Dr. Ashish Jha put it best: By working together, we can protect our kids and communities against the spread of COVID and keep our schools open so everyone can thrive. Glad we could join the @WHCOVIDResponse & @NEAToday for this webinar.
This morning we had a very special visit at the Wheatley Education Campus here in DC! It’s a great example of how to accelerate learning this year. First I got to read to students and talk with staff about #whatkidsneed & what they need.
We talked with Principal Plenty, @WTUteacher building reps, and students about the successful implementation of Looping last year. Looping is when an educator has the same class from one year to the next.
And the best part about looping for students? Having a consistent, familiar, and supportive educator with them through the highs and the lows of school!
After joining @FLOTUS, @AmbRice46, @SecCardona, and @SecMartyWalsh at the White House today to discuss the country's teacher shortage, I spoke with @CNN about the solutions we discussed. 🧵
As I said on @CNN, we have to do something about the compensation. We have to do something about the conditions. We have to do something about making sure that teachers have the tools, trust, and respect.
Teachers want to make a difference in the lives of kids, but when you want to raise a family, and you want to live in the communities in which you teach, and you want to buy a home, it's really hard to make ends meet when you know you can get paid 20-25% more in another job.
I had a fantastic day in Houston with @UnionmanTX, @TexasAFT and so many education leaders from around the state. Thank you Zeph for organizing this fantastic discussion about the teacher and schools staff shortage crisis.
We started the day with a roundtable with district leaders, union leaders and experts to talk about tangible solutions to the shortages.
43,000 teachers left teaching in Texas last year. With massive numbers like that, we need to work together on real solutions to the teachers and school staff shortage.
Whether it’s book bans, “divisive concepts” bills that chill teaching of history, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, or masking fights, the goal by ideologues (as opposed to parents) is the same: sow distrust to destroy public Ed. Thank you @AymanMSNBC 4 the convo:
Rufo himself said "To get to universal school choice,you really need to operate from a premise of universal public school distrust. To sow & grow that distrust, you have to create your own narrative frame,& have to be brutal & ruthless in pursuing it."
Excluding higher ed workers from the CO collective bargaining bill is a missed opportunity to help the tens of thousands of CO faculty & staff struggling for a living wage, respect & rights at work, after years of repression and exploitation. aft.org/press-release/…@ColoradoAFT
Opponents shamefully searched for every excuse in the book to avoid giving these workers a voice. College administrators earning 6 figures distorted facts about their schools’ financial standing, when the truth is they are sitting on billions in reserves. aft.org/press-release/…
And, sadly, this bill was also undercut by some elements of the labor movement, who reasoned that if the bill wasn’t perfect—and it wasn’t—or they weren’t going to benefit maximally, no one else should either. aft.org/press-release/…@ColoradoAFT
Losing in Virginia is rough. But it is important to understand why we lost and to look at what happened on the issue of education in other parts of America.
And frankly, as results come in, we are seeing big wins for pro-public education candidates in places where parents and educators worked together.
In Virginia Glenn Youngkin successfully drove a culture war message that exploited people’s concerns about #covid disruptions. It divided people. Misinformation was rampant. For ex,no one has to stop CRT from being taught in VA schools,because it’s NOT taught in VA public schools