Angie Sullivan, second grade teacher in Nevada, gives thanks. If you want to thank Angie, a tireless advocate for her students, write her at angiesullivan0@gmail.com

 

Angie writes:

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

I am grateful for public schools which are central to American opportunity.

 

Public schools are the main protectors of social justice.

 

Public schools are central to democracy.

 

We educate everyone – no matter the need.

 

Public schools take all students.

 

My students are the center of my life.

 

We need to protect public schools not drown them with unfunded mandates while withholding resources. We will fail if Nevada continues to withhold resources while increasing demands every year.

 

Experiments across the USA to educate communities of color by forcing them into charters without skilled permanent labor are failing. Corporations and groups want to devalue what teachers do. It does not work. It is a scam.

 

See Detroit.

 

See the lawsuits.

 

Policy that there is no need for skilled labor and union busting did this.

 

Communities of color need to demand a neighborhood public school with RESEARCH BASED instruction. They also need to demand authentic education not just test preparation.

 

Communities of color need to demand a real permanent skilled veteran teacher. Filling at-risk schools with young folks who had five weeks of training one summer – does not work. Filling at-risk schools with large number of ARLs and Subs has got to stop. It is our communities of color without real teachers.

 

Teachers should not be temporary. Hiring warm bodies without pedagogy is a real problem in at-risk schools in Vegas.

 

Teachers know there is not a quick fix. We know literacy is hard work not a quick fad or gimmick to make someone outside the school cash. Real teachers are not on our way to a school board seat or some other position. We do not whisper in the ears of power. We do not have a public relations firm which announces all our achievements.

 

We just take care of kids.

 

We do the job – but we are tired of being abused.

 

Detroit is Vegas.

 

If we do not fight charters, this will be us at a rate of six schools in the ASD a year. Yes, ASD legislation did this to Detroit. Charters did this to Detroit. Union busting did this.

 

If our community does not stand up and demand funding for at-risk public schools – this will be us. We are being starved into failure.

 

We will be drowned in lawsuits. All students who do not have a real teacher -should be demanding one.

 

The reformer experiment has failed in Nevada. Nevada charters are failing.

 

The full data needs to be reported.

 

The reformer experiment destroyed Detroit. Detroit’s charters are failing. Detroit’s ASD failed.

 

We do not need to repeat the mistakes other places make. We need to change our laws to get our charter mess under control

 

I am grateful for public schools.

 

I am grateful for my sweet students and their families.

 

I am grateful for democracy and America.

 

Home Means Nevada.