John,

My name is Marlena Simmons, and I’m a teacher at White Plains High School in New York. My students and I were so excited to have special guests in our educator pathway class yesterday; I want to share a bit about how it went.

We welcomed AFT President Randi Weingarten, AFT Vice President and White Plains Teachers Association President Kara McCormick-Lyons, our Superintendent Dr. Joseph Ricca and Principal Emerly Martinez to our classroom yesterday morning to participate in a discussion about different ways to engage all learners in a classroom, so that they feel welcomed, valued and are available to learn.

We were honored to have them visit because the national union is celebrating Career and Technical Education Month in public schools—and unless you’re living under a rock, you know that public school teachers really need some celebrating right about now (more on that later)!

This specific reflective activity had my kids very engaged because they got to consider both the role of an educator and the perspective of a student. We’re showing these kids that getting a public school education is about more than taking tests and copying notes off PowerPoint slides—we are preparing these students for careers of the future by giving them the skills they need to thrive.

Randi and Kara asked a lot of questions about the students’ work, and the kids were happy to share details about their fieldwork experiences at the elementary school, draw on their personal experiences, and the pedagogical strategies they have explored in our class.

After the kids went on to their next class, the grown-ups got into an honest discussion about the current political attacks against public education, and I heard about how important the AFT’s Protect Our Kids Day of Action on March 4 is to protecting the funding our kids really need.

Hearing more about the day of action was invigorating because everyone I have spoken with in public education—students, parents, teachers, paras, administrators—is scared about our kids’ future if vital federal funding is cut by the current administration.

We have to do something to make it clear that Americans want to protect public education. Next week we have a national opportunity to all come together in our communities to speak out.

Gutting the Department of Education’s funding means fewer teachers and support staff, more crowded classrooms, and increased mental health and behavioral challenges, at a time when our competitors are investing in their kids and trying to out-educate us. It also means 12 million kids across all 50 states could lose funding for these cutting-edge career and technical education programs, which provide a pathway to the jobs of the future.

I know we have an action planned through our union in White Plains, but Randi and Kara also asked to tell folks that online actions, local leafletting and rallies are happening nationwide on March 4. You can sign up to host your own event here.

Maybe it’s that the excitement of the classroom visit is still fresh and so exciting, but I am really looking forward to the Protect Our Kids Day of Action and hope you will register to host an event on March 4, too.

To my fellow educators and school staff, I know how hard you work to create a lifelong impact on your students.

To my fellow AFT union members, your solidarity gives me hope.

To anyone else in the AFT community reading this, thank you for fighting for public education and opportunity for all of our kids.

Thank you,
Marlena Simmons

White Plains Teachers Association member
New York State United Teachers member
AFT member