American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten was among a group of protesters arrested in Philadelphia last evening, March 7, for engaging in civil disobedience to protest the city’s proposed public school closures.
AFT is fighting a wave of public school closures across the country.
There are 15 DC public schools scheduled to close in June.
Last week DC Public Schools Examiner also reported that DC public charter school Septima Clark PCS is also scheduled to close in June, leaving parents without other local options.
AFT Northeast Regional Director Mark Bostic is asking for public support, especially from fellow teachers and AFT members.
Referring to Weingarten's arrest, Bostic is asking other leaders and educators to show support "for this courageous action."
' Tell Mayor Michael Nutter to fix, not close, Philadelphia’s public schools.'
Mayor Nutter and the School Reform Commission want to close 29 of their city’s public schools, which Bostic characterizes as:
'...a reckless strategy that won’t help kids and won’t save money. These harmful closures will only destabilize neighborhoods and destroy schools.'
Local teachers, parents and community members are standing together to demand a moratorium on harmful closures. Bostic is urging readers to:
'Sign the petition—Tell Mayor Nutter to fix, not close, Philadelphia’s public schools.'
Follow Randi Weingarten on Twitter.
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