Public Schools Week Honors Achievements of Schools, Students and Educators
The members of the Learning First Alliance (LFA) will host Public Schools Week, March 25-29, 2019, to show the great things happening every day in public schools–and show the potential for greater things.
This second annual event encourages school leaders to invite community members, lawmakers, parents and others to visit and see the wide array of programs and high-quality opportunities offered, honor students’ accomplishments and see the joys and challenges of teaching and learning in public schools.
“Public education is the foundation for students’ success, the growth of communities, and our nation’s future,” said Nathan R. Monell, CAE, executive director of the National PTA and 2018-19 chair of the Learning First Alliance, a coalition of 12 national education organizations representing more than 10 million parents, teachers, administrators, specialists, school board members and teacher educators. “Public schools educate 90 percent of our nation’s students and are providing talented professionals for jobs in the corporate and public sectors as well as the military. It’s vitally important that we have a strong system of public schools across the United States.”
Public Schools Week also celebrates the wide range of educators and school professionals who help every student meet their highest potential, both directly and indirectly, including teachers, principals, school counselors, school nurses, school board members, coaches, bus drivers, administrators and other workers.
And on Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will speak on the importance of a strong public education system for our country’s future economic strength. The U.S. House of Representatives co-chairs for the week’s events are Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA). The co-chairs in the U.S. Senate are Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jon Tester (D-MT).
“These events will challenge negative assumptions and those who are questioning the value of public schools,” said Richard M. Long, executive director of the Learning First Alliance. “LFA wants to show community members what their local public schools have to offer, and how they, too, can get involved and support their schools.”
LFA is asking public schools to first, share their photos and stories through our social media hashtags #PublicSchoolProud and #PSW19. More events and updates will be announced at www.learningfirst.org/publicschoolsweek.
#PublicSchoolProud will be a national campaign that continues to showcase great things happening within public schools throughout the year.
About the Learning First Alliance
The Learning First Alliance is a partnership of leading education organizations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America’s public schools. Alliance members include: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; AASA: The School Superintendents Association; American Federation of Teachers; American School Counselor Association; Consortium for School Networking; Learning Forward; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Education Association; National PTA; National School Boards Association and National School Public Relations Association.
To learn more about LFA, visit http://www.learningfirst.org/.
Tags: AACTE partner organizations, advocacy, federal issues, safety
