Episode 02: Defending Public Education & Strengthening Public Schools with Becky Pringle, President, National Education Association

On the latest episode of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association (NEA), is interviewed by Anastasia Ordonez, Director of HEAL Together at Race Forward. This episode explores Becky’s journey from being a science teacher to becoming a prominent leader in education advocacy and the head of the largest labor union in the United States.

Becky shares her lifelong commitment to social justice, influenced by her experiences during the Civil Rights Movement and her family’s involvement in labor movements. She discusses the significant challenges she faced when she began her presidency in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a national reckoning on racial injustice. Becky reflects on how these events shaped her work and reinforced her commitment to equity and access in education. She states, “As I visit teachers and support professionals and students and communities around this country, I have never been prouder to call myself a teacher than I am in this moment, as I watch them working miracles every day with our students ... as I see them building community schools, meeting the needs not just of our students, but of our families, of each other, and then taking so seriously their role in our democracy.”

Throughout the episode, Becky addresses crucial issues facing public education today. She emphasizes the importance of defending public education against attacks from right-leaning groups and highlights the role of strong, community-based partnerships in supporting and strengthening public schools. Becky talks about the NEA’s efforts to provide continuous professional development and create inclusive, restorative, and culturally responsive educational environments.

She explains, “Public education was never designed for people who look like me. It wasn't designed for students with disabilities. It wasn't designed to make a safe place for LGBTQ+ students. It wasn't designed for those students and families who were living in generational poverty. It just wasn't designed for that. So we couldn't just promote public education as a common good and as a foundation of this democracy, we had to transform it into something it was never designed to be—a racially and socially just and equitable system that prepares every student, everyone to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.”

Becky concludes with a heartfelt tribute to the dedication of educators who continue to work tirelessly despite the challenges they face. Her call to action is clear: “We must ensure that public education delivers on its promise of providing equitable opportunities for every student.”

To listen to more of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and remember that you can support our work by texting “RFPOD" to 44-321 –– and help us keep the momentum going.

Resources:

Becky Pringle, Head of the NEA Wants To Protect Public Education (via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

https://bit.ly/3LJTvPn

NEA president vows to transform nation’s largest union, putting ‘social justice’ first (via WGN TV)

https://bit.ly/3SajNh7

Remarks as prepared for delivery by Becky Pringle, President, National Education Association, to the 103rd Representative Assembly (via National Education Association)

https://bit.ly/3S9qj7I

Incoming head of nation’s largest teachers union says it’s time ‘to turn up that heat’ (via Chalkbeat, 2020)

https://bit.ly/4eVHB1Y

New teachers union boss fighting Trump, school reopening battles (via Politico, 2020)

https://bit.ly/463LCxq

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Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.

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Executive Producers:

Hendel Leiva, Cheryl Cato Blakemore

Associate Producer & Editor: Freddie Beckley