Remember to wear your Black Lives Matter t-shirts and buttons this week!  Pick a day - starting tomorrow - that works for your building to wear and take a group picture.

1. Take selfies and group shots in your t-shirts and buttons
2. Post them on social media using #BLMPhlEd and #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool
3. Email: [email protected] and we'll share it.

Philadelphia Eagle Malcolm Jenkins speaking on a panel during the 2017 Black Lives Matter Week Of Action. Jenkins is of one of many NFL players who have taken a political stand both on and off the field in recent years. 

This year’s Black Lives Matter Week of Action (February 5-10, 2018) takes place the week following Super Bowl 52, the culminating moment of an NFL season which featured powerful, high-profile displays of activism. While the initial purpose of the #TakeAKnee movement was muddied after Donald Trump’s incendiary remarks, it’s important to consider the initial goal of Colin Kaepernick’s action: to call attention to the persistent injustices faced by Black people in the United States. It is shocking to consider that what provoked so much discussion in September and October has been nearly eliminated from the popular conversation at the end of this NFL season.

The articles and lesson plans below contain a variety of approaches to covering activism in sports, from a deep dive into responses to NFL protests to a consideration of their place in the history of sports activism to an analysis of the rights of students and teachers to protest to an inquiry into why the energy around this activism dwindled towards the end of the season.

During undergrad, I was taught that teachers should be blank slates when it came to any political issue. I was taught teachers should never attempt to influence students or touch on what some would consider sensitive issues. For the first few years of my teaching, I went along with this philosophy. When students asked me questions, I would say, “develop your own thoughts.” I would tell them it wasn’t my place to share my opinion. 

Then, I began teaching at a school in Dekalb County, right outside of Atlanta.

The student population at this school is about 60% African-American and 40% immigrant and refugee. When I started teaching there, I realized for my students, much like myself, everything was political. When your body is at risk, everything from the way we fund and teach in schools to who we elect as president is political. I couldn’t and wouldn’t stand in front of my students and refuse to take a stance on issues that mattered to their bodies. When one student’s mother was deported, she rightfully went into a tailspin. Had I stood in the front of the room and said I didn’t have an opinion on immigration, I could have lost her forever.

I still agree students should develop their own opinions, but I no longer believe I should keep my own a secret.

Just a few of the fabulous PFT members who are a part of the Group of 50 -- support them in their journey by voting for them in February!

The AFT National Convention is happening in Pittsburgh this July -- and WE want to send you there!

In case you didn’t know, our national union, the American Federation of Teachers, has its National Convention every two years. The event is the single biggest learning opportunity in our union, jam-packed with inspiring speakers, informative panels, meetings for different bargaining units and interest groups, and floor votes on a variety of relevant topics, such as resolutions supporting political movements or changes in AFT policy.

How do you get a spot? Any PFT member can run to be a delegate to the convention! Unfortunately, very few members even know the event even exists, much less how to get there. This year, the Caucus wants to see that change.

To those ends, we are making an open call for female members of the PFT to join our "Group of 50" and run as delegates to both the AFT National Convention in 2018 and AFT-PA in 2019.

Just a few of the educators who participated in last year's BLM week -- here at Kensington CAPA High School. 

“Your silence will not protect you.” - Audre Lorde

As 2018 begins, our schools continue to manifest structural inequality created by racial injustices at all levels of the education system.  From the impact of zero tolerance policies that criminalize Black and Brown students and the exclusion of voices of people of color from curriculum, to the persistent loss of teachers of color from urban schools, the movement for Black Lives has never mattered more in the fight for the schools our students deserve.

We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise. - #BlackLivesMatter

The Racial Justice Committee of the Caucus of Working Educators, and organizations across Philadelphia, including UrbED, PhillyCAM, the Philadelphia Writing Project, the Philadelphia Home and School Association, Parents United for Public Education, and the Teacher Action Group - are organizing the second annual week highlighting the 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement in order to organize for racial and economic justice required to shift the inequalities impacting the lives of students, families, and educators working in Philadelphia’s public schools.  In 2018, the week of action is nationwide, with educators and organizations participating in schools and cities across the country.

This year, we are taking our work to the next level, making national and local demands in order to end structural racism in our school systems.  

During the week and beyond, we will organize around three main local demands, which are tied to demands on a national level: ending zero tolerance policies, requiring anti-racism training for all Philadelphia educators, and hiring and retaining of teachers of color in Philadelphia’s public schools.

They voted to dissolve! So when does the SRC finally go away?

Their last day is June 30. This follows the requirement that the vote must happen at least 180 days before the actual dissolution. The June 30 aligns with the fiscal year -- new school board, new budget.

What will replace the commission?

A nine-member school board appointed by the Mayor, which is what oversaw the district before the SRC came into existence in 2001. There is also a planned non-voting position for a current Philadelphia student.

How will these members be selected? 

According to the Mayor’s timeline, A nominating committee will be appointed by Mid-December. This committee will recommend 3 possible choices for each of the 9 seats on the board. The mayor will select one of these recommendations for each seat. There is also pending legislation -- which will require approval by public referendum --  that would require city council approval for all nominees.

Can anyone become a member of the school board?

For the first time since 2001, Philadelphia will soon control its own schools. With Mayor Kenney’s endorsement, the SRC is almost certain to vote for its own abolition, ending the failed experiment that put Harrisburg in control of the Philadelphia School District.

The return of local control is a victory for Philadelphia’s students, parents, teachers, and community members. It is a victory for those who have spent years attending SRC meetings to protest and testify for more accountable school governance. It is a victory for Mayor Kenney, for recognizing the danger that state control poses to the future of our school district, and it is a victory for the members of the SRC for recognizing that the students of Philadelphia are best served by their willingness to step aside.

It is a victory that would not have happened without strong, grassroots organizing.

After more than 15 years, why have the Mayor and SRC chosen this moment to dissolve? The Mayor has spent the last year refusing to commit to a particular timeline. As recently as a few weeks ago, he said that he expected a vote on SRC abolition to happen “sometime in 2018.” Meanwhile, members of City Council and the Mayor’s staff had told us in recent months that there was little movement towards SRC dissolution, and little likelihood this would change without outside pressure. So what changed?

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) 

WE convened Tuesday, September 12 in a classroom at Kensington CAPA for our monthly organizing meeting. This meeting kicked off the year with matters of deepest concern:  discussing how to fight for safer, healthier schools and maintaining the values at the heart of WE: educational justice and equality for our students.

A representative from the Philly Healthy Schools Initiative opened the meeting with frightening facts about the poor indoor air quality in specific schools throughout the district:

• Dobbins AVT High School, Furness High School, Spring Garden School, and F. Amadee Bregy each have extensive mold remediation issues. 
• Clementè Roberto Middle School, Hunter Elementary School, Edward T. Steel School, Luis Muños-Marín Elementary, and Furness High School all have potential issues with asbestos remediation.

These are the schools that WE are positive have these issues, yet there could be more with these conditions that are unknown.