A Note from E4E’s National Teacher Leader Council on the Election 

Three days after Donald Trump’s election as president, we—a group of 17 teachers from six states across the country—gathered in New York City to discuss the impact of a second Trump administration on our students and profession, and how we can best advocate–in alignment with our national policy agenda–at this moment. As members of a non-profit organization, we do not endorse political leaders, but we do critique or affirm policymaking and the rhetoric and actions that guide it. Our role as a representative voice of classroom teachers nationwide is one we take seriously—and so, as we reflect on the election outcome, we want to take this moment to reaffirm the values and priorities we will continue to hold dear over the next few years as we work toward a more equitable education system for every student.

Throughout the election season, we were deeply troubled by the divisive, and at times hateful, language and misinformation communicated by the Trump campaign and its supporters. We witnessed his words crush many of our students’ and colleagues’ spirits while simultaneously undermining their understanding of and trust in our country’s democratic process. With President-Elect Trump now headed for the Oval Office, we fear this language will become even more pervasive, and that his planned policies both specifically and tangentially related to our classrooms—including elimination of the US Department of Education, cuts to federal education funding, mass deportation of our students’ and colleagues’ family members, and the rolling back of civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ students—will further devastate the communities we serve, particularly those already historically marginalized. These planned actions stand in direct contrast to what we know teachers want.

And yet, as we look ahead to Inauguration Day and beyond, our goals remain the same, and our resolve remains unwavering–and more critical than ever. We are dedicated to building a more equitable education system for our students through impactful state and local policy change. We will uphold our responsibility to teach by day and advocate by night, championing policies and programs that: 

1. Increase education funding and strategically allocate it to the districts, schools, and students that need it most
2. Modernize the teaching role, making it more financially rewarding, sustainable, and dynamic in order to ultimately improve recruitment and retention
3. Diversify the teaching workforce by pulling policy levers known to boost recruitment and retention of teachers of color, such as residency preparation models, opportunities for teacher leadership, and modifications to layoff policies
4. Expand student access to evidence-based, high-quality, rigorous curricular materials that reflect their identities and unlock their potential
5. Redesign assessments to better serve and fit the needs of students and educators, while also broadening the educational outcomes we value to include career readiness and social-emotional health
6. Build welcoming and inclusive classroom environments where every student feels safe and can thrive

To our fellow teachers: Now is not a time for apathy, nor to shut the doors of our classrooms and escape the reality of the context in which we now teach. We ask that you continue to pay attention, build safe spaces in your schools for healthy and fact-based debates, and advocate for the education system you envision for your students. We hope E4E resources can help you do this, and will plan to continually share them with you. 

To our local and state leaders: The heart of education policy has always beat in statehouses and district offices–not the streets of Capitol Hill. We anticipate, though, that this will become increasingly true under the incoming administration, which has expressed a desire to distance itself further from involvement and investment in public K-12 education. Given this, state and local leaders now play an even more critical role in ensuring every student–particularly our most marginalized–has access to an excellent education, and we look forward to continuing to partner with you in pursuit of that aim.

To the incoming Trump administration: We hope to collaborate with you where we share common ground—strengthening career and technical education to better align K-12 education with workforce needs, maintaining accountability measures that provide transparency into our system’s effectiveness, and continually modernizing our classrooms to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving future. We also hope you will heed teachers’ calls to modify any policies that we believe will prove harmful. As experts on the conditions necessary to equip students to learn and succeed, we stand ready to support you, the US Department of Education, and Congress in crafting policy for strong American classrooms. 

To our students: You matter. We will never stop fighting for the schools you—and the millions of public school students across the United States—deserve.

E4E’s National Teacher Leader Council

Cory L. Cain, Dean of Instruction, Chicago, IL
Richard de Meij, K-8 World Languages Teacher, Hartford, CT
Caroline Dowd, Preschool Teacher, Hartford, CT
Arthur Everett, High School Social Studies Teacher, Brooklyn, NY
Genelle Faulkner, High School Biology Teacher, Boston, MA
Daniel Gannon, Career and Technical Principal, Yorktown Heights, NY
Valerie Green-Thomas, Middle School Instructional Coach and English Teacher, Bronx, NY
Misti Kemmer, Fourth Grade Teacher, Los Angeles, CA
Eli Levine, Physical Education Teacher, Bronx, NY
Dr. Jennifer López, High School Social Studies Teacher, Los Angeles, CA
Carlotta Pope, Eleventh Grade English Teacher, Brooklyn, NY
Susan Providence, Special Education Teacher, St. Paul, MN
Nazila Ramjan, High School English/Humanities Teacher, Queens, NY
Michael Simmon, 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Bronx, NY
Joseph Tadros, High School Mathematics Team Supervisor, Brooklyn, NY
Becky Trammell, Elementary Special Education Teacher, Minneapolis, MN
Dr. Winnie Williams-Hall, Elementary Special Education Teacher, Chicago, IL