Collaborating with Detroit's chapter of 482Forward, we have launched a campaign to remove police from our schools. Detroit is one of 8 schools in the nation that has its own police department. See how we plan to re-imagine our schools to be safer places on our Instagram!

As COVID19 turned everything upside down, we decided to meet once a week as a community of care. COVID19 impacted all of us different and if anything, our momentum as organizers accelerated because there was so much to do as we refuse to leave anyone behind. We will continue to meet virtually but we will meet less frequently over the summer. Stay tuned!

Our students are leading the way as Muslim students rallied the community to add Eid to the 2020-2021 School Calendar for Detroit Public Schools Community District. A video campaign was launched and then a district-wide forum was held to advocate for Eid to be included on the calendar.

Teaming up with our friends at 482Forward, our Youth Organizing Committee hosted virtual political education sessions on Instagram focusing on immigration justice. Highlights include a Q&A with DPSCD, analyzing the response to COVID-19, and uplifting local activists for their work.

To show support for our undocumented students and families, we called on our school communities to offer any support they could offer for families who need assistance during the pandemic. We created a Resource Guide to choose which local fund you would like to support.

Sign the pledge today!

Folx from Wayne State University offered their time and resources to teach Detroit students and families about the Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge which offers free tuition to Detroit High School students or Detroit residents who are receiving a diploma in 2020

As we were wrapping 2019, we hosted a holiday party for anyone celebrating in December. It was a great chance to connect with new folx, share great recipes, and enjoy all the cookies.

For our November potluck, we gathered at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn to learn about sanctuary schools from our dear friend Seydi Saar, founder of ABISA (African Bureau of Immigration & Social Affairs) and program associate at Detroit Public Schools Community District.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Rapid Response Detroit, Title Track and Grace in Action honored MiStudentsDream with a benefit concert from Joe Reilly and Lori Fithian. All proceeds were donated to MiStudentsDream and we were so blessed to have their support as we all continue to fight the good fight.

Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County joined us in Corktown for a training on Trauma Informed Practices & Care Training, specifcally focusing on the trauma and PTSD our immigrant and refugee students and families experience.

We were amazed at DPSCD's announcement that the district was officially a Sanctuary Distrct. We attended the formal announcement at Western International High School that also included a Q&A from students, staff, families and community organizers. It is a great first step in protecting our immigrant students and families but the work continues!

As we continue to advocate against the separation of families, we were angered to hear that Aaron Hull, who oversaw the inhumane operations at the El Paso sector of Customs & Border Control, was going to be moved to Detroit. We demanded that Hull was to be fired as we do not want him in our facilities. We also were able to meet with Rep. Brenda Lawrence's constituent service coordinator Joe Miszcak who listened to our concerns about Hull's placement and immigration priorities.

As a new organization, we hosted a strategic planning session so we could become much more intentional with our goals and actions in the 2019-2020 school year. We spent three days at Wayne State University planning for a productive, informing, and powerful year.

We gathered at Uni (Urban Neighborhood Initiatives) in Southwest, Detroit to reflect and celebrate on our year. We discussed action steps around the school closure of Benton Harbor and shared how MiStudentsDream impacted us as teachers, students, and organizers.

At Congress of Communities in Southwest Detroit, we read and discussed the connection between Django Paris & H. Samy Alim's work on Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and education and immigration justice.

At Brilliant Detroit, Tania Morris Diaz, a Staff Attorney from Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, hosted a Know Your Rights training that informed us as educators, families and organizers on the process and how we can best support our students.