Open Letter to Stand

Open Letter to Stand for Children

We represent organizations across Massachusetts, including communities that Stand for Children now claims to represent. When a well-financed group like Stand for Children, backed by out-of-state and corporate money, arrives with a plan to “fix” our schools, but fails to consult with any of us or solicit our input, it raises deep concerns.

At a time when many of our organizations are struggling to provide essential services, or even to remain afloat, Stand spent more than $250,000 to essentially buy its way onto the November ballot—at $3 per signature—and still had enough money left to blanket the state with radio, television and newspaper ads.  

We now learn that Stand is backed by corporate foundations connected to Walmart, Bain Capital and JP Morgan Chase, and that your ballot initiative would diminish community voice, strip teachers of their rights, all the while failing to deal with many of the real issues confronting our children.

Had you consulted with any of our organizations and community leaders, we would have told you what our children need: a fair and substantive opportunity to learn in a safe environment. This consists of a well-rounded curriculum that includes art, music, theater programs, vocational and technological training—not just test prep; an end to discipline practices that push our kids into the school to prison pipeline; and better programs, services and supports for our English language learners and special-needs students that respond to their genuine needs. Most of all, our communities need more and better jobs so that our kids believe that school actually leads to something.

Your ballot initiative addresses none of these needs.

We need a real conversation in Massachusetts about the best way to improve our schools, an honest, collaborative exchange that includes parents, students, teachers and the community. What we don’t need are phony sound bite “solutions” backed by big corporate money.  

Stand: please respect our communities and withdraw your ballot question today.