Social Media Advocates

Paper City – Stop the School to Prison Pipeline: Facebook Page paper city

This is the page of the documentary “Paper City” which tells the story of how Holyoke, Massachusetts fell from being the world’s paper capitol to America’s arson capital, how the school-to-prison pipeline is being experienced by youths in the city, and how youths can rise from the ashes and realize their potential outside of the criminalization track.1 The page’s timeline contains factual posts about the school-to-prison pipeline as well as information about film festivals that the documentary has participated in and awards that the documentary has won.

Urban Youth Justice: Facebook and Twitter urban youth justice

Urban Youth Justice is a non-profit initiative focused on the rights of urban youth and on how law and policy impacts them. One of the initiative’s main goals is to eradicate zero-tolerance policies and replace them with Restorative Justice methods, and they are currently campaigning for police accountability in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.3

StopSchooltoPrison: Twitter

@StopSTPP is a twitter account based out of Washington, DC that advocates for ending the school-to-prison pipeline and NC_ActionCamp_Poster_400x400the policies that facilitate the pushing of youths out of schools and into the criminal justice system. The twitter account tweets information about news regarding the issue and shares the campaigns of other groups that also seek to end the school-to-prison pipeline. The account affiliates itself with the twitter account of the Advancement Project, which is a large national civil rights organization also based out of Washington, DC.4

CNS: Twitter CNS Philly

@CNSPhilly is the youth-driven “campaign for nonviolent schools” out of Philadelphia. The campaign seeks to address where violence stems from and to end the school-to-prison pipeline. The twitter account tweets about news regarding the issue, shares the campaigns of other groups, and advocates for Restorative Justice alternatives to discipline.5

Kelly Turner: Twitter

Kelly Turner (@sympleequazion8) is a self-proclaimed re-entry Kelly Turnerspecialist, author, and youth mentor who helps youth that have entered the school-to-prison pipeline to get out and onto a healthier track.6 After serving time at the Central California Women’s Facility for the minor offense of forgoing a check, Turner launched Symple Equazion, an organization that runs cognitive behavioral therapy sessions for at-risk youth from Sequoia High School and from Iris Garret Juvenile Justice Correctional Complex. She also gives youth the opportunity to do community service and to attend youth leadership camps across California and has written a book about her experience in prison called The Art of Frowns to Smiles.7

atriskyouth-school2prison: Tumblr at risk youth

This tumblr account “At Risk Youth: The School to Prison Pipeline” serves as a resource for the public to learn about the  school-to-prison pipeline and how similar schools can be to prison. The account blogs and reblogs about news, statistics, and reports regarding the school-to-prison pipeline and the environments youth are in when they attend schools with harsh disciplinary policies.8

Lansing School To Prison Pipeline Committee: Facebook Page lansing

The Lansing School to Prison Pipeline Committee is a community committee out of the city of East Lansing, Michigan. The page promotes collaborative efforts in order to end zero tolerance policies that have increasingly led to suspensions and expulsions in their schools and eventually to the incarceration of youths. The page posts about news regarding school discipline, policy forums going on in the area, Webinars, school-to-prison pipeline facts, school discipline research, and various media regarding the issue.9

Ohio Coalition to Eliminate the School to Prison Pipeline: Facebook Page ohio coalition

The Ohio Coalition to Eliminate the School to Prison Pipeline is an online coalition with the goal of “eliminating all aspects of the School to Prison Pipeline.” The group’s current central focus is to eliminate zero tolerance policies and replace them “with a more nuanced approach to discipline.” 10 They are trying to get a bill passed that would, if passed, accomplish this goal by eliminating zero tolerance policies and replacing them with more progressive alternatives. To view this bill, Bill 167, click here.