Arizona Education Association

Fall 2019

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C hicago, Dedham, South Park, Mendota—Educators across the nation continue to take collective action to secure better working conditions for themselves and better learning conditions for their students. Just as you did in the 2018, these educators are inspiring others to take a stand for better schools. And just as you did before, they are winning by connecting with their community. When I spoke to the 5,000 educators who attended the "Five Demands" rally at the capitol on March 28, 2018 I said, "Your voice is your most powerful weapon." Over the next month you proved it as you wore red, told stories of your students and schools on social media, and asked small businesses to hang "I support RedForEd" signs. You cemented your community's understanding and support when you hosted walk-ins at over 1,000 school sites and 110,000 stood with us. Two weeks later they marched with us to the state capitol. All because of your voice. While we send encouragement, statements of solidarity, and ultimately congratulations for the successful efforts of educators across the nation, we know we have more work to do here in Arizona. Dedham is in Massachusetts, where they invest $10,000 more per student than Arizona. South Park – yes, it is a real place in Colorado—is the closest but is still $2,000 per student ahead of us. This must change. Your voice helps the community understand what you and your family are all too familiar with—the sacrifices you make for your students and your schools. You deserve to be supported. Your students deserve better opportunities for success. As I see it, we have two opportunities to bring at least $1 billion in critical resources to our schools. We can organize for another statewide action or we can organize around a statewide education funding ballot measure. Both require us—each of us—to use our voices to connect with our community. After their successful actions, the Mendota Education Association released the following statement, "When we stand together we can successfully advocate for our students, our schools, and our community." To realize the power of that statement you must understand "we" includes the community. And the key to building community support is your voice. When we provide a place for the community to stand with us, we win. I'm ready to win. Again. 4 ADVOCATE | FALL 2019 IN SOLIDARITY by Joe Thomas AEA OFFICERS Joe Thomas President Marisol Garcia Vice President Angela Philpot Treasurer AEA STAFF Luis A. Heredia Executive Director Sheenae Shannon Editor Roxanne Rash Graphic Design Advertising The AEA Advocate is published by the Arizona Education Association, 345 East Palm Lane, Phoenix, Arizona 85004-1532. Phone: 602- 264-1774 or 800-352-5411 Fax: 602-240-6887. Email: sheenae.shannon@arizonaea.org. AEA's website may be found at www.arizonaea.org. Permission to reprint any material originating with this publication is granted provided that credit is given to the AEA Advocate. The AEA Advocate (ISSN 0194-8849) is published in Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer for $3.50 per year by the Arizona Education Association, 345 East Palm Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85004-1532. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, Arizona. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the AEA Advocate, 345 East Palm Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85004-1532. Moving? Please let us know before you go. Simply clip your mailing label from the back of the Advocate and send it along with your new address to: AEA Advocate 345 East Palm Lane Phoenix, Arizona 85004-1532 Joseph H. Thomas, President Arizona Education Association

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