ForwardLA: Why Protecting Immigrant Families is Integral to Green Dot’s Mission
On December 2nd, United Parents and Students will host a summit on issues facing our communities in Los Angeles facing Green Dot parents and students. This series will explore the focus areas of ForwardLA: A Day of Justice.
Green Dot’s position on supporting immigrant families and students is no secret, but protections for immigrants have been a concern for longer than they’ve made headlines. Now, we’ve reached a critical moment on this issue.
Denigrating rhetoric continues to divide the country and endanger our communities of color and immigrant families. At Green Dot, we aim to continually use our educational platform to teach students and families about the importance of respect and fairness of opportunity both inside and outside of school walls; this is engrained in Green Dot’s approach to supporting students on all fronts, and fighting for immigrant protections means staying true to our mission. No student should have to deal with the weight of feeling unwelcome in this country or the threats of having their loved ones taken away from them. All students should feel physically, emotionally, and mentally safe within our schools, so that they can learn inside the classroom and thrive outside of the classroom.
Having respect for others is one of our core values. A greater America is one that allows all to be part of the ‘American Dream.’ Immigrants, DREAMers, and undocumented individuals are part of our communities and welcome in our educational spaces. You can’t create prerequisites for educational opportunity; striving for knowledge, growth, and success is universal. If we work together to cultivate learning environments based on inclusion and empathy, we can build a world where we all feel we can achieve long-term success and help future generations do the same.
We pride ourselves on being a family of high-quality public charter schools that stop at nothing to give our students the tools they need to succeed. This year’s ForwardLA: A Day for Justice will serve as a convener for Green Dot families and other committed community members. We look forward to continuing to lead an action-oriented initiative that will help our communities determine strategies to support immigrant families and make Los Angeles a comfortable home for all. Now more than ever, it is important for us to step up and serve as true allies to immigrant families–whether that be volunteering time to fight for immigration reform or finding reliable lawyers to help families with paperwork or other legal matters. Together, we can promote change by empowering immigrant communities and connecting people with the resources and support they need to protect themselves.
We must immerse ourselves in creating safe and welcoming environments for the sake of our students and their futures. We want all our students to grow at Green Dot and beyond, and to do so, we pledge to help create a world that doesn’t restrict their lifelong growth, but instead, gives them the support they need to prosper. Alongside United Parents and Students, Green Dot looks forward to working towards this vision.
