Our Demands

  • Schools can play an instrumental role in supporting and nurturing our students, but only when they're adequately and fairly funded.

    Rather than closing schools or turning them over to private, unaccountable managers, we must work to support and build up our schools as strong public institutions in the heart of each and every community.

    We need schools that provide wraparound supports and services for students and their families and act as anchors for their communities.

    Public education must include an engaging, robust, and well-rounded curriculum that includes not only strong academics, but also the arts, sports, and other creative activities that address the diverse needs of our children and prepare them for college, career and active citizenship.

  • The rise of high-stakes standardized testing has pitted schools against each other, narrowed the curriculum, and reduced teaching and learning to a bubble test.

    Test scores are an obsolete measure of student growth and more accurately reflect students’ out-of-school circumstances rather than the impact of schools and teachers.

    We must not hold school funding or teachers’ jobs hostage over a single score.

  • Exclusionary school discipline policies and policing in schools are ineffective, and target students of color and students with disabilities, increasing the likelihood that a student will be pushed out and become involved in the juvenile justice system.

    Restorative practices, mediation, and other alternative discipline policies allow students to learn from their mistakes without excluding them from the classroom, and they provide a safer and more supportive school climate.

  • The success of our nation's public schools rests on creating a pipeline of quality resources and opportunities from a child's earliest years through higher education.

    As of 2021, there were approximately 23 million children between the ages of 0 to 5 in the United States. Each of these children deserve the chance to attend a high-quality, free, pre-kindergarten education to ensure healthy development and prepare them for school.

    Accessible, affordable and high quality postsecondary education is necessary to meet workforce needs and ensure a steady flow of civic-minded, educated community leaders.

    We must ensure a path to educational opportunity for undocumented students and families, including language access to facilitate participation in the school community.

  • While public schools can be a stairway out of poverty, equally important is a living wage that ensures more hardworking families have the time and resources to dedicate to their children.

    As America’s inequality gap grows, we must do more to support children and families both inside and outside the classroom by creating sustainable community schools.

    We believe that schools should promote inclusivity and celebrate differences through the teaching of honest history and curriculum.

    Communities affected by climate change or housing crises are the same communities who attend our schools. In order to care for all, we must care about all aspects of life that affect our students, teachers, staff, families, and community members.