---

March 8, 2011: The last three weeks have proved cataclysmic for teachers and school budgets across the country, as state budget shortfalls put education funding in a tailspin and the teaching profession faced what seemed like wave of vilification. The protests in Madison, Wisconsin have captured the biggest headlines. Less visible is the extent to which high school students joined the action in Wisconsin and elsewhere, standing up for education spending and the teachers who have made a difference in their lives.

In Wisconsin, students not only joined the activities in Madison, but also staged local demonstrations, from a 700-student walk out in La Crosse to demonstrations involving hundreds of students in towns from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac.

Meanwhile, in Idaho 150 high school students protested at the state capital in Boise against the newly elected State Superintendent’s "Students Come First" education-reform plan. It calls for more technology and pay-for-performance for teachers, while increasing class size and eliminating 770 teaching positions. Students in at least eight other  Idaho towns demonstrated against the plan.

In California, students across the state participated in a “Day of Action” to draw attention to plans to slash state education spending.  In Las Vegas, students joined a crowd of 1,200 opposed to proposed decreases in the city education budget. In Houston, students at the city’s prestigious school for the visual and performing arts rallied against district-wide cuts. In Philadelphia, students assailed what they saw as “top down reform,” triggered by the School District's announcement of plans to turn several neighborhood high schools over to the control of outside managers.

Below we offer a sampling of the local news coverage that followed this unprecedented student activism on behalf of public education.

 

Young People a Critical Component of Madison, Wisc. Protests

Posted by Micah Uetricht
February 18th, 2011

SOURCE: AP / Andy Manis

MADISON, Wisc.—Danny Spitzberg sits back in his chair, gazing straight ahead through his large, round, professorial glasses. Sitting in the conference room commandeered by the Teachers Assistants Association (TAA), it appears he has not shaved for exactly four days—which makes sense, since he has been holed up in the state capitol here for exactly four days.

Four days, and Spitzberg and his colleagues are still in the state capitol, along with a few hundred others, mostly teenagers and 20-somethings.

It’s common to read about millenials’ impulsive and self-centered behavior, their unwillingness to engage with community, their obsession with the trivial. But the protests in Madison have revealed a large group of young people who were quick to organize intelligently and strategically, and who will not back down anytime soon.

Continue reading Young People a Critical Component of Madison, Wisc. Protests>>

 

Teen protesters chant ‘Kill the bill’

Posted by Betsy
February 28, 2011

The crowd of high school students protesting the school reform package at the state Capitol today has swelled and moved out onto the capitol steps during the noon hour, where some are holding signs and periodically the group is chanting, “Kill the bill.” Meanwhile, in Nampa, 150 students walked out of class this morning and marched to city hall, and walkouts were reported in American Falls, Pocatello, Meridian and Caldwell. Here's a full report from the Idaho Statesman on the protests, and you can click below for a full article from AP reporter John Miller.

Continue reading Teen protesters chant ‘Kill the bill’ »

 

Students march to defend education funding

Posted by Lyanne  Melendez
March 3, 2011

There is enormous concern about the future of education in California. The "Day of Action" was intended to draw attention to plans to slash spending and the impact that could have on our schools.

Every school in Oakland had one of these walkouts on Wednesday to rally against the proposed budget cuts, which will likely mean less money per child in the classroom. At 11 a.m., Allendale Elementary students and teachers walked out of the classrooms. Led by the principal, this was not your ordinary fire drill, but a way to show how education is in a state of emergency.

On this "Day of Action" they took to the streets, trying to gather support from the community. It wasn't hard to get people's attention. California faces a $26 billion deficit and Gov. Jerry Brown says the only way to balance the budget is to cut services and extend current tax measures.

Continue reading Students march to defend education funding>>

HISD art school students protest district-wide budget cuts

Len Cannon / 11 News
Posted on February 22, 2011 at 6:32 PM

HOUSTON -- State lawmakers could ask the Houston Independent School District to cut nearly $400 million out of its budget next fall so students at one of Houston’s most well known high schools are rallying to try and keep that from happening. 

For 40 years Houston's High School of the Performing and Visual Arts has accepted some of the city’s best and brightest, and prepared them for a future in the arts.  Every year, more than a thousand students apply to and only 160 applicants are accepted.
  
It's the school Beyonce attended before she became a super star.
 
District-wide spending cuts could be trouble for HSPVA. 

Continue reading HISD art school students protest district-wide budget cuts>>