered." -a parent in Carroll Gardens
Why RedConnect?
Project Goals
Inform people in Red Hook about current education news in District 15
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Encourage residents to become more active in local education-focused groups and events
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Tell stories about Red Hook families and their lived experiences dealing with the public education system
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Bring awareness to the transformation of Red Hook community schools in hopes of erasing past stigmas
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Help parents in Red Hook communicate their thoughts on the rezoning plan with the Department of Education more efficiently
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Facilitate parent conversations about policy changes in District 15 in a way that includes historically excluded voices
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Why
Me?
Hi! I'm Lauren Costantino, a social journalism student at CUNY and former high school English teacher from South Florida. For the past year, I've been studying how to use journalism to listen and engage communities to affect tangible change. For the last few months, I've been listening to people in Red Hook who feel unsatisfied or confused about what happening in local education meetings. This project reflects the problems identified through this social listening process and aims to connect and empower people in Red Hook to join the conversation on education.