Please Do More to Protect the Department of Education

congress I’m writing to you not only as a constituent but as the daughter of a woman who devoted her entire life to public education. My mother was a teacher and a principal in under-resourced, rural schools—places where students often relied on free lunches, hand-me-downs, and the steady presence of adults who believed in them. My mom was one of those adults. She referred to her students as “her kids” because they meant that much to her. She took her role seriously, and she knew she didn’t do it alone. The Department of Education was critical to her work. It provided federal guidance, resources, and protections that helped her schools stay afloat and allowed her students to access the opportunities they deserved. Without that support, the incredible work she and her fellow educators did—especially in communities like ours—would not have been possible. Watching Donald Trump threaten to dismantle the Department of Education feels like a gut punch. It’s not just policy—it’s personal. It devalues the work of public servants like my mom and undermines decades of effort to make education more equitable and accessible in this country. I know you have spoken out against this agenda, and I’m grateful for your leadership. But I urge you to do more. Please continue to stand up loudly and visibly for the Department of Education. Push back against any attempts to defund, dismantle, or delegitimize it. Bring stories like my mom’s into the public conversation. Remind people what’s at stake. For the sake of all the kids who still rely on “their” teachers—and for the memory of those teachers who gave their all—we cannot stay quiet. Thank you for hearing me.