Think In The News: June

It feels like every week the world as we know it is changing in one way or another. When Governor Newsom proposed $100 million in budget cuts to afterschool and expanded learning a few weeks back, my heart sank. If those budget cuts were to go through, there are 65,000 students who would potentially lose access to programming and support that they need.
 
To speak up against these proposed cuts, I wrote an opinion editorial this past week for the Desert Sun and our Executive Director of Policy and Partnerships, Steve Amick, cowrote a piece for Press Enterprise.
 
Both articles showcase the importance of afterschool and our programs, but also how much uncertainty there is in these times. Our students need us to speak up for them so that the state knows that they need to put the children of California first.
 
For more than 20 years, Think Together has been striving to close the academic achievement gap and change the odds for kids. As an organization, we’ve done some great work, but we all know that there is still more to be done. I was interviewed by Authority Magazine and talked about what policymakers can do to make immense changes to a system set up to let students (predominantly students of color) fail.
 
Inspired by the country’s and the organization’s conversations on racial injustice and determination for change, Think Together Site Coordinators Erika Hernandez and Jocelyn Leon took to the streets of Lake Elsinore last weekend to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Their story was featured on ABC7.
 
The time of watching injustices continue is over, and now is the time for all of us to speak up, be heard, and make a difference. The year 2020 has already laid bare countless injustices that directly impact the families we serve and our communities.
 
Enough is enough, it’s time for change.