” Illinois deserves great public schools “

Dear Illinois Move On member, Submitted by: Marla Thompson

Illinois deserves great neighborhood public schools that are safe, welcoming, and fully funded and have teachers who are well prepared, well supported, and given manageable class sizes and time to collaborate.

That’s why I started a petition on Move On.org urging key Illinois legislators to pledge to reclaim public education with us. Will you add your name?

Sign the petition on Move On.org, and then pass it along to your friends.

In my role as president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, it’s clear to me that the top-down policies of the past decade have not worked. But you don’t have to work in education for that to be clear.

Austerity, competition, division, and hyper-testing have not helped and will not help our students. Top-down edicts, sanctions, and denigration of teachers will not move the needle in the right direction. Our children and our schools deserve better.

That’s why, on December 9, we’re taking action in Illinois as part of a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. And we want to deliver a petition with your name on it. Can you sign on?

Yes, I’ll sign the petition to reclaim the promise of public education in Illinois, and pass it on to my friends.

Across the state and across the country, local teachers, parents, community groups, labor unions, students, and faith leaders are united to reclaim the promise of public education for all children.

We want our schools to be centers of our communities and to ensure that children and families have access to wraparound services to meet their social, emotional, and health needs. We want a curriculum that focuses on teaching and learning, not testing, and that includes art, music, and the sciences.