Protest DeVos and Sagan in Cambridge on Thursday

Protest DeVos and Sagan in Cambridge on Thursday

Barbara Madeloni

Barbara Madeloni, President


Greetings, 

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is coming to Cambridge on Thursday, and we will be there to "greet" her.

Come to a "Stand for All Students" rally at 5 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics, 79 JFK St., to let DeVos know what you think of her privatization agenda.

Our message is this: Dump DeVos and dump Paul Sagan, chair of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Both DeVos and Sagan have used their vast wealth to promote the privatization of public education.

DeVos is infamous for supporting vouchers to private and religious schools while refusing to commit the federal government to barring funds for any such schools that discriminate against students based on sexuality, race or special needs.

The latest outrage from DeVos is her decision to withdraw Title IX guidance to protect survivors of sexual violence - more evidence that she refuses to put students first.

Meanwhile, here in Massachusetts, state officials revealed earlier this month that Sagan had given $496,000 in "dark money" to an organization supporting the Yes on 2 campaign. That organization paid a record-breaking fine for its lack of transparency.

Sagan has refused to answer questions about whether he knew his contribution would be kept secret. This issue has shined a bright light on how much more strongly he is committed to quasi-private charter schools than he is to the public schools his board is supposed to oversee and support.

Show up, stand up, and protest the DeVos/Sagan privatization agenda for public education.

Hands off our public schools!

Solidarity,

Barbara