We have exciting news, Supporters!

On Monday, 11/26/18, we are meeting with Dr. LeFlore to discuss our full proposal. Dr. LeFlore has not made a statement in 5 years as to whether or not she supports a name change, so this is very exciting. We've been working on ways to make this proposal irresistible to the community and the school district. We know the district wants to do the right thing. We also know it can be hard to push through a monumental change when there are layers of bureaucracy and costs to consider. 

Our proposal includes sourcing in-kind donations and partial funding for:

• The faculty, staff, internal committees, and administration of the school to participate in ABAR (AntiBias, AntiRacism) in Education training from the nationally recognized Crossroads Antiracism organization. We believe that this integrative approach will ensure a comprehensive culture shift within the school community.
• The cost (including labor) of creating a new logo for Wheeler CJA.
• The cost (including labor) of changing all name signs at the school.
• The cost (including labor) of updating all online and print materials.

We will update you on the specifics of the fundraising/skill-search as we move forward. 

In other news, the Riverfront Times interviewed one of the petition writers this week and are covering the story of the petition and our proposal! We'll share as soon as we see the first article.

This community is really something special. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and energy! It sure is reminiscent of Betty.

The link included is a nearly 20 minute long speech by former Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, on the removal of Confederate statues. It is worth a watch, if you have time.