Power Our
Schools.
CARE Brookland knows that if we as the community build education, we can do so much more. Power Our Schools is our civic organizing program; we work with our neighbors, schools, and community to ensure that our students have the space to thrive.
Power Our Schools isn’t a request. It’s a promise.
Following the Blueprints of Change
Power Our Schools walks in the footsteps of DC’s Consolidated Parents Group (CPG)—a powerful chapter-based movement of Black parents in the 1940s and '50s who organized to dismantle segregation and demand equity in education. These were everyday people—mothers, fathers, neighbors—who knew that justice didn’t begin in courtrooms, but in neighborhoods, around kitchen tables, and in the hearts of those raising the next generation.
Just like CPG, Power Our Schools is community-driven and centered—a for-us-by-us movement where families, educators, and neighbors organize to shape the future of their neighborhood schools.
While CPG led the charge for integration and accountability, Power Our Schools expands that charge for transformation and self-determination.
CARE Brookland’s initiatives like Harvesting Justice build a foundation of change. We work to make change, just as our forefathers did. Below are some of our programs that foster community change.
Recess at the Capitol
Recess at the Capitol began on a Monday night during CARE Anacostia’s virtual community meeting, when Ward 8 State Board of Education Representative LaJoy Johnson Law voiced outrage over a sudden $1 billion cut from DC’s budget—cuts that would have a devastating impact on public schools, especially in Ward 8. Law challenged us to bring children to the Capitol “so they can see exactly” who they are cutting funding from - children in our schools.
Allyson Criner Brown amplified the vision and pushed it into reality. Within 72 hours—and with the support of several community partners—700 families gathered at the Capitol to demand justice. Their voices and presence helped push forward the DC Local Budget Act.
The Resilience Campaign
In response to DC’s sudden $1.1 billion budget cut, schools across the city have frozen their discretionary funds, jeopardizing vital student experiences like field trips, field days, awards ceremonies, and graduation celebrations.
While some school communities can rely on parent fundraising to bridge these gaps, many schools CARE DC serves cannot. These communities are deeply resourceful and resilient—but we cannot ignore the widening gaps and long-term implications of this systemic disinvestment.
The Resilience Fund was a mutual aid effort to ensure every student ends the year with joy, dignity, and the celebration they deserve.
Harvesting Justice
Harvesting Justice: Cultivating a Future for DC Schools was a powerful gathering to reimagine education as a pathway to liberation, healing, and racial justice in communities full of brilliance and possibility.
Our event was filled with connection, visioning, and movement-building in the heart of the city. This social gathering featured amazing speakers, vibrant conversation, and powerful voices committed to justice in education.
We were honored to welcome Tanji Reed Marshall, nationally recognized speaker, author, and education expert, whose groundbreaking work continues to shape the future of equity in schools.