Students, parents, educators, and advocates are traveling today to the State Capitol from every corner of New York for AQE's annual Advocacy Day. Change has always required sustained collective action. We will keep fighting until dignity and opportunity are real and accessible for all.
In Albany, we will be meeting with State Legislators to push for a New York state budget that responds to today's affordability crisis with real investment in our children and working families. Public schools are contending with rising costs and the loss of federal support. Families are facing impossible child care costs. Educators – in classrooms and child care programs alike – are stretched thin and underpaid. Advocacy Day is about making those realities impossible to ignore, and about recognizing that this work extends far beyond the walls of the Capitol.
If you're not able to be with us in Albany today, you can still take action from wherever you are by contacting your elected officials and demanding a budget that puts children first. We're asking you to take three actions today:
Stand Up for Public Education
While the Governor's proposal fully funds Foundation Aid, the formula itself needs important changes. Without updates that reflect today's Regional Cost Index and better account for students experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or foster care, many districts will continue to fall short of what students need.
Fight for Truly Universal Child Care and the Workforce that Makes it Possible
Expanding access to child care must include an investment in the workforce. Child care educators' wages are too low to survive, creating an immediate crisis for families and providers across the state. The budget must include a permanent workforce compensation fund so educators can remain in this essential profession.
You can also help amplify today's advocacy efforts by keeping public education and child care at the center of the conversation on social media. We've put together a short toolkit with suggested posts and graphics that you can use!
The state of New York can and must invest in children and families. New York is home to immense wealth. More than 100 billionaires live here, even as millions of New Yorkers struggle to afford housing, food, education, and care. At the same time, these billionaires are receiving a $12 billion tax cut. Our state has the ability to raise the revenue needed to fund a New York that works for all of us.
Resistance and engagement have always been collective. Today, it looks like meetings in Albany – and emails sent from kitchens, classrooms, break rooms, and living rooms across the state.
In solidarity,
Marina Marcou-O'Malley and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari
Co-Executive Directors, Alliance for Quality Education
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