Are Street Protests Next in the Fight Over Education Reform? | The Nation

Are Street Protests Next in the Fight Over Education Reform? | The Nation:

Are Street Protests Next in the Fight Over Education Reform?

Showdowns in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City and beyond have turned out parents and teachers in droves—and revealed how out of touch education reformers really are.

Amy B. Dean 

July 31, 2013   |    This article appeared in the August 19-26, 2013 edition of The Nation.

• 
• 
• 

Shay Hillsman calls out to fellow demonstrators before being arrested during a Chicago Teachers Union protest. (REUTERS/John Gress)

“As it stands now, if nothing changes, the schools are going to have to open without any adults in the large spaces where kids gather,” predicted Philadelphia public schools parent Michael Mullins in late June. Mullins has two kids in the public schools and is secretary-treasurer of the city’s hotel and stadium workers union, UNITE/HERE. In late May, the Philadelphia School District approved a “doomsday budget” cutting almost $300 million from the schools and resulting in the layoffs of 3,783 people—19 percent of the school system’s workforce. The budget also threatened to get rid of arts, music and athletic programs, as well as librarians, secretaries, counselors and playground aides, unless the state or city council could come up with emergency funding.

About the Author

Amy B. Dean

Amy B. Dean is co-author of A New New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement. She worked...

Also by the Author

Student Activism as the Tip of the Spear: Raising the Minimum Wage in San Jose(Social Justice, Living Wage Campaign,Activism)

A group of thirty San Jose State students recently put their studies into practice and launched a campaign that has gained the support of young labor activists, community groups and faith-based organizations—and now the city of San Jose could see a pay raise because of it.

Amy B. Dean

Doing Green Jobs Right(Labor, Environmental Activism,Environment)

Activists in Boston shape energy policy through new community-labor alliances.

Amy B. Dean

21 comments

In response, Mullins joined a group of parents and laid-off school workers in a fast starting June 17 in front of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s Philadelphia office. “We wanted to represent the sense of crisis we feel inside and make it public,” said Mullins. “I think there is a hunger for more direct action,” he added, in order for “the seriousness of this as we live it to reach the decision-makers.”

More people stepped forward during the fifteen-day fast to reinforce this conviction: Philly’s Fast for Safe Schools featured a rotating cast of twelve parent activists and school employees who fasted from three to eight days each. The activists chose to end the fast on July 1, after securing a partial win: Corbett put forward a new funding package that added $140 million back to the school district. The package combines loans with state and city funds, which the activists

Read more: Are Street Protests Next in the Fight Over Education Reform? | The Nation http://www.thenation.com/article/175532/are-street-protests-next-fight-over-education-reform#ixzz2ajayoLH6
Follow us: @thenation on Twitter | TheNationMagazine on Facebook