Izaiah Cole knows what he wants to be when he grows up. I want to be an engineer, the 14-year-old told a group of volunteers at the We Got This urban garden on N. 9th and W. Ring streets last Saturday.
Izaiah and two other boys have been working with founder Andre Lee Ellis for weeks to get the garden ready so other boys can learn to grow fruits and vegetables in an area long classified as a food desert.
The boys also walk the neighborhood, picking up trash and debris with mentors, and they get the chance to talk about whatever is on their minds, including trauma they may have experienced.
Facing the task of helping more than 70,000 students recover from the pandemic as state lawmakers are poised to hold education funding flat, Milwaukee School Board members are scheduled to vote Thursday on a tight annual budget and historic temporary infusion of federal stimulus dollars.
Amending the plans already put forward by administrators, board members have called for several new programs, including more trades courses and a major expansion to the district’s Black and Latino Male Achievement program to offer mentorship and other support for female and LGBTQIA+ students of color.
Students and community leaders have asked for some additional changes. At a rally Wednesday night, students with Leaders Igniting Transformation called for more mental health services and less spending on security. Though the district previously cut contracts with police, the district still employs 274 safety assistants.
Community leaders weigh next steps after Chauvin verdict
Community leaders weigh next steps after Chauvin found guilty
Advocates weren t sure that the verdict would be guilty before the jury delivered it, but they are now focused on equality and change.
MILWAUKEE - Community leaders across southeastern Wisconsin are weighing in on Tuesday s Derek Chauvin guilty verdict and what it means for the country and social justice movements.
The murder conviction of a police officer is rare. Advocates who spoke with FOX6 News Wednesday weren t sure that the verdict would be guilty before the jury delivered it, but they are now focused on equality and change.
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