Local educators worked with leaders from their national union Tuesday to give Scranton students more access to reading.
Members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), including President Randi Weingarten, attended the Scranton Federation of Teacher's Back to School event at Connor’s Park in South Scranton. They aimed to give out 2,000 books.
The AFT is the second largest teachers union in the country. Teachers in the Scranton School District are part of that union.
The giveaway is part of the AFT’s “Reading Opens the World” literacy campaign. The stop in Scranton was also an opportunity for the union to kick off another important campaign, called “What Kids and Communities Need”
“This is a kickoff in terms of how we have a great school year where we really reconnect with kids, kids reconnect with each other, and, and we try to put COVID in the backup round," said Weingarten, who leads the 1.7 million member union, before the event.
The union’s literacy campaign began in December. Their mission is to distribute one million books nationwide in conjunction with First Book.
“The AFT is really focused on helping nurture the love of reading and what better way to nurture that love is when you give books away to kids and their families, so that they have them at home," she said.
They also gave out classroom supplies to educators and school staff of the Scranton School District.
The labor organization’s “What Kids and Communities Need” campaign is focused on getting back to the basics of education. The AFT is investing in classroom initiatives and supporting educators and programs that help kids and communities succeed in the long term.
They’re also working to put the focus back on students and their education as well as their mental and emotional health and keeping them safe from gun violence. The campaign is also pushing for communities to "vote against politicians who are focused on things like book banning, culture wars and injecting division into classrooms, rather than investing in mental health resources, literacy programs, and efforts to reduce class sizes," according to the union.
“Scranton is clear example of a contrast between last year and this year, in that, people want to turn the page on COVID and turn the page on the divisive, mean spirited, politician driven, dividing communities against each other," said Weingarten.
Teachers in the Scranton School District were in the midst of contentious contract negotiations before the start of last school year, which led to a 12-day strike in November. Like many kids across the country, Scranton students were out of the classroom for more than a year because of the pandemic.
"We want to have a good school year. So what we're saying today is instead of banning books and censoring curriculum, like some politicians in Pennsylvania do, let's roll up our sleeves, get back to the basics, and have a school year where kids feel safe and welcoming in their public schools where we give kids access to the knowledge and the skills that they need to succeed in life," Weingarten said.
Local students are beginning to go back to school this week. The first day of school in the Scranton School District is Sept. 8.
