The Class of 1970 Fund for SGORR-Student Group on Race Relations has been established in September 2022 at the Shaker Schools Foundation. The initial class gift in the amount of $8,000 is the result of our generous classmates who provided sponsorships for the 50 + 2 reunion and the class gift. 

To help us grow the Class of 1970 Fund for SGORR, perhaps in honor or memory of someone, please go to the website for the Shaker Schools Foundation at https://shakerschoolsfoundation.org/donation-form to make a donation today. Be sure to designate the Class of 1970 Fund for SGORR.

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Why did we pick SGORR to be the focus of our Class of 1970 Fund?

This is an excerpt from the first page of our 1970 Gristmill which was entitled "Education: A Preparation for Today and Tomorrow."  

"America is experiencing the effects of social, economic and political polarizations, which take the form of black-white, dove-hawk, and rich-poor confrontations." This could have been written in 2022!

The initiative that aligns very closely with addressing social justice and race relations is SGORR, the Student Group on Race Relations. SGORR was founded in 1983 by a group of students along with a Shaker teacher, Mrs. Marcia Jaffe, who saw that friendships forged between black and white students in elementary school began to dissolve as students entered the seventh and eighth grade. In order to try to preserve black-white friendships throughout middle school and high school, SGORR students created and facilitated a personal development and diversity education curriculum for sixth-grade students. Today, with over 250 high school students trained as facilitators each year, the organization has expanded its influence from just sixth-grade classrooms to reach more diverse audiences.

Through student-led community forums on issues such as racial achievement gaps, injustices in the criminal justice system, and privilege, SGORR seeks to initiate and sustain dialogues about human relations and social justice, while giving any student, faculty, or community member a platform to be heard. In addition, SGORR members help to equip younger students from Shaker Heights’ fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades with the vocabulary and tools to address and discuss racial or other social issues that they perceive in their schools or society. SGORR students also travel to other school districts and venues to facilitate activities that educate about diversity and promote inclusive environments.

Annually, the SGORR leaders go through a training and leadership course. Our class will fund this important initiative and help them launch a social justice tour following Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's life and legacy.

If you want to get actively involved in SGORR, please connect with:

Holly Coughlin, Executive Director, Shaker Schools Foundation 216-903-6730