A vision for education justice in the year ahead

Hi Ashley,   Before we close out the year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on all that we accomplished together over the past twelve months.   This was the first time that every public school began its academic year with 100% of its Foundation Aid funding—and $2.7 billion in new funding for this year alone. And that's not all for 2023. AQE won crucial victories including $500 million in new state funding for child care workers, $150 million to expand pre-K, and millions in restored funding for community schools, undocumented children, and high-needs students in New York City. These changes could not have happened without you.    Your contribution to AQE today will help us carry the fight for education justice into the year ahead.   As we look ahead to 2024, we know there is still more to be done. Child care educators need to be paid a thriving wage. Parents still need access to free and quality childcare. The decades-old Foundation Aid formula must be updated to reflect the needs of today's students. And the expiration of federal pandemic relief continues to threaten the essential programs created to support our kids in the wake of COVID-19. The federal aid might be ending, but students' needs — both from before the pandemic, and from the continuous impact of the years of educational disruption that it caused — are here to stay. The pandemic has irrevocably changed the lives of a generation of children and altered the way all of us teach, learn and live.    AQE needs to continue fighting to ensure schools have the resources to meet this once in a lifetime challenge, led by the same vision for equity, justice and freedom that has grounded our work for the past two decades. We will continue empowering new parent and community leaders, through our Ed Warriors and Early Ed Warriors leadership development programs. We will continue building power in communities statewide. We will continue to push our elected leaders toward the public education and child care system New York's children and families need and deserve.    Make a donation today to help us realize this vision for our children into 2024 and beyond.    In solidarity, Marina Marcou-O'Malley Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari AQENY.org | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram DONATE

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