Commentary: WASHINGTON— Today, community leaders, parents, students, and educators rallied at public schools in more than 200 cities across America as part of a national day of action. A diverse array of education stakeholders are joining together to stand for public education, for safe spaces for all of our kids and for a shared vision of cooperation over corruption and cronyism. As we await a new presidential administration that has signaled it will be hostile to a just and inclusive vision for public education, the Alliance to Reclaim our Schools (AROS), of which the National Education Association is a partner, organized today’s events. Parents, educators, and students gathered in front of their schools to affirm that if Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos follow through with their destructive anti-student ideology, we will continue to stand for students and work to strengthen our public schools.
NEA President Lily Eskelsen García spoke to more than 150 supporters attending an event at Grand View Elementary School in Los Angeles this morning. “Students learn best when they feel safe,” Eskelsen García said. “No election, no president can change who we are as educators. Trump and Betsy DeVos must hear that this means we will not tolerate bullying rhetoric toward Muslim students, sexism towards our young women, racial attacks on our students of color, isolation of our LGBTQ learners, or threats of deportation towards our immigrant students. This is what education justice looks like.”
“At a time when it is a radical act to merely declare that all students, regardless of ZIP code, deserve a safe and inclusive public school, we want Trump and DeVos to know we will fight for policies and practices that strengthen our public schools, not dismantle them,” said AROS Director Keron Blair. “AROS stands in resistance to the divisive policies of Donald Trump, as well as the privatization of schools that is championed by Betsy DeVos and destroys our communities, particularly communities of color.”
Today’s actions gave students, educators, parents, and community allies the opportunity to mobilize together and will uplift three specific national demands for Congress and the incoming Trump Administration:
• Schools and campuses must be safe spaces from the threat of deportation, racism and bullying.
• The Senate should support public education by rejecting Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos, who has spent millions of her family fortune to destroy public education.
• Policymakers must increase investment in public schools, make the billionaires and Wall Street pay their fair share, and protect Title I education funding.
AROS is a national alliance of parent, youth and community organizations, and labor groups, including NEA, fighting for educational justice and equity in access to school resources and opportunities. Leaders from NEA, AROS, and local actions are available for further comment and interviews. For more information, contact Richard Allen Smith, NEA Communications, or visit reclaimourschools.org.
Follow NEA on Twitter at @NEAmedia
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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing nearly 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. Learn more at www.nea.org.