Here are some core things that if you know me, you know I believe/ advocate for:

• Parents have particular insights, experiences and knowledge about their children that are valuable and should be taken into consideration by educators, schools and districts
• Every child deserves the opportunity to have an excellent, free public education
• Many public schools, particularly those serving children with the highest needs (with high populations of English Language Learners, students in poverty, students of color, and students with disabilities), are heavily under-resourced and ask teachers to do more with less.  
• So many deeply committed educators are exhausted, continuing to work tirelessly, and trying to make a difference with students.  They are expected to be “miracle workers” yet treated with disrespect as professionals, low pay, difficult working conditions, and little access to ongoing quality professional development
• When we focus on proficiency rather than growth, we don’t meet all students where they’re at and provide appropriate differentiated instruction that can really help all students succeed and move towards their fullest potential.  Instead, we focus on students that are “close” to the next achievement level, in the middle, leaving many students to fend for themselves at the highest and lowest achievement levels.
• If we give federal funding to schools without requiring them to honor the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), we are allowing discrimination and taking away the rights and choice of parents of students with special needs, and these students themselves, to have appropriate opportunities and equitable access to quality education.
• Guns don’t belong in schools. Neither do Grizzly Bears.
• When we take away money from public schools, we are taking away from students who already have the least choice.  School choice vouchers, while appealing on the surface, particularly for someone like me, who is in the middle class and would love to have quality education subsidized for my children, are not enough to cover most private school tuition.  This also does not include transportation and childcare costs involved in sending children to private schools, uniform requirements, materials, etc.  When we divest in public schools, we leave these schools and teachers with even less resources to support students who have the fewest options and who can be rejected from a private or charter school based on behavior, student need or lottery.
• I am, and will always be, a champion of public education.  As a graduate of public education K-PhD, a teacher in public schools (middle school-university) and a teacher educator, I know that strong public education is at the foundation of strong democracy.

I see the writing on the wall, but it really doesn’t change my work.  Public educators committed to equity for all students have always fought within a system that perpetuates inequality.  It has always been my reality as an educator.  I know I  must continue to fight, to advocate, to use my voice to help people to understand why something that seems positive or harmless actually does an incredible amount of harm to many, many children.  I know that some people will try to explain to me why choices against public education could benefit them personally (or me personally) or their children (or my children) and justify their beliefs in that way.  I get it.  You do what you need to do. We’re all trying to do best by our children.  It just depends on how you define “our” in the our children part.

But this is my work, the work I was called to do.  To prepare the best teachers to serve ALL students and to advocate tirelessly that these teachers have adequate working conditions and contribute to our greater societal good.  I hope you’ll find a way to contribute to the renewal of public education as well.