Aspiring educators will lead critical work on college campuses nationwide in advance of election 2020. They are organizing voter registration events and educating other students about what’s at stake for public schools.
Along the way, aspiring educators will help others envision what schools should offer every student: Safe, welcoming classrooms with well-supported teachers and education support professionals; smaller class sizes; new technologies and textbooks; and more affordable college options.
“Let’s show up now, at the beginning of our careers, so policy makers and candidates know that we won’t just sit it out when major decisions are being made,” says NEA Aspiring Educators Chair Rachel Immerman, a student at the University of Kentucky. “We show up and we speak out—that’s who we are, and what we want to teach our students.”
Meet four future educators who are already deeply engaged in activism and gearing up for the 2020 elections:
Joshua Burns
Sophomore, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Dream job: High school history and social studies teacher
Inspiration: Coming from a low-income background, I’ve had to worry about my Medicaid benefits and how I could afford college. That motivates me to want to improve the system for others.
Top adventures in activism so far: Last fall, I had a fellowship with the Guilford City Democratic Party. I was trained to canvass and phone bank, and I became well-versed in local and state elections. On campus, I spoke to all the
student organizations I belong to about how public educa- tion has been attacked and how voting could change things. We had record-high youth turnout in our area. That made me feel like our efforts actually had an effect.
Plans for election 2020: I plan to work with the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement on campus to increase voter turnout and help students with voter registration. That can make the difference between being able to participate in the democratic process or getting shut out.
Nancy Melendez
Senior, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Goodwell
Dream job: Math teacher at an alternative middle school
Inspiration: I attended an alternative school. I saw the lack of investment in those students and the stigma we faced, and I want that to change.
Favorite types of activism: I’m active in the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, and we are leaders in voter registration and helping to educate people about the candidates. I try to always have voter registration forms available.
Dream for life after Election Day 2020: I want to see actual investment in all public schools and a commitment to breaking the school-to-prison pipeline. The other big issue is health care. We can’t expect students to learn if they aren’t cared for.
Advice to students who feel uncertain about getting involved in the election: Get rid of the idea that your voice doesn’t matter, or it’s just one vote. We all need to come together, and when we do we can actually change things.
Kirsten Long
Senior, Ohio State University, Columbus
Dream job: Early childhood education teacher
Inspiration: My mom has been very involved in the Ohio Education Association, so I spent my summer vacations at the NEA Representative Assembly. In seventh grade, I saw her join in the protest and help defeat SB5, legislation that aimed to take away collective bargaining rights. There was never any question I would be part of the union.
Plans for election 2020: Social media is important, but getting out and canvassing is far more important. I’m gearing up for face-to-face conversations by reminding myself that education is important to everybody.
Advice for those who think, ‘My voice doesn’t count’: Just look at the #RedForEd movement and see the change that it’s making! It’s about speaking up together, being active instead of passive.
Dream for life after Election Day 2020: Waking up the day after the 2016 election was hard. I hope the day after the 2020 election is joyous. I want to see more respect for teachers and unions from our elected leaders.
Kathrine Grant
Fifth-year, integrated bachelor’s/master’s program, University of Connecticut, Mansfield Center
Dream job: High school English teacher; eventually, work in education policy
Favorite activism-inspiring book: The Death and Life of the Great American School System, by Diane Ravitch. It showed me how transformative education can be, but our system right now isn’t providing that for everyone.
Proudest moment as an aspiring educator: I created the political director position in my chapter prior to the 2016
election. In that role, I kept our members informed, facilitated our participation in the “March for Our Lives” gun violence prevention protest, and spearheaded letter-writing cam- paigns like the one opposing Betsy DeVos’ confirmation.
Thoughts on election 2020: It can’t come soon enough!
I am currently state chair, so my job is to raise awareness of what we can do on college campuses and support our chapter leaders.
Advice to students who are unsure about getting involved in the election: Fighting for what’s best for students is not a partisan issue, it’s about our values. On the personal level, there’s a lot of joy in connecting with people who share our values. That’s how we build strong coalitions that can make things better.
To compare candidates on the issues, submit a question for the candidates, or sign the education voter pledge, visit NEA’s StrongPublicSchools.org.
