Governor McCrory, Hear NC Teachers' Urgent Plea for Reform!
- by: Susan V
- recipient: North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory
Fourteen people, most or all teachers, were arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina last month while protesting the state’s failure to provide its schools and students with basic, necessary resources. As one arrested special education teacher told a Huffington Post blogger “…if this is what it was going to take to show people just how dire our situation is in our public schools, I had to do it.”
Another arrested teacher told HP “We don’t have textbooks in history class. My students can only receive medical care if they get injured Tuesday morning between 9 and 12 because we have a part-time nurse.”
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, these teachers belong to a group sponsored by the N.C. Association of Educators, which sought a meeting with Governor McCrory after marching in protest from Durham to the Raleigh State Capitol.
HP adds that “McCrory knew of the requested meeting in advance," however when the group arrived at the Capitol building and found it had been "shut down early,” it “took to the streets,” demanding to be heard. Upon threat of arrest, most dispersed to sidewalks except the 14, "who linked arms and formed a line across the road."
Now released from jail, protesters say that "After a decade of budget cuts and a general lack of resources," they “have had enough," says HP, and they are more committed after the arrests than ever.
Sign this petition to support NC teachers' demand that Governor McCrory hear and appropriately address their urgent plea for reform!
To Governor McCrory,
As a former NC teacher. I am writing in support of Organize 2020’s demand that you immediately set aside quality time to hear and appropriately respond to the urgent concerns being voiced by this group.
[Your Comments]
Comments publicized on the Huffington Post blog made by teachers who were arrested in last month’s desperate attempt to get your attention should be taken into serious consideration by this administration.
Furthermore, the group’s statement, cited below, and others found on its website, also warrant your undivided attention:
When the police made it clear that we were about to be arrested, the 14 collapsed together, tightly holding on to each other as we do all year long in classrooms and hallways all over North Carolina. We hold on to each other when we can’t find mental health care for our students. We hold on to each other when we have to figure out transportation for our students. We hold on to each other as we watch essential positions and people stripped from school budgets. We hold on to each other when our students are sent off to deportation centers states away. We hold on to each other when we see them criminalized in disproportionate ways that limit their success and, for some, end their lives. So it felt completely right to hold on to each other in the middle of the street, hold our ground and cry out that #StudentsDeserveMore.
The teachers’ voiced concerns reflect an urgent need for your response. Therefore I, the undersigned, insist you hear and respond to these concerns immediately
[YOUR NAME]
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.