Advocacy for fully funding the school board’s budget continues! This week there are two budget town halls at 6 pm being hosted by the County Executive: Wednesday at North County High and Thursday at Arundel High. Join us to advocate for more positions to lower class sizes and caseloads including 155 additional special education positions as well as 20 more positions to support multilingual learners. We also are advocating for competitive salaries to retain experienced educators in this county. Your presence and personal perspective matters! Wear your blue TAAAC shirt or get one when you arrive. RSVP here to join us.
Next week marks Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action! In observance of this week, the TAAAC Racial and Social Justice Committee will be raffling away up to 50 copies of the book Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice to TAAAC members. Each day of the week of action, a set of names will be announced; the books will be basket mailed to the winners the following week. Winners will be invited to participate in a book club to discuss select chapters of the book. To enter the raffle, click the link and provide the requested information on the form. Good luck to all who participate!
Tonight, we’re also hosting our monthly Special Education Committee. Join us to discuss upcoming actions, lobby nights, and other ways you can advocate for your job and your students. Click here to RSVP for the virtual meeting at 5:00pm.
On a final note, I want to acknowledge the anxiety and fear that many of us have felt in recent days in regards to the immigration enforcement actions that have commenced under the new administration. As educators, we want to make sure that all of our students feel safe and welcome in our schools and communities. In December, our representative assembly took a position in solidarity with the immigrants in our community. As a union, we will need to find ways to navigate these uncertain times. The issue of immigration is a contentious one and not all members are in agreement. I urge us to engage with one another in an open-minded manner to understand each other’s perspectives. Only through dialogue can we find a pathway forward in regards to this complex issue that is solution-oriented and respectful of each person’s human dignity.