This fall, we will be offering Inquiry to Action Groups (ITAGs) in addition to our regular programming. An ITAG is a study group focused on education and social justice. Participants engage in collective study and group reflection about a topic relevant to them and develop an action project together at the end.

Our goals with ITAGs are to: 1) Provide public school educators (particularly New Orleans transplants) with small group spaces to deepen their analyses of how systemic oppression impacts student experiences by learning with and from community members who are most affected by education injustice. 2) For transplant teachers and community members to develop action projects together that respond to needs in the community. “Action” simply means doing something public with the knowledge gained, like raising awareness around a particular issue or engaging in advocacy. In New York, ITAGs have produced resource guides for parents and teachers on supporting English Language Learners and led to the creation of an annual conference on supporting LGBTQ students.

Our first 2 ITAGs will be on the School-to-Prison Pipeline in New Orleans and Cross-Cultural Communication. Anyone who is impacted by education injustice in New Orleans is invited to participate. We will be offering transportation, childcare, and food so that meetings are accessible to everyone who wants to be there. Our aim is to have 10 to 15 participants in each ITAG to start.

ITAGs will be co-facilitated by a member of the NTRT member collective and another person with knowledge and experience in the area of study. In general, these people will be parents, students, organizers and activists in the struggle for a just education system in New Orleans. The non-member co-facilitator will receive a stipend for their work.

ITAGs will meet weekly over a 6-week period beginning late October. At the end of the series, participants will showcase their action projects at a public event.