In New Brunswick, 77% of students are considered financially disadvantaged, according to the NJ Department of Education. Thus, addressing social-economic status, race, gender, and other systemic inequities in education are essential to preparing our students as they enter the workforce.

To support our students achieve self-sufficiency as adults, New Brunswick Tomorrow (NBT) and the New Brunswick Education Association (NBEA)are working together to establish an Education Justice Coalition (EJC). This effort aims to create a scalable and sustainable infrastructure to mitigate, and eventually dismantle, systemic inequities; particularly in our education ecosystem.

The EJC will convene parent groups, high school students, community stakeholders, and NBEA members, organized by a Coalition Coordinator. Under the EJC, we will focus on empowering students, parents, and educators as leaders across the city to engage the community and to scale and sustain interest and participation. The “Parent Peer Ambassadors” will center their efforts on the creation of parent and resident engagement strategies to engage and educate other parents on relevant issues. While the "Parent Peer Ambassadors" drive strategies for involving parents, students will be selected as “Social Justice Student Fellows” to help spotlight the students' voice and to drive student engagement. We will also support NBEA in selecting “Educator Fellows,”who will provide the perspective of the teaching and administrative staff across New Brunswick Public Schools. Finally, the Coalition Coordinator will reinforce the foundation of this Coalition by providing structure and creating momentum around the most pressing issues to dismantle systemic inequities and unjust education practices.

NBT is looking forward to collaborating with NBEA to create safe and just schools by working with emerging and established community leaders to act on these systemic issues prevalent in our community. We thank the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and the National EducationAssociation (NEA) for their resources and support of this initiative.

We are actively recruiting for the Coalition Coordinator position. If you are interested,  please click here for more information. Stay tuned as we begin recruitment for Parent Peer Ambassadors, Educator Fellows, and Student Social Justice Fellows.