Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1533049
fight against school closures and for robust public education funding. Much like the famous union quote "an injury to one is an injury to all," Curiel says any closure affects every student. "Any school closure is going to impact the district overall," Curiel says. "It could impact so many different sectors of our city in a lot of different ways." ALUM ROCK: Advocating for students as district closes seven schools "Charter school encroachment is one of the top reasons that closing schools in our area is so difficult," says Sandra Rivera, president of Alum Rock Educators Association (AREA). "And when charters locate in the district, it's not just the initial drain, it's an ongoing drain. We're now going to have six rela- tively empty campuses, where new charters are a possibility." The damage of unchecked charter school proliferation is on full display in East San Jose's Alum Rock Union School District, where more than 4,000 students who live in the district attend charters. This has resulted in rapidly declining enrollment and a December board decision to close seven schools at the end of this school year. She says AREA members are focused on student wellness and safety, lifting their voices on the school consolidation committee to center student concern, like walk- ability to schools. "It was our voice trying to make sure there was the least amount of family impact and building the strongest communi- ties possible out of these decisions," Rivera says. "We have many lanes of traffic students will now have to cross. To have the kids walking further is not an ideal situation. We asked about bus- ing, and at first they said no but at the last board meeting, they were considering a shuttle bus to help get students to and from school safely." Budget issues and declining enrollment in Alum Rock are compounded by another impact of charter school proliferation: Alum Rock has a higher percentage of students in special edu- cation (about a third) than most districts because of charters' established practice of "cherry picking" general education stu- dents and leaving students with special needs to public schools. is costs the district about $32 million a year. "In public education, we provide services to everyone," Rivera says. "Part of what makes it really hard for us in Alum Rock is that charter schools offer 7:30 a.m. until 6 at night care for the children. I've been trying to work with the district to provide something comparable — so parents stay in our district." Rivera says AREA's priorities now are resilience and healing, coming together as educators for their students. "What happened is really difficult. We understand and want our students to know we are going through it with them," Rivera says. "We want to be the example and advocates for how to heal, move forward and emerge stronger than we've ever been before." Rivera says educators are eager to try new approaches with fewer campuses, working to forge new partnerships and obtain more focused resources for their students. " We're trying to highlight and showcase all the resources we have available at neighborhood public schools," Rivera says. " We want our families to commit to our public schools so there won't be any further drain." " I was in college when my science textbooks were created. My books are older than my students, but the district says it spends millions on books every year." — Oakland Education Assn. second Vice President Chris Jackson Union educators and the Oakland community organized and defeated a school closure proposal in December. 28 cta.org Feature