Right now, we are in uncertain times. The Trump administration is working to freeze federal funding as well as lay the groundwork to dismantle the Department of Education. Additionally, marginalized communities are feeling threatened by many of the executive orders being signed. There is a great deal of stress and anxiety as to what all of these actions will mean for us as public school educators as well as for our families and the students and communities we serve.
Just yesterday across our school district there were significant numbers of absences as our immigrant students participated in Un Día Sin Inmigrantes (A Day without Immigrants). We put out a statement yesterday in support of this mass action that you can read here. We will continue to advocate for and with our students to protect their right to an education.

With this uncertainty especially because of the rapid pace of actions being taken at the federal level, there has been increased tension particularly online within our union family. I urge us all to remember that, despite whatever differences of opinion we have on particular issues, that we have a common interest as educators who both work in the same school system and serve the same students. This is what brings us together as union members: we have joined in solidarity to improve our own working conditions as well as the learning conditions for our students. Please watch my video from Sunday as I share my thoughts about the ways we can maintain community through civil discourse.

At this time, many of us are trying to find ways to take action. We know that to win as a union we must organize our members. As we move to becoming an organizing union, we need to learn the strategies to win. Our union has the opportunity to participate in the 6-week Skills to Win training by the UC Berkeley Law Center. Check out this video to learn about the power of this training. If you are interested, please fill out this SIGN-UP FORM which has more specifics.
Finally, TONIGHT is the last in-person county budget town hall at Annapolis High at 6 pm. We’ve had a great turnout so far with educators calling on our elected officials to fully fund the AACPS budget. In fact, our efforts made it to the front page of The Capital newspaper last Friday. Let’s end with a strong turnout tonight!

There is one more budget town hall TOMORROW that is virtual at 6 pm for our Spanish-speaking community. It would be great to have some of our Spanish-speaking members there to advocate for funding the school board’s budget. If you can attend, register here.

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