The Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, County Executive Steuart Pittman and other elected officials gathered Wednesday at Wiley H. Bates Middle School to protest Donald Trump’s massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Education.

Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to shut down the department entirely, and on March 11 the department released a statement announcing it is cutting half of its workforce.

“This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system,” new secretary of Education and former pro-wrestling executive Linda McMahon said in the statement.

Educators and elected officials in Anne Arundel argue the opposite.

“When we lift up the most vulnerable students, we lift up every student. But by the same token, when we harm, when we take away the supports that the most vulnerable students need, we harm every student,” District 6 Board of Education member Joanna Bache Tobin said in her remarks.

The National Education Association says cuts to the department jeopardize vital grants and services provided to the most vulnerable, including funding to Title I schools, civil rights accountability, data collection and research, special education resources, and scholarships.

The NEA asked its local chapters to organize “walk-ins” simultaneously to show unity. A walk-in, rather than the conventional protest of walking out to strike, is when educators and their supporters gather in front of a school before the school day begins to listen to speakers and then walk into the building together.

In Anne Arundel, the teachers association simultaneously hosted two walk-ins at Seven Oaks Elementary, with 20 people attending, and at Bates with more than 50.

The association and its supporters gathered at 7 a.m. outside Bates Middle School, sporting matching scarves and T-shirts. By the time teachers association Vice President Jorge Córdoba began speaking, a crowd of roughly 50 people had formed.

“Gutting the Department of Education affects all of us. It will lead to less support and fewer opportunities for our students, particularly students with disabilities and those from lower-income families,” Córdoba said. “Your sisters and brothers, our students deserve better than threats to their education.”

Before the elected officials spoke, Córdoba gave the floor to Bates teachers, who described the challenges teachers face and their fears about what cuts to the Department of Education could mean for their schools.

“I already see fewer college graduates choosing this profession, fewer new teachers staying more than two or three years and more of us retiring or just finding new nonteaching jobs,” said Maria Côté, an Anne Arundel County Public Schools graduate. “I am exhausted. My job is more than what most people imagine when they think of an eighth-grade social studies teacher. I am a mediator, a parent, an ally and a mentor both to students and staff.”

“My role as a school counselor is to be an advocate for students and families. When politicians threaten to cut social-emotional learning, they are harming my students,” said Danielle Weiss. “When elected leaders in Washington say they want to take away funding that helps low-income families receive federal student loans, free and reduced-price meals, special education, English language development and other resources, they’re harming my students.”

District 6 County Council member Lisa Rodvien, a former teacher who has recently been substitute teaching at Bates, and Pittman spoke last.

“If you feel scared, you’re not alone. There’s a lot of us feeling scared, and I know you know your students are scared and their families are scared, but I think they forgot what they’re up against. We are literally a nation of survivors,” said Rodvien.

Pittman said if local governments fill the void left by cuts to federal grants, taxes will have to go up significantly.

“It feels a lot like COVID. It’s impossible to predict exactly what’s going to happen, but when a woman like Linda McMahon, Ms. Pro Wrestler, comes in to run education and dismantle the institution, it’s pretty damn terrifying,” Pittman said.

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