Commentary: American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President, Stephanie Ly, released the following statement after holding statewide events in support of public education and schools:
“New Mexico educators are proud to have taken part in the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools’ national day of action. It is empowering to know hundreds of parents, students, educators, and community members from New Mexico joined with tens of thousands more across the United States to bring attention to issues that impact our public schools and education institutions.
“Across New Mexico – and across the country – public educators, students, parents and communities are sending a clear message stating that a free and fully funded public education must continue to be a foundation for our communities and our country.
“In New Mexico, we know our communities stand with educators and share our values, and today’s actions are especially timely given the unprecedented undermining of public education not only here in New Mexico by Secretary of Education Hannah Skandera, but also the potential of Betsy DeVos as US Secretary of Education.
“Educators, students, parents, and community members must remain vigilant as the New Mexico Legislature continues to debate our State’s values over the next two months, we will continue to use our voices to ensure that New Mexico’s public schools and educators are not harmed by misplaced priorities and hurtful cuts from the Executive branch.”
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Statewide AFT NM locals including the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, McKinley County Federation of United School Employees, and Gadsden Federation of Teachers joined with the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) today as part of a nation-wide effort to highlight issues that are critical to public education. Photos and video from today’s actions can be found by searching for #ReclaimOurSchools on both Twitter and Facebook.