Commentary: I’m Lily Eskelsen García, a former lunch lady who taught wonderful kids in Utah’s public schools and in a homeless shelter. I am proud to be here today as the president of the National Education Association, representing three million of the hardest working educators in every state. I come today to say a few words about public education in our country, and more specifically to focus for a few minutes on student opportunity and success.
Speaking as a classroom teacher, I can tell you firsthand that nothing is more important to educators than ensuring that every student, regardless of their ZIP code, has the support, tools and time to learn.
There is no issue more important to our future than education.
And that is why we ask you to keep these principles in mind as you begin to draft the Democratic Platform for 2016 and include language that will:
- Affirm that public schools should offer well-rounded programs to meet the needs of the whole child.
- Recognize and honor all the professionals who work in public schools
- Support programs to end the School-to-Prison Pipeline, making sure there are alternatives to harsh disciplinary practices that criminalize minor misbehavior and increase the likelihood of students leaving school without graduating.
- Support local public schools and community-based education, while opposing privatization of public schools and other schemes that undermine community-led solutions and democratic processes.
- Embrace the goal of debt-free public higher education and support loan forgiveness programs for public service and allowing students to refinance college loans.
As educators, our highest priority is student success.
Last year I had the privilege of attending the White House ceremony where President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act, officially ending the era of No Child Left Behind that had been so disastrous for our students.
And with this new law, we have in front of us a great opportunity to ensure success for each and every student. And because we know the law holds such great promise, we must ensure that its implementation does not undermine the better solutions for students described in the intent of the law. We can and must strengthen public schools not only by demanding equal opportunity for every student, but by empowering educators, parents and community leaders in decision-making.
We have the chance to put an end to the era of mandatory over-testing and punitive sanctions that became commonplace under No Child Left Behind.
We must now shift our focus on what matters most: inspiring students’ natural curiosity, imagination, and desire to learn. We can and must reduce the number of standardized tests, and provide students with a well-rounded education that includes critical thinking and problem-solving skills, reading, math, history, and science, as well as arts, PE, and music.
We can and must promote opportunities for all students to succeed by helping to end the school-to-prison pipeline and lift up — rather than knock down — our most vulnerable students.
We urge you to stand with educators and our students, and help ensure that all students enjoy the opportunities they need to succeed in today’s world.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to working together. And I am happy to answer any questions you might have about any of the issues I have raised or that you are discussing to help students, educators, and our public schools.