A Day Without Immigrants

Today is a “Day Without Immigrants” with protests around the country.

I asked the district if they were going to be tracking for large numbers of absences and the answer was they are tracking absences as usual. They also said:

If a student leaves school without permission it is considered an unexcused absence. Joining political actions is not a valid excuse according to the State.

I talked with one school (which shall remain nameless) where at least 30 students were absence because of the protest.  There may have been one teacher as well who also was not at school today.  Schools with higher numbers of minority students - many of whom are immigrants - and that also have ELL programs may have had higher protest numbers than other schools.  Many schools have decided to display signs of support for their communities, welcoming all students and parents and saying that their schools are "safe" places. 

From the NY Times:

Restaurants, from San Francisco to Phoenix to Washington, D.C., were some of the most visible spots affected, with well-known chefs closing some of their eateries for the day in support. Rick Bayless, the Chicago chef and owner of the Frontera Grill, announced on social media that he was closing several of his restaurants “out of respect” for his staff’s vote to support the action.

Some schools and child-care centers across the country experienced a drop in attendance.

At KIPP Austin Comunidad, a majority-Hispanic charter school in Austin, Tex., one teacher posted on Twitter that only seven of her 26 students came to school on Thursday. “Some of our school buses were coming to school with two and four children on them,” said Sarah Gonzales, a second-grade bilingual teacher at the school. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

At Siler City Elementary School in rural North Carolina, where 65 percent of the school population is Hispanic, 263 of the 662 students were absent on Thursday. Just 18 were absent on Wednesday, said John McCann a spokesman for the county school district.

Next up is a Day without Women, a strike scheduled for International Women's Day on March 8th.

In the spirit of women and their allies coming together for love and liberation, we offer A Day Without A Woman.

We ask: do businesses support our communities, or do they drain our communities? 
Do they strive for gender equity or do they support the policies and leaders that perpetuate oppression? 
Do they align with a sustainable environment or do they profit off destruction and steal the futures of our children? 

 We saw what happened when millions of us stood together in January, and now we know that our army of love greatly outnumbers the army of fear, greed and hatred. 

On March 8th, International Women’s Day, let’s unite again in our communities for A Day Without A Woman. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing more information on what actions on that day can look like for you. In the meantime, we are proud to support Strike4Democracy's #F17 National Day of Action to Push Back Against Assaults on Democratic Principles. 

This Friday, February 17th, gather your friends, families, neighbors, and start brainstorming ideas for how you can enhance your community, stand up to this administration, integrate resistance and self-care into your daily routine, and how you will channel your efforts for good on March 8th. 

Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint. #DayWithoutAWoman #WomensMarch