Who We Are
Vision
Baltimore AROS believes all students have a constitutional, civil, and human right to a high quality, equitably funded, public education. We believe education should reflect the whole child and prepare students to deeply understand the roots of inequality and prepare them to act to change the world.
Mission
The Baltimore Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools is a coalition of parents, educators, students, school staff, and community groups fighting for an equitably funded, quality public education system.
The Coalition Members
The Baltimore Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools is a coalition of parents, educators, students, school staff, and community groups fighting for an equitably funded, quality public education system. Participating organizations have a rich history of deep community organizing and came together to create a new alliance that could win the public schools Maryland students deserve.
Baltimore AROS is part of a national group called The Alliance To Reclaim Our Schools
The Baltimore AROS table includes: Baltimore Teachers Union, Project,Teachers Democracy Project (TDP), AFT-MD, Students Organizing for a Multicultural and Open Society (SOMOS), ACLU-MD, Baltimore Algebra , Good Kids MAAD City Baltimore, Baltimore Movement Of Rank and file Educators (BMORE), Palestinian Youth Movement DMV Chapter, and Baltimoreans for Educational Equity (BEE).
Our Principles
Our vision is based on the following principles:
Equity:
Equitable school funding is the responsibility of local, state, and federal governments and should allow all schools to thrive. This means we need to commit to demanding that corporations, organizations and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes.
School choice as currently structured is inequitable. We need a new system that ensures all schools are choice-worthy and that all students, especially those most underserved, like our English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and Title I students, are properly prepared to make this choice.
Equitable hiring and retention practices so that barriers to hiring and retaining Black teachers are eliminated
Teaching the whole child:
We demand a culturally relevant and engaging curriculum with a respect for uplifting and affirming students’ various identities.
A commitment to restorative rather than punitive schools.
Schools need to be committed to Universal Human Rights so that schools ensure students' basic needs are met.
Replace high-stakes tests that are used to punish schools, teachers and students, with more equitable forms of evaluation which prioritizes time for teaching and learning.
Teachers in Baltimore deserve to choose from a range of high quality differentiated professional development opportunities to adequately serve students in the classroom.
Participatory and Democratic:
Schools should be participatory and democratic spaces where students, parents, and community members are part of the decision making. Schools must prioritize including students in decision making and giving them tangible decision-making experience so they are prepared to be a part of a participatory democracy.