California parents watched for the past two years as the poor leadership in the California public schools system failed students academically, socially, mentally and emotionally. Parents were forced to work from home or quit their jobs in 2020 while the demands by the teachers unions were met keeping them all employed. The teachers union president from the Coachella Valley district claimed that when parents pushed for schools to reopen, teachers were too “exhausted” to go back.
What an insult to every working family out there that also lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and were also exhausted from having to adjust their lives not only to the new world around us, but also to the demands of the teachers union. Parents are angry that their children are being used as human shields by the unions across the nation all for an extra few bucks in the union coffers.
During 2020, Jonathan Zachreson led one of the very first parent groups to push back on these tyrannical demands. Jonathan was able to unite parents across the state. Parents felt safety in numbers and looked to other parents who were complete strangers for guidance and support. They began to cheer each other on after speaking at their school board meetings or to the media. When parents realized local media was ignoring their stories of advocacy, parents were forced to become their own media by spreading awareness of the failing schools and the corrupt teachers unions vigorously through their social media platforms. In echoing frustrations, these parents gave heart and community to other parents who felt alone..
As other parent groups formed, those small echo chambers became a resilient army. They were then organizing rallies, demanding a seat at the table, calling on the legislature and local elected officials to put a stop to the nonsensical legislation and resolutions. Parents continued to expose controversial curriculum after seeing what was being taught on Zoom in their own homes.
In demanding transparency from local school board members, parents were gaslighted and labeled as “domestic terrorists.” Several teachers’ unions which jumped on the “defund the police” bandwagon, ironically stacked every school board meeting with law enforcement for their own protection and to intimidate parents. That didn’t slow parents down. The momentum to take back schools kept increasing, though at a slower pace than desired.
