On Monday, June 3rd, Friends of Ketcham Elementary School (FoKES) organized a FRIENDraiser to recruit additional ‘friends’ to the group, raise support, celebrate students and their hard work and discuss the nexus between housing segregation and equity in public education. The night was filled with a student-led drumline, engaging conversations and a diverse crowd searching for ways to integrate Ketcham, not solely by race, but by resources, opportunities, hopes, and dreams for all students to thrive and be well-educated in the Anacostia community. The intent was to acknowledge the racial wealth gap, stemmed in significant part from the racial injustice in housing, and why FoKES, a community-based PTO, is a necessary apparatus to build up wealth to flood in additional resources to close the gaps in education. Supporting parent power helps us ensure that the goal of the Committee is met, which is to fight discrimination, repair the damage of historic racial inequity and break down barriers to opportunity. The FoKES FRIENDraiser advanced the objective that every child has access to a high-quality education. Building community support builds knowledge, which builds power and power brings change to public policy, which will enforce justice and equality for all. FoKES is supported by the Committee and works closely with Jhonna Turner, our Parent Organizer. Jhonna served as moderator for the rich program that evening.
About the Parent Empowerment Program
The Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) organizes parents to provide resource equity for students marginalized by race, class, and language in District of Columbia Public Schools. All the schools in PEP are considered Title 1, meaning the majority of the students are on free and reduced lunch.
About FoKES
Friends of Ketcham Elementary School (FoKES) was birthed from PEP. This group has become an organizing machine in Ward 8 and is making quite the wave and is turning the term “it takes a village” into a well-developed concept filled with advocacy and providing immediate resource equity for students.