Hundreds, maybe thousands, of teachers are expected to show up in Richmond Mondayto show support for public education. The “Red for Ed” march and rally is to lobby lawmakers to fully fund schools.
Some districts in the Richmond area have a professional development day, and are even providing transportation for teachers.
Sarah Pedersen is a teacher and organizer with Virginia Educators United. She says the group is expecting teachers from Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke and more.
“Teachers all over the state are really sick and tired of living in these underfunded situations,” Pedersen says. “So we’re coming from all over. And our crowd should be well into the thousands.”
Leaders of two national teacher unions are expected to speak. The group then plans to walk a mile to the state capitol and lobby lawmakers to fully fund public education.
“Our salaries languish near the bottom tier nationally. And (lawmakers) have truly shown year over year that our students are not a priority. That has to change,” says Pedersen.
Teachers have successfully gone on strike in West Virginia, North Carolina, and most recently L.A. The event in Virginia is not a strike, or even a walkout. But Pedersen says the possibility of one comes closer each day.
“In Virginia we have to be prepared to do whatever it is it takes to win for students. We have to be willing to walk, we have to be willing to take risks. And we have to be willing to step out together.”
The Red for Ed rally begins in Monroe Park at 11 a.m. Monday. You can find more details here.
For those who can’t attend but still want to show support, Pedersen suggests they don a red shirt and share a “red for ed” selfie on social media.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
