By Amanda Menas As the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus approaches, Iowa’s educators are working to keep public education a top priority in Election 2020. On Saturday, Jan. 18, four of the top candidates spoke to Iowa State Education Association members at the 2020 ISEA Legislative Conference on the theme of “Education: A Safeguard for Democracy.” At…
The new year brings a new push in Congress to modernize America’s infrastructure, including our public schools. The average public school building is 44 years old. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the condition of America’s 100,000 public school buildings an overall grade of D+. But statistics aren’t enough to make the case for what…
By Mary Ellen Flannery Betsy DeVos’ attempts to protect predatory for-profit colleges that have defrauded students—and to sabotage students’ ability to get debt relief from the federal government—hit a major roadblock in the U.S. House on Thursday. By a 231 to 180 vote, the House passed a resolution to block DeVos’ efforts to gut protections…
By Amanda Menas Across Florida, more than 20,000 educators, parents, students, and allies rallied at the state capitol in Tallahassee on Tuesday to protest years of decline in school funding. Educators were threatened by the state Department of Education and district superintendents with expulsion, union de-certification, and loss of license for participating, but turned out…
By Amanda Menas As we start a new decade, educators are hopeful and energized, ready to work hard for the future of their students, schools, and communities. Last year, educators made dreams a reality by rallying for investment in public schools and showing up on election day. They advocated for higher salaries and better funding…