Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1533049
talking with our parents and community and providing guidance about what school closures actually do to our communities." Here's how educators are organizing in locals across the state to center to fight school closures and center students and fam- ilies in these discussions: SAN FRANCISCO: Educators fight off closures, organize for next battle "Our members are demanding fully staffed schools, fully funded education in California and for fully funded IDEA (the federal law regarding special education funding) — the need contin- ues to grow and we are here to serve our students," says UESF's Curiel. "We've been doing more with less every single year and we can't continue to do that. It's morally objectionable." UESF members are organizing for the schools their students deserve following a late-2024 school closure process paused just before the former superintendent resigned. Curiel says the new superintendent has not expressed her feelings on closures and UESF members don't have much confidence in the district moving forward. While the school closure fight is currently on hold, UESF leaders have pivoted to a layoff fight — Curiel says the district intends to reduce about 500 positions, through early retirements to avoid layoffs. When closures were still on the table, UESF leaders went to all the impacted schools (those targeted for closure and those that would receive their students) to engage members and gather information about what parents and families were being told at sites. Since there hadn't been a lot of outreach by the district, Curiel says that families were relying on educators to help them navigate the process and amplify their concerns. "Our members did a lot of outreach — even at schools that were not impacted — ensuring that solidarity is an action," Curiel says. "We said 'even if your school is not on the (closure) list, your students, school and colleagues will be impacted, so we have to take action.'" UESF organized a broad coalition of stakeholders, issuing a public statement about the long-term harmful impacts of school closures, emphasizing the need for additional support for schools and families during any transition. With 40,000 stu- dents at 120 sites, Curiel says any attempt to close schools in San Francisco needs to place the needs of the community at the center of the discussion. Curiel says a major concern of school closures is who they will impact and how. With high reliance on local public transit, closures can impact programs, change enrollment patterns and affect other logistics. "One thing you have to understand about school closures is those students aren't going away. Everyone has to go somewhere else," Curiel says. "Closures change what make San Francisco schools special." Curiel had a conversation last year with the president of the teachers union in Seattle to discuss how they might work together with leaders in other major West Coast cities to " Our members are demanding fully staffed schools and fully funded education. We've been doing more with less every single year, and we can't continue to do that. It's morally objectionable." — United Educators of San Francisco President Cassondra Curiel UESF members fought off school closures earlier this school year and are now organizing against the district's massive layoff proposal. 27 M A R C H 2 0 2 5