We propel community-powered change in schools.
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Tiny Catapult organizes spaces for young people, their families, and the schools that serve them to address the root causes of inequity and expand the imagination of what schools must be.
We catalyze collective action to actively build just learning environments that affirm the full humanity and potential of every young person they serve.
WHO WE ARE
WHO WE ARE
Shari Lawrence
Shari Lawrence
Shari (Black; she/her) is an experienced educator, storyteller, and facilitator living in Los Angeles on Tongva land. She began her career in education as a New York City public school teacher and has continued working in the field to build a future of school where Black, Indigenous, and young people of color are affirmed and can thrive. Her approach to school design and community engagement focuses on equity, imagination, relationships, joy, and abolitionist teaching practices. She is also Christina's friend and collaborator.
Christina Jenkins
Christina Jenkins
Christina (she/her) is a teacher, printmaker, parent and neighbor living in Sacramento on Nisenan land. She designs learning environments by building intentional boundaries within which young people and adults experiment with ideas and build new ways of being. She taught for a decade in New York City public schools, where she led a classroom that sparked curiosity, strengthened creative imagination and launched civic projects.
Christina (she/her) is a teacher, printmaker, parent and neighbor living in Sacramento on Nisenan land. She designs learning environments by building intentional boundaries within which young people and adults experiment with ideas and build new ways of being. She taught for a decade in New York City public schools, where she led a classroom that sparked curiosity, strengthened creative imagination and launched civic projects.
OUR WHY
OUR WHY
We're motivated by the belief that schools can thrive as places that celebrate every young person they serve. In the United States, schools have historically been designed for conformity, efficiency and standardization. This is an oppressive model that harms all young people, especially those whose identities are traditionally marginalized.
Our process is rooted in affirming the expertise, autonomy and unique circumstances of the schools we support. We believe that schools – and the diverse ecosystem of young people, families, educators, and communities that sustain them – have the power and obligation to protect and nurture every young person’s potential.
OUR PRINCIPLES
OUR PRINCIPLES
PROCESS IS PRODUCT
We value process and relationships as much as the final outcomes.
ACOUNTABILITY
We follow the lead of those most affected by the outcomes through a process rooted in active consent.
PAST / FUTURE
We facilitate a community-led process that benefits from the work that preceded us and advances a restorative, sustainable future.
JOY
We organize spaces that ignite joy and gratitude through human connection to foster healing.
TRANSPARENCY
We work to acknowledge and remediate the explicit and implicit power dynamics that impact our engagements.
OUR WORK
OUR WORK
We partner with schools and districts to lead workshops that provide an initial entry point into this work, offer coaching on community engagement strategies, and facilitate a community-led design process that leads to long-term, sustainable change.
While each school community will customize Tiny Catapult's offerings to meet their unique needs, by the end of these engagements our partners will:
While each school community will customize Tiny Catapult's offerings to meet their unique needs, by the end of these engagements our partners will:
Deepen their understanding of the lived experiences of the young people and the families that they serve to determine what’s working and not working about the current school model and what’s getting in the way of building a more just, affirming learning environment
Shift adult mindsets towards more equitable approaches of working with each other and the young people and families they serve
Work in solidarity with young people, families, and other community stakeholders to create a compelling vision about the future school you want to see
Draft and share an accountability plan that outlines how you’ll go from your current reality to your future aspiration
Build a diverse, engaged coalition to lead ongoing community-led change
OUR INFLUENCES
OUR INFLUENCES
Design Justice | We Want to Do More Than Survive | And Also Too | Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain | Liberatory Design Mindsets | Transcend | EquityXDesign Framework | My Grandmother’s Hands | Betye Saar | The Center for Urban Pedagogy | New Monuments Task Force | Colloqate | The D15 Diversity Plan
Interested in learning more about our work and discussing a potential partnership?
Email us at connect@tinycatapult.com to schedule a conversation.
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