This so much, senator elizabeth biden, whodr. Jill happens to be married to the Vice President , who happens to be the democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of america. I guess that is not fully formed until a few weeks from now, but i think we can bet he will be the democratic nominee. With senator warren and with dr. Biden, we have several other educators, because as you know, senator warren and dr. Biden are both educators, and those are afd leaders from across the crawfordand melissa and jerry jordan from philadelphia and pennsylvania. Ultimately, we are talking about reopening schools, which is on the top of the mind of virtually everyone in the country. We, at the aft really want to reopen School Safely for our kids and for the staff. Kids everywith our single day, and we did not hear anything from the president about this for weeks, until after joe biden spoke at the Convention Earlier last week, lifting up educators, pledging support for public education, and now suddenly, President Trump and betsy devos have woken up about schools and reopening after being completely silent for months. Instead of doing what we can usually count on a president to do in terms of leading with a plan that keeps teachers, kids, families safe, trump is demanding schools and campuses reopen without funding any of the necessary measures to do so safely, rejecting the cdc guidance, and he and betsy devos, unlawfully threatening to withhold funds if schools dont reopen. That is not president ial. That is not nice. That is reckless and dangerous, and it is purely political on his part. It abandons children, it abandons educators in the midst of a pandemic. States across the country have spiking cases. The truth is, american teachers dont want to wait for a vaccine to reopen schools. We know Public Schooling and inschool attendance is vitally important for our kids. But teachers and students need a real plan to reopen our schools and resources to do it safely. Our members know that. 76 of them support going back to School Buildings if we have the proper safe protocols, such as physical distancing of six feet, masks and other ppe, proper cleaning and ventilation, and reasonable accommodations for those at risk. We know our kids need to go back to school. We know what you know, Remote Learning is a supplement. It doesnt substitute for in school learning. 86 of our educators found it didnt really meet the needs even though they were herculean in trying to help turn on a dime to do remote education. It is not just the loss of learning that worries educators. Teachers are concerned about, parents are concerned about kids, how they are doing, feeling isolated. So many kids have told us that losing a loved one, Food Insecurity at home, and we know our kids need the personal engagement and the socialization. Ultimately, you know everything i pretty much have said, but teachers and parents want to make sure this year is a good year for kids. Next year, or this year, the next few weeks, will likely be a hybrid of remote, mixed and inperson instruction. There is nothing normal about that, but there is nothing normal about the time we are in. We are facing these three crises, the Racial Justice crisis, the pandemic and economic crisis, and there needs to be people who help us meet that moment. Frankly, what you have today is, you have not only our leaders here who are helping meet that moment, but you have two amazing leaders in senator Elizabeth Warren and dr. Jill biden who really are listening, and to understand kids and communities and schools and educators. So i want to start with senator warren. I said, do you see . We even have a plan for reopening schools . Senator warren has thought about more things around education that i think any other human being i have ever met in my life. Senator Elizabeth Warren. Sen. Warren thank you. Hello, aft. Im so happy to have this chance to be on a call with some of the strongest, hardest working and most dedicated people in the country. Americas Public School teachers and counselors and cafeteria workers and bus drivers, the people who devote their lives to educating our children, im so grateful to all of you. I never thought i would end up in politics, not in a million years. When i ran for office, i quickly this covered nobody does this on their own. I learned that to be effective, it is critical to have allies who know how to get the job done. Allies like my dear friend randi weingarten. You know how to get out there every day and make it happen. I want to give a shout out to to someone who has been a longtime advocate for students and for hardworking families. The next first lady of the United States, dr. Jill biden. Educators deserve a partner in the white house, and with President Joe Biden and first lady, dr. Jill biden, they wont get one advocate, they will get two and that is what we need. This is a time of crisis for our nation, and across the country, the fight for social, racial, and Economic Justice has reached a new threshold. As we fight for justice, we are also fighting to stem the tide of the coronavirus outbreak. This pandemic has already killed more than 130,000 americans. The trump administrations response to the Public Health crisis has been cruel, heartless, and incompetent. So today, as families are suffering and they are sick and they are scared, Donald Trumps administration has basically just given up the fight to try to stem the tide of this crisis. Teachers and families have worked hard to try to keep kids learning during this crisis. But the federal government has failed our students and failed our schools, and betsy devos has spent the entire pandemic finding new ways to shovel millions of taxpayer dollars into private schools. In congress, republicans have failed to provide schools with the resources they need to be able to weather this storm. We know Distance Learning just isnt the same as being in school. We know Distance Learning has been devastating for some of our kids, particularly for kids of color. That is why we all want schools to be able to open, but only when they can open safely. I have news for President Trump and the republicans who are trying to politicize the safety and wellbeing of our students. You cant just snap your fingers and reopen the schools. Forcing schools to reopen without providing them with the resources they need to do so safely, or the flexibility to be able to respond to outbreaks in their community, is both dangerous and reckless. Reopening schools is going to require careful planning that puts the safety of students, teachers, staff, all first, and provides the methodology and the attention needed to present prevent the spread of covid in our schools and our communities. And that is why it is so critically important that teachers and school staff have to be at the table for these decisions. We need a secretary of education who will work with teachers to help the states and districts develop reopening plans based on the best available Public Health information. Instead of spending her time sending buckets of emergency taxpayer money to private schools. We need real leadership in the white house, starting with the president , to significantly reduce the spread of this virus. We need a congress that will act fast to invest real money in stabilizing our state and local governments, our childcare and our k12 schools, instead of blocking critical aid to schools and to states. There are lots of ways to accomplish these goals, but time is of the essence. We know we face an uphill battle here, but this, this is the fight that we have been called to come of fight to build an america that provides educators with the support and the respect that they need and deserve. An america that builds a better tomorrow for every child from birth, so regardless of their zip code, their family income, their race or their ability, they are safe and their opportunities look pretty much like everyone elses. An america that can only be possible with joe and jill biden in the white house. Unmute myself. Thank you, senator. That was also an amazing testament to our next speaker, who many of us know from the obama years, but dr. Jill biden was a k12 teacher and a Community College professor. During the entire time that her husband was the Vice President , she kept her job teaching students. We are the largest higher ed union, we have a lot of Community College professors, but they are a special breed in that there is a sense of the pathway that they help kids find, and the ladder they help kids climb from generation to generation. Dr. Biden lives this, breathes this, this is her soul, and you can see why i was saying this to senator warren and dr. Biden unity can see why the platform that came out a couple days ago was really so much the heart and soul of what we believe in. That is a large testament to the person who is at joe bidens side all the time, dr. Jill biden. Dr. Biden thank you. Randi, you are fierce and tireless. For more than a decade, you have been the face of this dynamic and powerful group of educators. You fight for us every day. Joe and i are incredibly proud of the leaders and organizations who have chosen to stand by us. As an educator myself, having the aft on our side means so much to me personally. Thank you for your leadership and your support. Thank you, senator warren, for joining us today. As a fellow educator, advocate, and as a senator, elizabeth, you have been an inspiration to so many people across our country for many, many years. You have fought for students and middleclass families and the values that our nation aspires to live up to. With every selfie and pinky promise, you reminded young women across this nation that yes, they, too, belong in the white house. Because running for president is what girls do. But you didnt do it alone. Bruce and bailey were always by your side. Being the spouse of a candidate can be a real experience that not a lot of people relate to. So i enjoyed getting to know bruce, as well. Thank you for all that you have done for this nation and for your support in this race. Hello, everyone at aft. It is so wonderful to be with the aft membership. Many of whom have been on our front lines during this pandemic, and so many passionate educators. I know a lot of you have been working hard to get the heroes act passed in the senate. I want to thank you for that. Before we jump into our conversation, i want to tell you a quick story. A few years ago i went to puerto rico to see a school in a Poor Community of punto santiago. Six months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, the effects of the storm were still present. The schoolyard remained piled with debris. Most of the buses were destroyed. As well as the parents vehicles. Students as young as five years old had to walk miles and miles to school. This was an american school, and the students there missed so much time in the classroom that they lost the entire academic year. Yet, amidst the devastation, i saw hope growing like dandelions through concrete. The children laughed as they practiced their grammar lessons, and with saintly patience, the teachers would refocus the kid attention and on top of the dark, shoulderhigh water lines that stained the walls, the teachers had pasted cheerful colorful paper flowers. In the face of devastation, i saw the strength of the human spirit. The determination to create something beautiful for our children. Because that is what educators do. Make something out of nothing, inspire, instill confidence. We have seen it again and again during this crisis. Many of you learned to teach online nearly overnight. With creativity, you figured how to reach children who dont have the internet or devices at home. You have been sounding boards, counselors, and social workers, and so much more. Many of you have done it while trying to guide your own children to Remote Learning. If there is one thing we have seen over these last few months, it is that schools are not just places where our children learn. They are the safe havens where students find counsel, purpose, and friendship. And they give parents the ability to focus on their careers and support families knowing their children are safe. It has also shown us the deep inequities in our system. Less access to technology and the internet, Food Insecurity, and the anxiety that comes from poverty. Safety, opportunity, and education cant be dependent on your race, family income, or zip code. And that is why we have to get reopening our schools right. A generation of students, families, and educators are counting on us to prevent the spread of this virus. And empower them to grow, and invest in our future. Our future. Joe understands that, and that is why schools are a key part of his vision of how we should reopen our economy safely. He knows that schools are going to need funds to keep them, to keep staff and students safe with protective gear. They are going to need help making sure classrooms can socially distance, and they are going to need to make sure the students have access to broadband and other technologies if we continue to rely on Remote Learning. They are going to need more Mental Health support to deal with the trauma of this pandemic, and i cant stress that enough. Joe also understands that the best policies dont come from politics, sorry elizabeth, they come from listening to educators like all of you. And you know better than anyone what your students need, and you need to be leading our efforts. Not being told what you should do by politicians who have never set foot in a Public School classroom. When joe is president , he will make sure that you have the funding, guidance, and support that you need. He will lift up your voice and make sure your right to organize is protected. And, randi, you know this, he will appoint a secretary of education who has actually taught Public School and cares as much about our kids as you do. Most of all, he will listen to educators. He will have to because he will be sharing the white house with one. That is why i am here today, to listen, to learn, to take your stories back to joe and our campaign, and to thank you again for joining us and thank you for your work. We are so proud to have the aft on our side. Now, im going to turn it back to randi. Randi thank you. And thank you, senator warren. Yes, look, i grew up in a family where i still called my parent friends mr. And misses. So, sorry. Senator warren, dr. Biden, we love you and we know everyone is watching, and after you have heard them, you can understand the deep conviction to the work that we do, and our members do, every single day to make a difference in the lives of children and students and young adults, and to really want to make sure that this moment is one where we can actually lead to hope and aspiration and overcome fear and anxiety, but we know we need leadership, and that is why we are really so excited about the Vice President , and i have said this before, i will say it again, he was the person i went to all the time in the obama administration, and he listened to us. He didnt always agree, but he really listened in the kind of respectful way, and tried to make things right, and that is who we have not just in joe biden, but in dr. B. And senator warren. They try to make things right, to make government work for people. I just want to have each of our panelists speak for a few minutes, then open it up to other questions. We asked our panelists not to take on the waterfront. Some of you saw that i was reading my notes because i can go on and on if i dont. But i want to make sure we hit several of the real issues that are being raised and our members care about in terms of safely opening, reasonable accommodations, what about the kids needs, what about money and the heroes act . Each of our speakers are going to take one piece of this in stead of all of it. Jerry jordan is the president of aft local three. We always compete between chicago, which is local one, new york city, which i was the president and michael is now, local two, and jerry jordan, president of local three in philadelphia. He serves as the vice chair of afts human and Civil Rights Committee and he taught english to speakers of other languages prior to becoming an officer of philly is a place where there are lots of ventilation problems, yet the local has really tried to figure out how to get those problems solved and how to reopen schools safely. With that, i want, jerry will talk about at risk students and their there needs needs, and what we need to do. Dr. Jordan thank you very much, randi and senator warren and dr. Biden. I thank you all for your unwavering leadership. Now more than ever, your efforts will be central as we work to heal our nation in so many ways and address headon what randi describes as a triple crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recession, and systemic racism. For decades, the criminal underfunding of our schools has had a catastrophic effect on the lives of millions of our students across the nation. Here in philadelphia, where the vast majority of our students are black and brown, and over 80 live in poverty, this triple crisis has had profound ramifications. Most marginalized among us are the ones who have suffered most during these crises, and every single decision about reopening School Buildings must address this profound inequity. And now, amidst rising cases of covid across the nation, the occupant of the white house has once again shown his absolute disregard for science and, quite frankly, for humanity. I was disgusted when i read that trump referred to cdc guidelines as very tough and expensive, and prompting the current Vice President to shortly thereafter indicate tha