VIDEOS of Rally to Save Public Education: Parents Students Teachers are Angry at Mayor Fenty

These are videos of the Rally to Save Public Education held yesterday at Freedom Plaza, and organized by the Washington Teacher's Union and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. The rally was big, numerous and loud, the anger and frustration was obvious.

The Washington Post reports:

Several thousand D.C. public school teachers and supporters, buoyed by fiery speeches from national labor leaders and local elected officials, rallied in Freedom Plaza on Thursday evening against layoffs imposed last week by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. [...]

A sense of frustration and pent-up anger permeated the gathering, one of the largest shows of labor muscle in the city in recent history. It was designed by organizers to ratchet up political pressure on Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who is running for reelection next year.

The rally was a success when it comes to attendance, several DC Councilmembers were there, along with community leaders, students, etc. But Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee haven't responded publicly to the protesters demands.

A message to Mayor Fenty:
parents, students, teacher, Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. (Ward 5)

This is a school counselor fired
after 10 years of work and without previous notice



A high school senior giving a powerful message
but at some point he said "get rid of that female dog" which I didn't understand well:

I met several teachers who refuse to speak on video, they were really angry but not sure if because they lost their jobs or because they cared about their students education. Some of them were actually looking at me in a suspicious way and a young man asked me for my personal information. Also I spoke to a new teacher who just got hired in DC, he is from Connecticut and he was at the rally because he wanted to get informed about what his future might be. He didn't understand why the DC government hires new teachers and layoff others under the excuse of lack of funding. He said he was a bit nervous but excited at the same time.

Mayor Fenty's arrogance is not only affecting parents, teachers and students but is also ruining his chances to get reelected. Although Fenty is done some good things for the city and he seemed to be a good leader, at the end he is hurting people's rights. What a disappointment.

Meanwhile, the DC school system is still failing for many.

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