POWER-PAC Co-Chair, Felipa Mena, is profiled in a new publication “Communities Turning the Tide on School Discipline,” produced by the Just and Fair Schools Fund.

The article (located on page 5 of the report) chronicles Felipa’s work in successfully bringing a Peace Center to Wells Community Academy High School that teaches students tools to handle conflict non-violently.

Her passion to bring the Peace Center to Wells was intensified when her son, a Wells graduate himself, was killed in an act of street violence. According to Felipa, “We want to give (the youth) other options to solve their problems. We don’t want them to be arrested for every little thing. We offer alternatives so that students can make positive decisions about their lives.”

Also featured in the report is POWER-PAC’s Elementary Justice Campaign victory in changing the Chicago Public Schools’ Code of Conduct to remove zero-tolerance and convincing CPS to come back to the negotiating table to make deeper changes in the Code of Conduct. (Check out that story on page 8.)

“Communities Turning the Tide on School Discipline” Report