The Promise and Ways to Reclaim It; National Day of Action!

Throughout this nation there is a sense of frustration. In the land of opportunity much has been lost. At birth, in this democracy, we are promised life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Quality education for all helps ensure the latter two of these. Our founders understood this truth and proclaimed, as do we, if we are to remain free We need:

[Click to Download the Full Text.] There are ways to Take Action. [See the Summary of Events, Listed by Location., the Flyer, a petition, and also Contacts e-addresses, listed below. We thank you for being a part of “Reclaiming the Promise.”

Over the last year, community groups and teachers unions have taken unprecedented steps to forge an alliance to work together to reclaim the promise of public education as our nation’s gateway to democracy and racial and economic justice. We share with you the “The Principles that Unite Us The National Day of Action on Dec. 9^th is our next step.

Teachers, parents, students and communities have been facing unprecedented attacks on their public schools, jobs and civil rights. These attacks raise fundamental questions: Will public education continue as a truly public institution that aspires to provide all students with an equal opportunity to learn? Will the labor movement survive as a strong voice for economic justice?

Teachers unions and community groups organizing for educational justice are uniquely situated to help lead the fight for the future direction of our country. But neither the union nor the community can win the battle alone. The promise lies in uniting as genuine partners to develop and organize around a shared vision for improving our schools and creating a more equitable society.

The National Day of Action builds upon the alliances that have been established over the last few years among union, community, youth and parent groups on a range of educational and social justice campaigns. Examples of joint work include:

• Fighting back against school closings that adversely affect students of color and their communities;
• Community support of the teachers’ strike in Chicago;
• Organizing against the excessive use of standardized testing;
• Organizing to ensure there are just laws to protect the rights of immigrants; and
• Organizing community-union town hall meetings in cities focused on developing grass-roots solutions for our struggling schools, involving more than 3,000 people and 60 community organizations.

Most recently, more than 100 community groups and teachers unions developed and endorsed a statement that articulates those principles, “The Principles that Unite Us,” our common vision for public education—a vision distinct from a corporate agenda that rests on a system of winners and losers. Now, these partners are transforming the principles into the seeds of a national movement.

It begins on Dec. 9^th with our National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education: Our Schools, Our Solutions. We will be saying YES to “The Principles that Unite Us,” and NO to the corporate agenda for our schools; YES to great neighborhood public schools for all students, and NO to privatization, school closings and overtesting

Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ) | Jonathan Stith
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) | Eric Zachary
Annenberg Institute for School Reform | Leigh Dingerson
Dignity in Schools Coalition | Liz Sullivan-Yuknis
Gamaliel Network | Laura Barrett
Journey for Justice Alliance (J4J) | Jitu Brown
Leadership Center for the Common Good | Kyle Serrette
League of United Latin American Citizens | Luis Torres
National Education Association (NEA) | Brian Dunn
National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Cassie Schwerner
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | Bill Ragen

The National Day of Action—coordinated public actions organized by community and union partners in cities across the country—is the first step in coordinating and amplifying our voices, to be followed by multi-city and multi-state campaigns and larger actions in the spring.
We ask you to join us!

Onward to December 9th and the building of a community-union movement for educational equity and excellence!