Dear Friend,
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
>>
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. 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
>>
Teaching is hard enough as it is.
And even 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 >>
Solidarity,
Paul Frank Mallon
Fundraising Team Member
East Bay DSA
