Every parent, student, educator, and community member has a vision for the vibrant public schools that Philly deserves. Whether your vision is of community control, culturally-relevant pedagogy, sanctuary schools, or simply sufficient staffing and resources, we believe that the only way to make our vision for Philly schools a reality is by coming together to share ideas, build our skills, and working together. 

On Saturday, November 4th we hope you will join us for our 4th annual Working Educators Convention to share YOUR vision for Philadelphia's public schools. We invite EVERY educator, education advocate, and community member to join us for a day of building our skills, learning together, and discussing key public education issues with workshops organized by leaders in education, union, and justice work from all over the country. Plus, breakfast and lunch to break bread together, and childcare will be available to make sure everyone can join us.

Can you make it? Can you invite a fellow educator, parent, or public school advocate to join us? 

We are thrilled to have a keynote address by Erica Smiley, a progressive labor leader and Jobs with Justice's National Organizing Director- and a closing address from Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) President Barbara Madeloni!

P.S. Check out Barbara Madeloni on Friday night for a free and public speech on "Pedagogy and Power: The Essential Role of Teacher's Unions in Movement Building", as part of the Critical Theories of Education Today Conference at the Friends Center!

Here's the full agenda:

Building Power through Organizing: 4th Annual Convention

Sat, Nov. 4, 2017 (9:00am-4pm), Old First Reformed UCC, 151 N. 4th Street

9:00-10:00am, Registration & Breakfast

10:00-10:45am, Keynote

“Building the 21st Century Labor Movement: Confronting White Supremacy to Build Shared Bargaining Power” by Erica Smiley (Jobs with Justice)

11:00am-12:00pm, Breakout Session 1

• Worksite Mapping (Kathleen Brower):  Participants will learn how to build an effective organization and worksite structure to mobilize a super-majority of their coworkers.

• Critically Examining Race Inside the Classroom and Beyond (Ismael Jimenez, Keziah Ridgeway, Angela Crawford):  The session will explore the multiple manifestations of racism within our society and how to purposefully address racism inside and out of the classroom.

• Decentering Whiteness In Our Classrooms and Schools  (Charlie McGeehan & Monica Clark):  This session is intended to help educators who identify as white unpack the role their whiteness plays in their classrooms, schools, and daily interactions. Participants will leave with strategies to bring this work to peers at their schools

12:00-1:00pm, Lunch

1:15-2:15pm, Breakout Session 2

• Tools to Build Power: Using Surveys to Move People to Action (Christi Clark & Zein Nakhoda): Participants will leave with an understanding of how to use WE’s new survey, skills to respond to tough questions, and a plan to engage more educators in taking action.  

• Expanding Sanctuary Inside Schools and Out (Max Rosen-Long & Edwin Mayorga):  How can we create “sanctuary schools” that support students and families across issues of culturally relevant teaching, policing and ICE in schools, and parent-school relationships? Help develop a framework to make sure our schools are empowering for all students, educators, and families.

• Organizing to Save Our Schools: (Tonyah Bah, Kendra Brooks, Andres Celin, & Amy Roat) Hear how students, parents and teachers are organizing together to fight against threatened school takeovers (through SGS, Turnaround, Renaissance Charter, Closure, etc.)

2:30-3:15pm, Closing

“Union leadership and the dismantling of white supremacy” by Barbara Madeloni (President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, EDU)

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] or post in the facebook event. We can't wait to see you!

(Pictured above: photos from last year's 3rd Annual WE Convention)