BUILDING A NATIONAL MOVEMENT WITH AROS FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ALL OUR STUDENTS DESERVE

WHEREAS, the purpose of public education is to help students at all educational levels develop the skills and knowledge they need to be prepared for successful and fulfilling lives; and

WHEREAS, educators every day make a difference in the lives of students, working to foster the joy of learning and to create a welcoming and safe environment that engages students in powerful learning, safe from bigotry and hate; and

WHEREAS, this election period has unleashed an environment of fear and hate, and many students—particularly immigrants, Muslims, girls, Latinos and other youth of color, LGBTQ students and those with disabilities—have felt the effects of this, and fear the effect President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed policies will have on their safety and their families and homes; and

WHEREAS, America’s public schools, which educate 90 percent of our children, face an unprecedented challenge to their very existence from a president and his nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, who seek to destabilize and defund public schools and end public education as the key opportunity agent for the nation’s children; and

WHEREAS, DeVos and her family have spent millions of dollars to defund and destabilize public schools, and to promote private school vouchers and for-profit charter schools with little or no regulation, transparency, accountability or respect for civil rights or the Constitution’s separation of church and state; and

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers is committed to protecting our students, our schools and institutions of higher education, and our communities; and

WHEREAS, the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools was formed out of local coalitions, with the AFT playing an important leadership role, and has now grown into a national community-union alliance for educational justice; and

WHEREAS, AROS is leading a national campaign for the public schools all our students deserve, and has already organized three days of nationally coordinated “walk-ins,” with more than 100,000 people participating in 300 cities and several thousand schools and campuses, highlighting full funding and support for community schools, calling for more teaching and less testing, demanding that all schools that are publicly funded be held to the same high standards, and calling for fair funding for public colleges and universities; and

WHEREAS, member engagement and working with community partners are essential to safeguarding our values and aspirations:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers reaffirms its commitment to protect our students, our public schools and institutions of higher education, and our communities; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT recommits itself to reclaiming the promise of public education at all levels, and to making every public school and college campus a place where all students are engaged in powerful learning and feel safe, welcome and valued; and

RESOLVED, that to advance this purpose, the AFT supports the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools national day of action on Jan. 19, 2017, to protect our schools and institutions of higher education, communities and students; and

RESOLVED, that Jan. 19 will also be a day to affirm the value of public schools, colleges and universities; to support sufficient funding and evidence-based strategies to strengthen them; to ensure that schools and colleges are sanctuary spaces free from racism, bullying and risk of deportation; and to call for the rejection of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will work to mobilize affiliates throughout the nation—joining with AROS to make Jan. 19 a powerful moment in the building of our movement to fight the president-elect’s agenda to dismantle public education, and to ensure that all students have the opportunity to pursue their dreams free from fear.