3rd grade. Do you remember your third grade? For me, it’s the smell of warm peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as I opened my lunchbox, the sound of crinkly sheets of multiplication tables, and memories of my single mom scrambling to get me to class. Mrs. Upton, my Springhill Lake Elementary homeroom teacher, helped hold it all together. She meant the world to me and has my lifelong gratitude. (If you’re reading this Mrs. Upton, thank you).

* TAKE ACTION: Sign here to tell Congress not to make devastating education cuts.

(If you have time, you can also powerfully support local teachers by making a handwritten note thanking a homeroom or favorite teacher. After that, post a picture of your thank you note on social media with #ThankYouTeachers to help show a community of support. And then, if you can, also give the note to a special teacher in your life).

This is not a drill. A bill in the Republican-led U.S. House Appropriations Committee would cut federal funding for Title I schools by 80%. This bill would reduce education funding more deeply and drastically than ever before. A decision like this would devastate our students and schools – at the same time that schools are facing harmful book bans, censorship, harm, and toxic political calls for inaccurate curriculum.

This funding helps fill in gaps for schools that have been historically underfunded for generations—schools in predominantly Black, brown, and rural areas. In fact, 53% of students nationwide benefit from the enhanced support and smaller class sizes Title I provides. 

Why is this an emergency right now? Schools are being turned into battlegrounds by hate groups intent on dividing parents for political gain. Teacher shortages are worsening. In most states, teacher vacancies grew by at least 35 percent. [1] Classrooms and schools are becoming volatile, difficult places for teaching and learning – and this is pushing teachers out of the profession. Politics of hate and division are harming teachers and students. And, as this is happening, budget battles are happening in our nation’s capitol right now.

Your voice is needed. Public school for me – and for so many of us – opened up possibility and promise. At school, I learned the true, real history of our nation. I explored ideas in math and science. My imagination and empathy were opened by books. And school was also a center of stability and a safe place to grow.

Public schools, students, teachers, parents and families are under attack. Far right extremists are lying to divide parents, to turn our schools into political battlegrounds, and to use our children as political footballs.

We won’t stand for this on our watch.

* TAKE ACTION: Sign here to tell Congress not to make devastating education cuts.

(If you have time, you can also powerfully support local teachers by making a handwritten note thanking a homeroom or favorite teacher. After that, post a picture of your thank you note on social media with #ThankYouTeachers to help show a community of support. And then, if you can, also give the note to a special teacher in your life).

If you’re outraged, you’re not alone [2]:

• 94% of moms support schools “providing an honest, accurate, and age-appropriate education.”
• 78% of moms say that “a few parents should not be able to ban books from schools.
• 80% of moms agree with “teaching students age-appropriate truth about pregnancy, sex, and sexually transmitted infections.”
• 91% of moms agree that “schools play an important supporting role in children’s development of self-respect, personal responsibility, and social skills like anti-bullying.”
• And, four in five moms (82%) agree that “children – whether they are transgender or not – learn best when they trust their teachers and feel safe to be themselves.”

Let’s have our schools backs. Tell Congress that we need fully funded public schools without bans, censorship, harm, and inaccurate curriculums that are based on politics not facts.

The new school year is a time to remember that every student deserves the freedom to learn, to attend a safe & welcoming public school, and to learn from a qualified educator who is deeply committed to their success.

Most parents and caregivers are eager for their students to open their textbooks, open their lockers, and be open to learning the new ideas and skills they need to reach their full potential. These families look forward to working with the educators in their children’s lives to open doors to a better future.

* DON’T FORGET TO TAKE ACTION: Sign here to tell Congress not to make devastating education cuts.

(And don’t forget to also make a handwritten thank you note to a teacher too! If you have time, you can also powerfully support local teachers by making a handwritten note thanking a homeroom or favorite teacher. After that, post a picture of your thank you note on social media with #ThankYouTeachers to help show a community of support. And then, if you can, also give the note to a special teacher in your life).

Hate and censorship is not who we are: Moms and teachers work together every day to find solutions – and we’ll keep working together no matter who tries to divide us.

We are stronger than the bans, censorship, and hate that’s bringing culture wars to our classrooms and denying our kids the chance to learn. We stand for our children. We trust educators and parents, not politicians, to ensure our kids get the best education possible.

And to be clear: Study after study shows, hard-working moms don’t want hate and harm anywhere near our schools, instead moms want and need a care infrastructure that lifts our families, businesses and economy [3]:

• 86% of moms strongly favor access to high quality, affordable child care and pre-K for all children;
• 84% of moms strongly favor access to high quality, affordable health care;
• 81% of moms strongly favor access to high quality, affordable elder and disability care;
• 79% of moms strongly favor 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave; and
• 74% of moms strongly favor community-based intervention services aimed at reducing gun violence.

* In short: We know what we want and need, and it’s not attacks on schools and teachers. So after you sign the letter to Congress, please share the action link on social media and with your friends and family to help protect schools:

Here’s the link -> https://action.momsrising.org/sign/no_cuts_to_schools/

The more of us who raise our voices, the stronger we are together in combating the hate and harm being thrown at our schools.

Thank you for joining us in standing for schools, students, educators and parents.

P.S. We’ve already created some “Thank You” notes for inspiration (or if you’re short on time) that you can download here. Don’t forget to take a picture of it, and post it on social media with #ThankYouTeachers (and then send it into school with your child if you have time to).