Dear Friend, <[link removed]>



Imagine being a ten-year-old in an Oakland classroom of 30 students. You might not be sitting at a proper desk and chair; maybe your chair is too small, or you have to sit on the floor. It's loud and hard to focus. You might raise your hand for help with a problem, but your teacher is juggling the needs of 29 other students. It's hard to get the education you deserve. But it doesn't have to be this way.Teachers are fighting back, and we're standing with them. Join me in the fight for fairer wages and smaller class sizes – pitch in to help East Bay DSA support Oakland teachers in their contract campaign >> <[link removed]>



Research suggests that learning is most effective in elementary school when the student to teacher ratio is less than 18:1. But in Oakland public schools, teachers can be overloaded with 30 or more students. Without reasonable caps on class sizes, the school district treats children like they are cut from the same cloth and all have the same needs. But some students are multi-language learners, have chronic health conditions and trauma, or read below their grade level, and they need different kinds of supports. And teachers cannot give their students the individual attention and strong support they require when they have so many students to look after. That's why Oakland teachers are demanding a cap of 26 students for fourth and fifth grade, and as low as 20 for kindergarten.



Of course, the fight won't be easy. Our opponents – billionaires and their allies in the school district – want to keep Oakland schools underfunded, or even close them, as part of their long-term game to attack education as a public good. That's why East Bay DSA members like you are showing up with our bodies and our resources as teachers fight for a fair contract for themselves and their students. <[link removed]> Our support can help teachers win the respect and dignity they deserve. Let's break down what your contribution does:



- $15 buys art supplies to make signs

- $28 buys a box of coffee for teachers at rallies, informational pickets, and on the picket line, if they strike

- $100 pays for a box of 200 fliers from a union print shop

- $500 buys meals for all teachers on the picket line for an entire day, if there's a strike



Make your contribution now to show up for Oakland teachers >> <[link removed]>



Teaching is hard enough as it is. Andeven though we live in "liberal" California, teachers have still come under fire for doing their jobs. They have become a popular target for far-right extremists pushing an anti-education agenda. Here in Oakland, the attack on teachers and public schools doesn't look like it does in Florida, but the outcome is the same: a few wealthy people erode public education and move our schools toward privatization. Billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, via the Oakland School Board members they've backed, want to cut funding to public education and funnel resources into charter schools – some of which they own themselves. 



If the teachers decide to strike, we'll be right there. East Bay DSA has a history of standing in solidarity with teachers on the picket line. We've brought food and coffee and joined teachers in standing up to billionaire privatizers. Striking is hard, and teachers depend on community support in order to be successful. We can't do this alone. We need your help to fight for the dignity of teachers and students. Help us fight for better schools for our children – pitch in to East Bay DSA as we support Oakland teachers >> <[link removed]>



Solidarity,



Paul Frank Mallon

Fundraising Team Member

East Bay DSA







-=-=-

East Bay DSA - United States

This email was sent to [email protected]. To stop receiving emails: [link removed]

-=-=-



Created with NationBuilder - [link removed]