Hi Friend,

The start of a new school year should be a time of new beginnings, excitement, and joy. But right now in D.C., we have seen our communities become the latest target of intimidation, harassment, and disinformation by the Trump administration. 

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is hosting an emergency Zoom meeting on August 22nd at 2 PM to educate D.C. parents and caregivers on ways to keep our children and students safe in these unprecedented times. 

It can be scary to see ICE, FBI, DHS, and other federal agencies walking our streets in significantly increased numbers, harassing our neighborhoods, and disproportionately targeting our Black and Brown community members. 

Schools should be spaces that nurture our children and foster room for growth and development. Together with the AFT, we’ll learn best practices from the educators who protect our kids, lessons from Los Angeles parents who have been dealing with ICE for months, and ways to support our kids as they travel to and from school.

Sign up here!

We hope you can join us, as well as other parents, educators, local union leaders, and community activists!

- Kristin, Kelsey, Olivia, Ruth, Beatriz, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

---------- Forwarded message ---------

Date: Wed, August 20, 2025
From: American Federation of Teachers
To: Friend
Subject:🚨INVITE for ALL DC Parents: Emergency DC Parent Zoom Friday, Aug 22 at 2 PM ET

Dear fellow parents with children going to school in Washington, DC: 

School starts on Monday for many kids in the District. This should be a “most wonderful time of the year” kind of moment for parents who’ve been juggling childcare, camps, summer slide, and bored kids. Instead, many families are in knots of anxiety about what is ahead of us. 

Our kids are going back to school on Monday while DC is flooded with National Guard troops from other states, ICE agents intent on making quotas by ripping apart families in our community, and masked federal forces who do not treat all our children with the respect and care every child deserves. 

What should be a day of joy, celebration and silly first-day photos is instead becoming the source of deep fear for many of our friends, community members, and loved ones. 

We can’t let this happen on our watch.

Please join me and other parents, educators, local union leaders, and community activists for an Emergency DC Parent/Caregiver Zoom Friday, Aug 22nd at 2 PM to prepare: REGISTER HERE

On the call, we’ll learn: 

• Best practices from the educators who protect our kids 
• Lessons from Los Angeles parents who have been dealing with ICE for months
• Ways to support our kids as they travel to and from school from local organizers with Free DC 

This is a call for families with children in DCPS schools. While these issues are impacting children and families and schools all across the country, there will be other opportunities for people to coordinate nationally and across state lines. This one is specific to the challenges facing families in the District right now, so please help us get the word out. 

Share this invitation with your parent listservs, PTA email lists, or wherever you connect with your school community. 

Our kids belong in classrooms. We are going to unite and work together to make clear that ALL our kids belong in classrooms–not home in fear, not hiding in the shadows, not profiled on the sidewalk or the bus, not trapped in detention centers. These children and their families are members of our community, and we are going to do our part. 

RSVP here!

Michelle Ringuette

Washington, DC parent

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