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HOUSTON — Jenna Coston summed up her experience as a teacher over the past four years in two words: “very stressful.”
Texas teachers have reported feeling burned out, under-resourced and under-recognized in recent years as they dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, classroom reforms spearheaded by Republican lawmakers and a failure to provide state funding for pay raises.
For those gathered at the American Federation of Teachers national convention in Houston on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris’ message of gratitude was a welcome change of pace.
“You have taken on the noblest of jobs: caring about the well-being of America’s children,” Harris said.
Harris’ comments came on the final day of the AFT national convention, three days after the union, which represents more than 1.7 million members, became the first labor union to endorse her presidential bid.
“It makes me feel good because I know she cares,” said Coston, who teaches eighth-grade English in the Aldine Independent School District.
Gina Coston poses for a portrait following Vice President Kamala Harris’ keynote address at the American Teachers Union’s 88th National Convention.
credit:
Daniel Villasana, Texas Tribune
Harris’ message was the equivalent of what some educators had hoped to hear from her in recent days: a message of solidarity. They acknowledged that while the president can’t control everything that happens in schools, their influence and help in shaping the national agenda is significant, especially in Texas at this time.
Over the past few years, teachers have had to adapt to online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Enrollment dropped and people left their jobs. Officials, school districts, and parents fought over mask mandates. New state laws restricted how schools taught about race, gender, and sexual orientation and expanded Christian influence. School boards banned books. School shootings occurred. The state fired the democratically elected school board and superintendent of the largest school district. Gov. Greg Abbott used his power to push through a program that would allow families to use taxpayer money to pay for their children’s private education. And all the while, their demands for pay raises were largely ignored.
One of the teachers at the rally, Tiffany Spurlock, a second-grade math and science teacher in the Cy-Fair Independent School District, said she was concerned about inflation and her district’s budget woes, exacerbated by the failure of the Texas Legislature to approve a significant budget increase during last year’s voucher battle.
Spurlock also worries about her colleagues in the Houston Independent School District, which now comes under state oversight: She and her three children formerly attended schools in the district, where she says current students, parents and teachers are being held to unfair standards.
Left: Convention attendees embrace as Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III speaks. Right: Vice President Kamala Harris arrives on stage to deliver the keynote address at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th National Convention.
credit:
Daniel Villasana, Texas Tribune
Attendees at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th National Convention applaud during a speech by Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, who spoke before Vice President Kamala Harris’ keynote address at the convention.
credit:
Daniel Villasana, Texas Tribune
Spurlock said Harris has a great opportunity to advocate for a system that works for all families.
“We need to make sure we’re doing what’s best for our kids,” Spurlock said, “not just process-wise, not just systems-wise, but morally.”
Governor Harris, who arrived in Houston the day before to be briefed on Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts, said Thursday that she will fight for the right of children and educators to have adequate resources to thrive inside and outside the classroom.
She also said she opposes Project 2025, the conservative-backed plan to re-elect President Donald Trump, which calls for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education, phasing out billions of dollars in aid to schools that serve low-income families and rolling back protections for students based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
“Project 2025 is a plan to take America back to its dark past,” Harris said. “But we’re not going backwards. We’re going forward.”
Before Harris became governor, some advocacy groups criticized her for being “out of touch” with Texas values.
“Texans have made it clear that they want parents, not the government, to control their children’s education,” said Genevieve Collins, state director of Americans for Prosperity Texas.
Coston saw Harris’ visit as an opportunity for the vice president to listen to teachers, saying Texas teachers are leaving the job because of insufficient pay and school funding, and he worries that more teachers are lacking formal training. He also worries about the safety of students and teachers in the context of gun violence.
Tiffany Spurlock poses for a portrait at the American Teachers Union’s 88th National Convention.
credit:
Daniel Villasana, Texas Tribune
“You have to feed your teachers and motivate them,” Coston said, “and then they can motivate the kids.”
In listening to Vice President Harris’ speech, Coston said she hoped the vice president would show he was aware of what was going on in schools, and she was encouraged to hear the speech.
“Now we just wait and see it happen,” Coston said.
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