Occupy Schools

Occupy Schools™ is a national initiative to empower parents to be active, involved and engaged in their children’s schools and to send a clear message that parents are partners in their children’s education. Occupy Schools™ starts where academic success begins - at home – where our mothers and fathers pledge to build strong educational foundations for their families. It will continue into schools and communities across the country, as parents from all walks of life commit to spending more time in their children’s schools, communicating regularly with teachers, sharing ideas and exchanging information with administrators, and holding themselves and others accountable for providing children with the type of high quality education they deserve.

Occupy Schools™ was born out of a deep desire and relentless passion to improve the educational outcomes of our children. In 2012, Mocha Moms, Inc. was invited to participate on a conference call with Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, to discuss released findings of a study conducted by the Department of Education. Among other findings, the study reported that African-American students:

• Have less access to challenging courses in high school;
• Are taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers; and
• Are over three times more likely to be suspended or expelled from school when compared to white students.

Unfortunately, what was true in 2012 still holds true today. Educational outcomes have not improved for black and brown children and the Global Pandemic of 2020 only exacerbated the problem. We are going to do our part to put an end to these devastating statistics. Studies show that regardless of the school or the school district, academic outcomes improve for children whose parents have positive and frequent communication with teachers, are actively involved in the PTA, attend school activities and field trips, regularly monitor homework assignments, and who are actively engaged in the school community.

Mission

• To promote and foster parent involvement and engagement in the academic lives of their children.
• To encourage parents to be strong advocates for the education of their children, as well as other children in their communities.
• To help close the minority achievement gap in the United States.

Change begins with us. It’s time to act. It is time for us to Occupy Schools™.

View the Occupy Schools™ Pledge