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Emergency California Education Conference: Let’s Fight for Quality & Free Public Education

education_privatization-schools-our_schools_are_not_for_sale.jpg
Date:
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Time:
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Event Type:
Meeting
Organizer/Author:
Labor Rising
Location Details:
UC Berkeley, 155 Dwinelle
Berkeley

Emergency California Education Conference: Let’s Fight for Quality and Free Public Education for All Students, Faculty and Staff
Blueprints for a Future: Transforming Education Conference
Emergency California Education Conference:
Let’s Fight for Quality and Free Public Education for All Students, Faculty and Staff

April 15th, 2017

A strong public education system is the foundation of every just and democratic society. Yet for most working families—especially those from black and brown communities— the right to free, high-quality education seems further than ever: early childhood education is inaccessible to children whose parents can’t afford it; k-12 schools are starved of resources while the imposition of high-stakes tests penalizes low-income districts and the explosion of charters exacerbates segregation and inequality; college and graduate students are drowning in debt as tuition at the UC and CSU systems continues to rise; black and brown students are terrorized by police violence, constant raids, and ongoing deportations; LGBTQI students are brutally bullied for their sexual and gender identity; and most students today are delivered an education that does not embrace their histories and experiences and does not educate them for liberation.

9:30AM - 6:00PM
UC Berkeley, 155 Dwinelle
Berkeley

Moreover, education workers are under attack, as universities insist on replacing tenure and tenure-track positions with precarious, contingent jobs and the prospect of right-to- work legislation threatens to weaken teachers’ unions, thereby undermining their working conditions and ability to advocate for themselves and the needs of their students. Now billionaire and privatization lobbyist Betsy DeVos begins her tenure as Secretary of Education, and she is planning to escalate the oppression and corporatization of the current education system.

For us, it’s time to propose another path: if we tax corporations and billionaires in our state, and if we get students and teachers to democratically run our schools, we can build the kind of education system we need. In order to get these things, we need to build a movement that takes mass action for our education, and we need to organize democratically and independently from the Republican and the Democratic Party, so we rely in our power and we have the final say of what needs to be done.

To this end, we call on all California students, parents, and education workers to join us in building a collective vision and strategy for transforming public education. We need a system that guarantees free, high-quality education from pre- school to doctoral degrees as a universal right; provides just working conditions for all teachers and education employees; and centers the needs of our most vulnerable and marginalized students while openly combating racism, islamophobia, sexism, homophobia and all forms of oppression.

It’s time to go on the offensive! Our education labor unions and students have a key role to play and we need to unite across sectors and build power through independent and grassroots action! We want to propose to all education workers and students to join in the May 1st General Strike, to support immigrant rights and workers, to defeat “right-to- work” legislation and to demand the education we need!

At the Conference we will:

• Discuss the multiple factors that have led to the current crisis at all levels of public education.

• Hold teach-ins and workshops on how to build collective power in our education workers’ unions and schools.

• Discuss strategies for taking action (including May 1st), in particular labor action, to fight privatization and create an education system that gives all people a future worth fighting for!

Workshop Proposals

WE ARE ACCEPTING WORKSHOP PROPOSALS UNTIL APRIL 1: we encourage facilitators to submit workshop proposals on specific aspects of the education crisis, educational activism, and/or visions for the future of public education.

To submit a workshop proposal, please indicate your interest in the form below, and follow up by emailing your proposal to ever.upward.march [at] gmail.com with the subject header [Your Last Name] Conference Proposal!

Your proposal should be for a workshop of about one hour, and include:

• Facilitator(s) name(s)

• Title of Workshop

• A short blurb about the workshop main idea (2-3 sentences)

• A quick outline of your workshop (4-5 sentences)

Please use the survey to RSVP and submit your workshop proposals! While the workshops are open to all

who’d like to facilitate, we especially encourage high school students, university students, teachers and education workers, university instructors, and parents to apply. People of color, women and queers, differently abled folks, immigrants, and the working class to the front!

SURVEY:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdW2Ybo3L7U5dFCsqACesX7Qtwm5sVgDU2rdhpkqkQlvfgwsg/ viewform
https://www.facebook.com/laborrisingagainstrump
https://laborrisingagainsttrump.wordpress.com
Added to the calendar on Fri, Mar 3, 2017 1:34PM
§DeVos, Privatization And Profits
by Labor Rising
devos_betsy_profits.jpeg
The conference will examine the history of DeVos and the role of charters and vouchers in privatization and increasing profits from public education as well as bring religion into publicly funded schools.
§Audio To Publicize 4/15/17 CA Emergency Public Education Conference
by Labor Rising Against Trump
Listen now:
Copy the code below to embed this audio into a web page:
USE: Immediate TFN
Time: 45 Seconds
Organization: Labor Rising Against Trump
Title: BLUEPRINTS FOR A FUTURE: CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY EDUCATION CONFERENCE
Website https://laborrisingagainsttrump.wordpress.com


THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IS AT RISK!
Labor Rising Against Trump invites California education workers, students, parents to:
Blueprints for a Future: California Emergency Education Conference on Saturday, April 15th at 155 Dwinelle at UC Berkeley from 9:30am to 6:00pm.
Let’s defend public education against privatization and guarantee free, quality education as a universal right. Knowledge and Imagination is POWER!
Conference is wheelchair accessible, interpretation and childcare provided.
For more info: laborrisingagainsttrump.wordpress.com
# # #
Contact: Elizabeth Milos: 415-260-2565
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