Advocacy Day for Bronx Charter Schools
At 6:45 a.m. on a cold winter morning, 36 LION community members, including parents, staff, and students, boarded a charter bus bound for Albany, NY. The group represented our school, demonstrating both their LION and Bronx pride, at Bronx Charter School Celebration Day on January 31st. This annual Advocacy Day provides members of the community a chance to speak to our representatives, delineate the changes we seek, and fight for equality as a charter school.
It was an inspiring scene as Bronx charter school representatives gathered together in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. Guest speakers from charter schools, the Black, Latinx, Asian Charter Collaborative, the NYC Civic Engagement Commission, and the New York Charter Schools Association rallied the crowd before we met with our elected officials. Following performances and guest speakers, our community members met with Assemblymember Amanda Septimo and a member of State Senator José Serrano’s staff. Our spokespeople Denise Garner and Marta Rodriguez, LION staff and parents, championed our cause as the voice for what matters most to us: equitable funding and resources for our school. Ms. Garner advocated for equal funding for charter and district public schools as well as more money for after school and summer programs.
We look forward to uniting our voices with other charter school representatives next year – together we will continue to advocate for what our students and families need and deserve.
