ONE by ONE event will elevate the voices of Duval County youth
12/7/2011
ONE by ONE event will elevate the voices of Duval County youth
Jacksonville Public Education Fund holds Student Voices, a conversation with students to elicit their aspirations and solutions for public schools
JACKSONVILLE, FL - More than 70 youth will be in attendance on Saturday, December 10, at Student Voices, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund's ONE by ONE event intended specifically for high school and college students.
As part of the year-long ONE by ONE initiative, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund is seeking to have more than 1,500 people participate in conversations throughout Duval County. The goal is to identify the community's priorities for public education, then put those ideas into action.
The Student Voices event will gather more than 70 students at a event emceed by Al Letson, a Jacksonville native and host of NPR's State of the RE:Union. After a series of performances and lunch, they will break into small group discussions to talk about their aspirations for our community and our schools.
"It is rare that we as adults ask our youth what should be done to improve education," said Trey Csar, President of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund. "The ONE by ONE campaign aims to change that. We believe that everyone has solutions to bring to the table."
Student Voices will be strictly for young people: Youth will be the only participants in the conversations, and the discussions will be facilitated by trained high school students from Young Leadership Jacksonville.
Student Voices will begin at 1 p.m. at the Murray Hill Theatre, 932 Edgewood Avenue South and will begin with a performance by ONEpush, a youth team that is raising awareness about ONE by ONE through music, drama and other performance art.
Media are invited attend for live coverage. Students featured in the ONE by ONE campaign and officials with the Jacksonville Public Education Fund are available for interviews.
Through dramatic portraits by local photographer Ingrid Damiani, theONE in THREE: Let's Solve Our Dropout Crisisexhibition displays the faces and stories of 20 current and former students of Duval County Public Schools. The exhibition aims to get viewers involved in the Jacksonville Public Education Fund'sONE by ONE: Transforming Our Future Together campaign. It is on display now at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, where it will remain until January 9, 2012. Thereafter, it will move around the city, one neighborhood at a time.
Over the next year, ONE by ONE will bring together thousands of Jacksonville residents from every neighborhood to speak out about what our public schools need and document closely what is said. The goal is not simply to talk. From those ideas, a volunteer-led Community Advisory Team will create an action plan that truly represents our entire city.
Students featured in the exhibition are set to become the leaders of the ONE by ONE campaign and are available for interviews, video and photos.For interview opportunities and scheduling, contact Deirdre Conner at 904-345-0597.
For more information about ONE by ONE and the exhibition, go to www.onebyonejax.org.
Presenting sponsors of the ONE in THREE exhibition are:
Brunet-García Advertising
The Chartrand Foundation
Corporation for Public Broadcasting(as a part of the American Graduate Initiative)
Cynthia G. Edelman Family Foundation
EverBank
Regency Centers Corporation
State of Florida(School District Education Foundation Matching Grant)
David A. Stein Family Foundation
Jay and Deanie Stein
J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver