Clinton, TN – CDF Freedom Schools® Site at Proctor Institute

CDF asked children, college students and caregivers to “freedom dream” with us. At every site, our partners from the Ink Factory situated a big whiteboard with colorful sticky notes to visually capture what we heard.

About the Site

This summer, we redefined the role of expert to center the lived experiences of the children, youth, and caregivers we serve. In Tennessee, we visited the CDF Freedom Schools® site at Proctor Institute in Clinton. We asked CDF Freedom Schools parents, caregivers to share their experiences and challenges faced in their community and schools.

When asked what is happening in their community or the world that makes it hard to raise children, many shared their concerns on lack of resources for families, gun violence, rural isolation unemployment, and cost of childcare. Key focus areas also included overall health and healing, family economic mobility, and early childhood development.

CDF Freedom Schools community members also offered a response to the question we raised: What should we be doing to make change for the children? The public education system, the lack of Black and Brown teacher representation in schools, and inadequate parent-child time spent together were identified as top issues.