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PD ALERT! ELL 589

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FREE FOR MEMBERS

Photo of AFT President Randi Weingarten addressing TEACH 2023

The AFT has always been a solutions-driven union, and our new campaign, launched during TEACH on July 21, proves it once again with a fresh, practical approach to strengthening public education. As AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out during her keynote speech, the $5 million, yearlong campaign, “Real Solutions for Kids and Communities,” stands up against attacks on public schools and offers real-world solutions to build up, rather than break down, our communities.

Randi Weingarten at a Massachusetts high school

Summer is upon us, and parents, children and teachers are winding down from what has been an exhausting and fully operational school year—the first since the devastating pandemic. The long-lasting impact of COVID-19 has affected our students’ and families’ well-being and ignited the politics surrounding public schools. All signs point to the coming school year unfolding with the same sound and fury, and if extremist culture warriors have their way, being even more divisive and stressful.

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

A Message from New DCF President Lucy Squire

Dear Members,

I’m so honored to be serving as your President. I am currently a 3rd grade teacher at Copper Mesa Elementary, and this is my 18th year teaching; 3rd and 4th grade are my jam! I think it’s vital that we have a current teacher in this role, and one who has been in the district. I am a passionate advocate for students and for this profession, and I do wholeheartedly believe in DCSD and see this as an opportunity to help the district move in the right direction.

I joined DCF when I started teaching in 2005. I’ve also served on the Executive Board and am one of Copper Mesa’s

Randi Weingarten and NYC teacher Tamara Simpson

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

PD ALERT! ELL 589

PD ALERT! Foundations for Effective Teaching

Weingarten launches new campaign: ‘Real Solutions for Kids and Communities’

Smears vs. solutions

What unions do

A Message from New DCF President Lucy Squire

In defense of public education