Join us for the Teach-In on Tuesday, March 4 and listen to our panel of speakers.

SCAN QR CODE TO REGISTER FOR TUESDAY'S TEACH-IN!

Now is the time we stand together! Now is the time we stand up! The Department of Education is being threatened. This means we are all being threatened, educators, students, families, schools and communities. We need every school to stand in solidarity and participating in the events scheduled for our National Day of Action “March4Education” “Protect Our Kids” on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The DFT has planned actions scheduled all day to educate our students and parents about the threats to education. We will provide literature and a virtual toolkit of information. A virtual Teach-In on Zoom will culminate the day consisting of members, students, parents and community stakeholders providing information and perspectives on this current crisis we are facing.

#ProtectOurKids

AFT National has created three separate 30 second public service announcements that we encourage you to share.

1. Save Our Public Schools
2. Bake Sales to Raise Money for Schools
3. Public Schools Under Attack

Scan the QR code to register for Tuesday's Teach-In. 

👉 👉👉 👉 If you are not able to use the QR code, please register for the Teach-In using this link: Teach-In Registration Form.

Click here for fact sheets:

• Department of Education in English
• Department of Education in Spanish

CALL TO ACTION:

Contact Your Lawmaker and tell them this: Letter to Lawmakers. There are hyperlinks within the content so you can reach out directly to state and federal legislators. We must #ProtectOurKids.
 

Due to the postponement of the February DFT General Membership Meeting, the Election Calendar has been revised for the upcoming election for the Election Committee and the vacancy on the Executive Board.

The Executive Board has approved the following date changes to the calendar. 

• Nominations close: Thursday, February 27, 2025 as the last order of business of the General Membership Meeting
• Eligible Candidates List: Monday, March 3, 2025
• Deadline for Filing Grievances: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
• Grievances Schedules: Thursday, March 6, 2025 at the DFT Office: 4:00 p.m. Election Committee hears grievances; 4:30 p.m. Executive Board hears grievances appeals from Election Committee

Please reach out to the Election Committee if you have any questions: dft231ec@gmail.com

Please tune in to Channel 4, WDIV, on Sunday, February 16 at 10:00 a.m. as President Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins joins host Jason Colthrop and other panelists as he hosts a roundtable on education on this week's episode of Flashpoint. The DFT was invited to give a teacher's perspective on issues such as test scores and Detroit school incentives.  

If you are not able to watch it live, the rebroadcast of the show will be uploaded to their website at https://www.clickondetroit.com/flashpoint/ or YouTube. The discussion is in the second half of the show.

It is time for the DFT to hold its annual election for the Election Committee. Nominations and acceptances for three (3) Election Committee Members and one (1) Executive Board Vacancy must be scanned and emailed to (dft231ec@gmail.com) by 5pm (EST) on February 13, 2025, or brought in person and delivered directly to the Election Committee at the February 13, 2025 General Membership Meeting. Nominations will be closed at the end of the General Membership meeting.

Here is the calendar for the Spring 2025 DFT Elections.

Here is the nomination form for the vacant Executive Board position.

Here is the nomination form for the Election Committee members.

There is much concern about the recent statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcing it would end a policy restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools.  

We want to share some resources with our members that AFT National is providing as we deal with this uncertainty. We have also posted these resources in our January 2025 The Detroit Teacher. 

RESOURCES: https://www.aft.org/our-community/immigration

• Rights for Immigrant Students/English
• Rights for Immigrant Students/Spanish
• Deportation Defense Toolkit/English
• Deportation Defense Toolkit/Spanish
• Educators' Guide/English
• Know Your Rights Information for Students and Families/English
• Know Your Rights Information for Students and Families/Spanish
• 15 Things to Do to Protect Students/English
• Family Immigration Raid Emergency Plan/English
• Family Immigration Raid Emergency Plan/Spanish
• Share My Lesson Immigration Lesson Plans
• Colorín Colorado Serving and Supporting Immigrant Students

AFT National and the California Federation of Teachers are raising money for people who have lost everything. Can you help by giving to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund today?  Every penny that goes into our Disaster Relief Fund will go directly to fire victims and rebuilding, with no fees or overhead taken out. There’s going to be so much that needs to be done as LA recovers and rebuilds. People have lost their homes. Communities have lost their schools. Educators have lost all the school supplies and books they spent their own money on—and so much more. While we can’t replace priceless pictures of families, heirlooms passed down from grandparents or the sense of belonging that a home gives, what we can do is show our members that they are not alone. The AFT and CFT are working hand in hand to make sure our members are OK, that they have the support and resources they need in this crisis, and that they know we’re ready to help them rebuild.

You can make a difference right now. Click here to donate to our Disaster Relief Fund. If you prefer to mail a check, make it out to CFT Disaster Relief Fund and mail to: CFT Disaster Relief Fund, 2550 North Hollywood Way, Suite 400, Burbank, CA 91505. Please note: Checks will be deposited electronically to your bank so you may see a debit on your account rather than a check deposited through your bank.

The DFT is expressing its condolences upon the death of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Here is the official Jimmy Carter condolences website, in which you can publicly express your sympathy to the family: Jimmy Carter Tribute.

Use Share My Lesson for information about him: Jimmy Carter Lesson Planning.

Just a reminder that Thursday, January 9, 2025 is the official day of mourning for the former President and that all federal departments and agencies will be closed per this White House Executive Order.

AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“We share in the entire country’s sadness at President Carter’s death. He was a man of incredible selflessness and decency, and he lived a life embodying the principles we hold most dear: social justice, equity and humanity. President Carter was an accomplished author, a devoted humanitarian, an avid sportsman and an ongoing voice of reason in an increasingly tumultuous political climate.

“The Carter administration established the Department of Education to signify the importance of providing opportunity for all of America’s young people, a goal as important today as it was then. He forged a historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. And as our oldest living president, he continued his life of service working to end global conflict and improve election protection, international health and housing. Our country is better off because of Jimmy Carter, and we send our deepest condolences to the Carter family.”

The DFT will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 20, 2024 and we will return back to the office on Monday, January 6th. On behalf of the Executive Board, Trustees, and staff our best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.  

🛒🎁🛍️ Just a reminder for those who still have some holiday shopping left to do: Shop Union. We posted some pages in the November issue of The Detroit Teacher, pages 16-25. The list of union-made goods has been updated for December: Buy Union For the Holidays, Buy Union for Hanukkah and Buy Union for New Year's Eve.

Dr. Crystal Lee began her educational career in 1984 as a Special Education Instructional Aide for Wayne RESA. When the Detroit Public Schools took over the special education program in 1998, her position changed to a Special Education Trainable Aide. While she worked as a Special Education Aide, she pursued her dream of becoming a teacher and in the fall of 2009, she accepted a position at Detroit Transition Center West as a Special Education Teacher for students with severe cognitive impairments. The following year DTC West merged with DTC East to become the Charles R. Drew Transition Center, where Crystal remained for the rest of her teaching career.

Her union activism was evident early on in her career, where she served as union steward for AFSCME Local 345, a position she held for eleven years. After her move to the Detroit Federation of Teachers, she was elected as the building representative for Drew. From 2013-2018 Crystal ran for a position on the DFT Election Committee, then in 2020 she successfully ran for the Executive Board. She was recently reelected to her third term.

Crystal enrolled in the doctoral program and finished her coursework in Winter 2022 and defended her dissertation proposal in Summer 2023, which was tentatively titled “Parents’ Education Experiences of Learning for Postsecondary Students with Profound Intellectual Disabilities in Detroit, Michigan During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic”. Unfortunately, she was not able to complete her dissertation, but Wayne State University presented her with an honorary doctoral degree in 2024.

Crystal leaves behind her two sons, Michael Wilson, Jr, and Christian Clark; nine grandchildren, one great-granddaughter;  three sisters, Diana Lee (Terry), Audrey Lee, and Michelle Lee; one brother, Herbert Lee, Jr.; nieces, nephews, extended family, and her colleagues at Drew and the DFT. Preceding Crystal in death were her parents, her loving son, DeWayne Lee, and three siblings: Belinda Humes, Velveeta Lee, and Gregory Lee.

Crystal’s legacy will never be forgotten and in her own words, “I lived a good life.”

Click here for an enlarged version of the resolution: