Hi John,

Firstly, I want to share our sincere gratitude to everyone who joined us to support AQE and celebrate our honorees last night: Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, neuroscientist, parent leader, and organizer; Johanna Garcia, parent, community leader, activist and Chief of Staff to Senator Robert Jackson; and the Resistance Revival Chorus.

As we reflect on this year, there is much to celebrate. The historic investments that we won for schools in this year’s state budget has the potential to change the experiences and opportunities our children have in their public schools for years to come. Last night, we said thank you to the generations of parents, community leaders and students across New York State, year after year, put their bodies and hearts into this difficult, but necessary fight.

Contributions of individuals like you are what drive AQE’s work. If you haven’t had a chance to make your donation, it isn’t too late to give. We hope you will continue to fight with us.

Click above to watch the video: CFE: A Victory Decades in the Making

We would like to thank our host committee for their support, and our co-chairs: Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller; Cynthia Nixon & Christine Marinoni; and Jumaane Williams, New York City Public Advocate. And a special thanks to Melissa McMillan, for your moving performance.

This victory doesn’t mean our work is done. New York State has committed to taking a major step toward racial and economic equity in education. Now, we turn ahead and begin the work to hold the state accountable to that commitment, and carry educational justice forward.

We hope you will continue to fight with us and support the work of AQE. The fight to hold New York State to its obligation to fund public education has always been deeply steeped in racial justice. We are grateful to each and every one of you for joining us to stand up for New York’s public school students.

In solidarity,

Jasmine Gripper

Alliance for Quality Education