On Thursday, October 6, the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and our allies in the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools brought together over 100,000 parents, students and educators who “walked-in” at over 2000 schools in over 200 cities to demand “The Schools All Our Children Deserve”. CPD partner organizations and allies participated to demand that public schools be improved not closed, resourced not failed.

Many were “walking in” for community schools and for an end to privatization, others for early childhood and bilingual education and school revenue-related issues. In Baltimore our partner, Maryland Communities United, raised up the demand for state funding to transform schools into community schools where half of the student population live in poverty. Parents and community members gathered early in Gilmor Homes, a public housing project in West Baltimore (once home to police victim Freddie Gray), to walk their kids to school at Gilmor Elementary, a new community school.

After school, teachers, students, parents and community members gathered for a rally in Arundel Elementary-Middle in the Cherry Hill neighborhood in south Baltimore. Arundel was one of four participating schools in the community. The event included a student book giveaway and the gift of a necessities closet for school families, both sponsored by the Baltimore Teachers Union.

Other participating CPD partners include, Wisconsin Jobs Now (WJN), Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Arkansas Community Organizations (ACO), One Pittsburgh, Texas Organizing Project (TOP), NJ Communities United and Make the Road CT. Read more about our partners' experiences below!

ACO: Members participated in a Walk-in at Franklin Elementary in Little Rock, AR. Franklin Elementary has been mentioned in the press as a school that could be shuttered soon. Franklin is important to the neighborhood surrounding it - it serves as a polling place, health clinic and generations of our members' children and grandchildren have attended the school. School staff, students and community members rallied together and toured the school. 

WJN: The greatest highlight of our walk-in at Auer Avenue School was when we were talking about the importance of supporting Auer and public schools in general to a 70 year old grandmother dropping off her grandson. She instantly got out of the car, grabbed a sign, and stood with us.  She also began to talk to other parents about increasing their presence in the schools.  It was a reminder that people of all ages are truly concerned about education and schools.

TOP: Alliance/AFT, NEA Dallas, and other partners with the Our Community, Our Schools (OCOS) coalition in Dallas celebrated the progress being made at Dallas ISD’s first pilot community school, John Neely Bryan Elementary, and showed their support for public education with a walk-in. A half hour before school started, parents and volunteers greeted students and motivated them as they walked into the school. Shortly after classes started, event participants and volunteers handed free books to students.

One Pittsburgh: Folks in Pittsburgh walked-in at Crescent Early Education Center. The atmosphere was energetic with over 50 parents and and teachers gathered outside Crescent. Erica Winstead, a One Pittsburgh parent of a two-year old, spoke emphatically about the valuable early education that her son receives at Crescent.  Erica called on all parents to get involved in the movement.  Parents like Erica felt empowered by standing together with teachers making the same demand - that all of our children deserve to succeed.

ACCE: In California, activists walked-in with United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) members, parents, students and community allies taking the fight out into the communities with Community Walks at over 100 schools.  The groups knocked on doors and talked with voters and parents about Community Schools and about two urgent measures on the ballot in November, one for school funding and one for bilingual education.