Thread by @AFTunion

This afternoon President @rweingarten is joining the @TaubmanCenter's School Choice in the Post-Pandemic Era conference. 🧵

Since the beginning of August, I have visited scores of public schools in 20 states and territories, 40-50 schools in 30 different localities. @rweingarten

And I'm saying that because from Petaluma to Puerto Rico, the joy students and staff feel to be back in school, in-person, is palpable. @rweingarten

But that joy and the return to some kind of normalcy don't mask the fact that students are returning with immense needs—anxiety, depression, the effects of social isolation, trauma, loss and stress; and academic and physical needs. @rweingarten

To answer your question: for this year, it's a year for students recovery and revivial. @rweingarten

This is a moment to create safe, welcoming and supportive environments in every school––note I said every school––so we can help kids not only recover from the disruptions of the past 20 months but to thrive. @rweingarten

Yes, of course the pandemic affected every student’s education. I empathize with parents trying to figure out what kind of schooling they want for their kids. @rweingarten

The percentage of children attending public schools is virtually unchanged since before the pandemic—around 90%. @rweingarten

Frankly, I expected a far higher percentage of families to opt to temporarily homeschool their children, or to enroll them in private schools or virtual schools this year given fears about COVID and the volatile debates around safety protocols. @rweingarten

What it says to me is that families are valuing public schools and what public schools are for: for academics, of course, as centers of community, and where children eat healthy meals, access healthcare, and find social and emotional supports. @rweingarten

The pandemic changed so many things in our lives. Did it change the school options families should have in the post-pandemic era? For me, it’s not a question of school choice versus no school choice—but of what kind of school choice and to what ends. @rweingarten

There is a robust history of public school choice in the United States. @rweingarten

We both have different views of this evidence. If you really believe in school choice, you would work to ensure public schools are a viable choice. You would support investments in public schools to strengthen them, not defund them to make them unattractive. @rweingarten

Why don't we look at what we can do this year in all these different sites and programs and come back together again to discuss what works and what's not working? @rweingarten

Why don't we try to have a different conversation? @rweingarten

Schools are not a commodity they are a public good. @rweingarten

Our education system must not further fracture society. It must not create winners and losers. It must promote quality, equity and opportunity. @rweingarten

The AFT put out the first report, of any organization private or public or otherwise, about how to reopen schools in April 2020. We had done all of this work and begged the Trump administration for the resources we got from the Bide administration. @rweingarten

You can find the AFT's blueprint for reopening here: aft.org/our-community/…

Teachers have wanted to be in school, understood how important it is. If we are going to change the trajectory, we need to change the way things are talked about. @rweingarten

We have actually worked with parent groups, minority parent groups, and done various different polling among the past seven months and we've been very transparent when these have been put out. @rweingarten

There are not both sides of the Holocaust. There are not both sides of slavery. We have an obligation to all children, to our society at large to teach these things and not further fracture. @rweingarten

If we allow and enable bullying and violence as opposed to real conversations with each other, it really threatens our way of life. Whether we're democrats, republicans, independents: we have to come together on those issues. @rweingarten

I would hope that what we'll see is more & more kids being in-person & not so socally isolated. I think that's far better for kids and there's lots of reasons for home schooling instead of the remote option, but I don't think we can draw conclusions on that just yet. @rweingarten

We have been begging to have an accountability system in private schools so that we can move away from a 20 or 30 year fixation on testing toward the project based learning that you've seen be successful in career schools. @rweingarten

In terms of action civics, part of what happens in a private school is that you have much more time to be actively engaged in terms of civic participation and sevice learning. That's the kind of space and time we need in public schools. @rweingarten

You cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. Public options have to be properly funded. @rweingarten

I think that what you're seeing in rural America in this push to keep their public schools is because it is one of the remaining viable institutions of creating community. @rweingarten

There are a lot of people pushing for a lot of good things so we need to be careful when we talk about this but there is a lot of history. @rweingarten

There is a lot of history that the first people who pushed for choice were doing it in repsonse to Brown v Board and not wanting to have integration in schools. I think we need to be careful about acknowledging that history, owning that history and changing things. @rweingarten

So first let me also again say thank you for having this conversation. At the end of the day, education is a key opportunity agent for our kids. @rweingarten

It is imperative for our economy and, frankly, I think it is a way of recreating the beloved community that is necessary to nurture a democracy, regardless of our ideoolgies. @rweingarten

Parents needs to have a place they want to send their kids, a place where educators want to work, and most importantly a place where kids thrive. @rweingarten