1,000 signatures reached
To: Berkeley Unified School District
REMOVE POLICE FROM BERKELEY SCHOOLS
Our collective call to action demands the removal of the Berkeley Police Department from Berkeley High School and for the reallocation of funds for counselors, mental health professionals and others who support our students development of mediation and conflict resolution skills.
Why is this important?
We call for Berkeley Unified School District to create thoughtful ways of working with students that engender an inclusive, respectful and transformative environment for learning. The Berkeley High School website states that "we treat each other with respect and act with integrity" and yet the real life experiences and stories of Black students is daily accounts of the mistreatment of Black students, a pattern of being pulled from class, unlawfully searched and aggressively handled at the hands of the police. The presence of police in a place of learning promotes the criminalization rather than education of our students of color and sends the wrong impression to all our students. Together we demand the dismantling of the current police state climate that is an everyday reality for our students and transform the educational environment from one that hinders to one that fosters all of our young people’s ability to explore, grow and manifest their full capacities and gifts.