NJ Education Report

Campbell Brown responds to Democratic candidates’ compliance with AFT’s and NEA’s demands that they boycott The74’s education summit:

The teachers unions active attempt to undercut an event sponsored by two organizations dedicated to education reform and a highly respected newspaper perhaps says more about the AFT’s and NEA’s weakness than their strength. 

Voters have demonstrated time and again that candidates who buck the teachers union are rewarded. The NEA and AFT oppose empowering parents, they oppose charter schools, oppose common sense tenure reform that would protect good teachers and remove ineffective teachers, and they sue to stop parents from accessing school choice programs.  Meanwhile, voters strongly support all of these issues which is why in 2014, despite spending an estimated $100 million, the NEA and AFT were largely seen as the biggest losers of the election cycle. In nearly all parts of the country, voters rebuked the teachers unions’ message and backed reform-minded candidates. 

In the end, while the NEA and AFT may claim a momentary victory by silencing discussion and debate on education reform, ultimately they will continue to lose the battle with public opinion. More and more parents and voters have rejected the teachers union antiquated, top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to education, and continue to elect candidates who embrace reform that celebrates students and empowers parents.