By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Since taking office in January, the 47th president has moved swiftly to erode the American education system— seeking to dismantle the Department of Education, cutting grants to universities, withholding funding for public schools and promoting universal private school vouchers.
These actions were the central focus of a Sept. 26 panel hosted by the National Education Association (NEA) during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) Annual Legislative Conference (ALC).
Rebecca S. Pringle, president of the NEA, contended that the 47th president’s assaults on public education are part of a broader effort to undermine democracy.
“Educators have always been on the front lines of not only educating students, but also the general public about when we are descending into an authoritarian regime. Let me be clear, that’s what’s happening,” said Pringle. “That’s why they’re going after public education, so our babies don’t have the critical thinking skills and collaborative problem-solving skills they need to solve not only the wicked problems we’re facing today, but those they will face as they are the leaders of a just society.”
Shavon Arline-Bradley, president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), pointed out that education has historically been used as a tool to advance civil rights. She reflected on the strategies of Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the NCNW, and the late Dorothy Height, the organization’s longtime president, emphasizing their belief that education was central to freedom.
She told educators that the legendary women would call on them to activate their “Harriet Tubman selves.”
“If you are an educator, if you are in the education industry, if you have been called by God to educate, then you are the freedom liberator of the world. The problem with this legacy is that we’re not teaching teachers who they really are,” said Arline-Bradley. “You’re not just here to activate curriculum, you’re here to set up character into the future of a liberated people.”
Connecticut Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who was named the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, stressed that policy must activate progress, not just power. In other words, votes, seats and majorities are meaningless without policies that create real outcomes for educators, students and families.
One policy she uplifted is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that dates back to 1975 though under a different name. It ensures that students with disabilities have access to free and appropriate public education, tailored to their individual needs.
Hayes emphasized that fully funding IDEA is particularly critical for Title I and low-income school districts, which already face limited resources.
She also called for policies that lower the cost of education without relying solely on loans and grants, and she emphasized the need for higher pay for teachers.
Hayes urged teachers to double as advocates in the fight to protect the American education system.
“You have to grow where you are planted. Everybody in this room is not going to run for Congress, but everybody in this room lives somewhere or works somewhere where they could get involved in local election, could make sure they’re at curriculum meetings, could make sure that their alternate or city council is writing the checks for the programs and services in which we intend here,” said Hayes. “This is a symbiotic relationship, and now is not the time to tap out.”
