TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Dozens of people gathered downtown, Monday, focusing their attention on the Trump administration's pledge to cut the Department of Education (ED).
According to the ED, its mission is to serve America's students to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
Many educators and people in the community rallied to show their support for students not only in Arizona, but across the country, saying getting rid of the ED would be disastrous.
Duncan Sohn Hasman was one of the people leading the rally.
He is a Spanish and history teacher at BASIS Tucson North, the first unionized charter school in Arizona, as well as the Vice President of The American Federations of Teachers Arizona Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (AFT AZACTS).
He says teachers are very concerned about the attacks that are being levied against their schools and students, and especially the recent proposed changes to the ED and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
"We're here to indicate that as teachers we are ready to fight back, we're not going to accept the changes without a fight, and our role as charter school teachers is currently changing," Hasman said. "We have sat out a lot of political fights, a lot of labor fights in the past because we did not have a union and it was every teacher for themselves. We are here to make a statement that that is a thing of the past."
The ED President Trump wants to get rid of includes the Offices of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office for Civil Rights, and Federal Student Aid.
It may be his idea and a promise he made on the campaign trail, but he cannot fully eliminate the department without Congress.
Congress created the department in 1979.
Hasman says when the Trump Administration wants to destroy everything without a thought, it upsets him and other teachers.
"Every campus in Tucson could use more math interventions, more reading interventions, and the data right now is showing our students are struggling," said Hasman. "It's going to have a very negative affect on our jobs, it's gonna make it harder and have a bad affect on the kids."
Ellen Floyd, a teacher at Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Erickson Elementary School, hopes the government realizes if they take away funding, everything will fall apart.
"The funding and everything that goes in, you know, the school lunches, the supplies, the taking care of teachers, you know, being able to have those aids and being able to have the monitors and the safety on campus and if that's taken away, we're stripped of everything," Floyd said.
Angela Krumholz, a Structured English Immersion (SEI) teacher at Erickson Elementary, says she's standing up for her students.
"Half of my classroom is English language learners and yeah, just give them the opportunity. They came here for a better life and they deserve that," Krumholz said.
Traci Heinrich was at the rally and says she hopes the protests are motivation for others to join the movement.
"The more people that are coming out here, the more people are going to see that it's okay to come out, the more voices are going to get heard, and hopefully we'll start to gain a little bit more momentum and make some changes," Heinrich said.
Hasman shares a message to all students.
"You are more powerful than you think. Your teachers need your support and your voice. Do not let anybody tell you that you are too young to make decisions that affect you," Hasman said.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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