Dear Future Educators and Those Who Care about Public Education,
Alongside the National Education Association, Aspiring Educators must stand firmly against the injustices committed by the federal government. We should be concentrating on becoming the next generation of innovative educators, not preparing for immigration raids in our schools, the gutting of special education services, and attacks on our students’ civil rights.
We stay grounded in the Aspiring Educator Core Values: Educator Quality, Community Engagement, Political Action, and Racial and Social Justice. We stand committed to creating a world that protects and celebrates Black, Brown, poor, LGBTQ+, disabled, and immigrant students, educators, and community members, and an economy where we can all thrive.
All students—whether Native or newcomer, Black, Latine, Asian, or White—deserve to live a life without fear; a life where they can receive a high-quality public education in which they are represented, valued, and affirmed; a life where hunger does not hinder their learning; a life where their school buildings are well built, well staffed, and thriving.
Billionaires and power-hungry politician puppets seek to erase the truth. They disguise the real issues: power and wealth accumulation, using their money to control the media, and sowing division by attacking poor and working class peoples.
We must be sober and confront the fact that we are no longer under a democracy. This is authoritarianism.
We are living through a new level of terror. We are witnessing lawlessness at the hands of those who claim to be the party of law and order. Remember: What is deemed permissible by this administration does not make it legal, just, or right. We refuse to normalize the kidnapping of students and community members and children being zip tied in the middle of the night.
We demand that elected and appointed officials call out, stand against, and end the rampant lawlessness of ICE raids in our communities. We commit to supporting, affirming, and advocating for our immigrant students and families.
College tuition, groceries, utilities, and the cost of living are rising by the minute. Institutions of higher education are facing intimidation and extortion tactics from the Trump Administration. We demand that our institutions remain spaces of free speech and protected status—places that value diversity, equity, and inclusion for ourselves, the students coming behind us, and the communities they serve.
LGBTQ+ Aspiring Educators and allies stand firmly against the erasure of stories, sowing of fear, and false narratives that surround the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ students and educators. We commit to challenging assumptions by educating and amplifying the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ students, educators, and advocates.
We stand strong in the belief of a public education for every student. We commit to advocating for our future students even before entering the classroom.
The reality we seek is possible. Aspiring Educators advocate in all spaces for the future that our children and public schools deserve. You will find Aspiring Educators in the streets, in our classes, in the halls of Congress and our legislatures demanding that educators and students are safe and protected.
Raise your voice! Speak up in your classes, with your community, and to elected officials. As Aspiring Educators, we remain steadfast in our pursuit of becoming the educators our students and communities need and creating a world that works for all, not only a few at the top.
Aspiring Educators, regardless of what you see and hear in your institutions, classrooms, and in the media, remember that your union supports, defends, and uplifts your advocacy. Do not look away from the atrocities unfolding across our country. Join us in protecting every student—no matter their race, identity, ZIP code, or legal status.
Join NEA, our partners, and the movement for justice today.
