ADVOCACY PLAN FOR DISMANTLING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE

The Arthur Project (TAP) is a nonprofit organization that pairs middle schoolers in the Bronx with Master of Social Work clinicians-in-training for professional mentorship. Through individual-, group-, and family-based work, TAP aims to “foster a profound sense of mattering” in their students in order to build cognitive, emotional, and academic skills for success. TAP engaged a Capstone team to formalize its understanding of the school-to-prison pipeline and identify opportunities to adapt its organizational model to include student advocacy toward its abolition. The team conducted a literature review of academic research and held interviews with peer organizations focused on youth advocacy and organizing against the school-to-prison pipeline, particularly within New York State. Based on its findings, the team produced an advocacy plan recommending best practices in programming, organizational structure, and evaluation metrics for dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, and strategies for how these practices can be implemented at TAP.