By Bob Braun
The assault on public education isn’t confined to Newark or Montclair or Highland Park or Camden. Not confined to Chris Christie’s New Jersey. It’s a national phenomenon and countering it will take a national pushback. The beginning of that pushback just could be Dec. 9 when a national coalition of educational, parent, community and civic groups launch “A National Day to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education.”
At a teleconference yesterday, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, outlined plans for a coordinated “day of action” in cities and towns throughout the country, most of them aimed at enlisting parents and community members in the fight against the corporate takeover of public education.
“We’re reclaiming the collaboration we have always had with parents in support of all public school students,” Weingarten said. She added the National Education Association also is a partner in the effort that she hopes will be followed up by sustained efforts to keep public education well-funded and out of private control.
New Jersey organizations in the coalition include the Newark Teachers Union (NTU), the Education Law Center, and New Jersey Communities United.
Bob Braun :: Fight Back Against the Assault on Public Education: Dec. 9 Day of Action
John Abeigon, the NTU’s director of organization, said union members would begin “Fight Back Fridays” by dressing in black and talking to parents about how the policies of Gov. Chris Christie and his agent in Newark, superintendent Cami Anderson, would affect children in the state’s largest city.
He cited the recent disclosure that Anderson is working with charter school operators to create citywide school applications. Abeigon pointed out that schools in the East Ward are overcrowded while those in the South and Central Wards are under capacity so the plan would require cross-district busing.
“People want their neighborhood schools to be fixed,” he said. “They don’t want to be put up against a wall and forced to bus their children across town.”
The NTU has scheduled a rally for 3:30 pm Dec. 9. The theme of the local union’s efforts the day of action are demands for “racial equity, fair funding, and local control of our schools.”
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