World Teachers’ Week in the US saw thousands of teachers, students, parents and community members participating in a “walk-in” to schools across the country to advocate for quality public schools.
AFT: Investment needed
“For too long, policymakers have pushed misguided ideology on public schools,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and member of the Education International (EI) Executive Board. “Funding cuts, high-stakes testing, school closures, and market-based competition have left too many children – especially black and brown students and poor students – without a fair chance to pursue their dreams.”
The arm-in-arm walk of parents, educators, students and communities on 6 October was organised to call for the investment needed to ensure every child in America can attend a high-quality public school, she said.
NEA: All in for public education
National Education Association (NEA) members also participated in the action. “We know what can happen when students have the opportunity to learn in environments that are safe, adequately funded, inspiring, and positioned to help them reach their full potential,” said NEA President and EI Vice-President for North America and Caribbean Lily Eskelsen García.
“All of us – students, educators, parents and the entire community - are all in for public education,” she stressed.
Mass mobilisation
Local organisations of the AFT and the NEA were joined in large cities and small towns – from Boston to Los Angeles, from Duluth, Minnesota to Bristol, Connecticut, and New York City to Washington, D.C. – by civil society organisations, civil rights groups, professional organisations, and other unions in a mass mobilisation that took place in more than 150 communities and more than a thousand schools.
Alliance for democracy and justice
These mobilisations are part of the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS), which represents over seven million people nationwide. The AROS is fighting to reclaim the promise of public education as the country’s gateway to a strong democracy and racial and economic justice. The Alliance believes that the best way to ensure each and every child has the opportunity to pursue a rich and productive life is through a system of publicly funded, equitable and democratically controlled public schools. The general AROS pledge is available here