Our Story
Educators in Solidarity
Est. 2014 | Austin, Tx
After the death of Michael Brown, there was a nation-wide call to address systemic racism. Being teachers, we decided to start in our classrooms.
As educators, we recognize racism is entrenched in our school systems. Our organization is determined to abolish it.
We started small
By hosting meetings with like-minded educators and sharing ideas on how we could be better about teaching anti-racism in our schools.
We
expanded
To hosting regular monthly meetings to reflect on racial issues in our schools and hosting larger conferences featuring some of the most prominent figures in education reform and welcome to educators from across the state.
we enacted Change
In 2017, we successfully lobbied the Austin school district to ban suspensions for all Pre-K to 2nd grade students, a policy that disproportionately targeted students of color. Later that year, the policy became Texas state law. We have continued to engage with elected officials at the district, city, and state levels. Our Policy and Engagement team has coordinated over 50 listening circles with approximately 250 community participants, including 10 State Representatives and Board of Education members, 23 school board trustees, 14 City Council members, numerous candidates and school district leaders on various topics that center equity in Central Texas schools and communities.
We continue
We continue to fulfill our mission through various opportunities to learn from one another to build our collective capacity. We have hosted dozens of professional developments, webinars, panels, and learning opportunities for teachers, families, students, and community members. Most notably, we have hosted ten Cultural Proficiency UnConferences. In fall of 2020, we hosted our largest event in organization history, a 10-day UnConference featuring with more than 1,000 attendees.
A Quality education for every student.
Educators are uniquely positioned in the fight for racial equity. We have firsthand knowledge about how children experience institutionalized racism, and we have the ability to affect systemic change in our nation’s school system.