Education advocate and fellow education blogger Helen Gym Is Running for City Council!
Great news from Philadelphia…. Philadelphia: Helen Gym Is Running for City Council
More information as it becomes available. Diane Ravitch ported the following earlier today;
Helen Gym, the articulate and tireless parent advocate for Philadelphia public schools, is running for City Council.
Here is a 30-second video of Helen.
She has already been endorsed by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
Here is the speech she delivered at 5 pm today.
Helen Gym: Campaign Announcement
February 9, 2015
February 9, 2015
I stand here filled with gratitude to see so many of you here. I have given a lot of speeches over the years but it is a lot easier to give a speech about an injustice that must be fought, or students who need to be supported than it is to talk about… myself. But standing here, seeing so many friends and so many people that I respect, calms my nerves a little a bit, and makes me realize how lucky I am, and how lucky we all are, to live in a city with communities like this one.
Although I have lived here for almost thirty years, I wasn’t born in Philadelphia. I grew up in Ohio, the daughter of Korean immigrants. We didn’t have much, but I was fortunate enough to grow up in a neighborhood that had public parks where I could play, a public library where I could read, a public rec center where I could swim, and most importantly, public schools where I got a great education. That education formed me, like it formed so many of you. It unlocked the possibilities of the world. It was a social contract, and it influenced how I think about the possibilities, not just the limitations, of government throughout my life.
I moved to Philadelphia for college, met and married a wonderful man, and immersed myself in this city. I taught at Lowell Elementary School in Olney. I joined amazing organizations in this city – like Asian Americans United. I became a mother and started raising my three children in this city, and I worked alongside so many amazing mothers and fathers dedicated to re-envisioning our public schools.
I helped found the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, to raise up their voices as well as those of teachers, school staff and students. I helped found a school that breathed life into culture and practices that value multilingualism, community and served many immigrant families. I founded Parents United for Education advocate and fellow education blogger Helen Gym Is Running for City Council! | EduBloggers: