The public education landscape is a bit of a minefield these days.Inflation is blowing up school budgets.A new education tax credit that will direct federal tax dollars into private schools goes into effect in January.
At the same time, the Trump administration is dismantling the Department of Education brick by brick.Enter Princess Moss, the new face of the nation's largest labor union, the National Education Association.Its membership includes 3 million teachers and public workers from every state."Public education is under attack," she says.
"Our students are under attack.The very foundation of this democracy is public education — that is under attack."Her vision for the NEA — what she calls "resistance to renaissance" — has some markings of past leadership.
It puts things like professional autonomy and community organizing front and center, but there is one stark departure she wants for the union."I want us to become our own political authority," Moss says."Meaning that we're not aligning ourselves with a political party."Princess Moss grew up the daughter of two school bus drivers in Spotsylvania County in rural Virginia.
She recalls many teachers from her childhood who inspired her to pursue a career in schools.But her second grade teacher, Lucy T.
Lewis, stands out.Moss remembers Lewis telling her she was smart back in 1968, even after she misspelled the word refrigerator in front of the entire class.Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly."I wanted to be just like Mrs.
Lewis," she says."Where you could help students learn and help students be the best that they could be even if they made a mistake every now and then."Moss went on to work as an elementary school music teacher for more than 20 years in a neighboring county.
Along the way she rose up the ranks in state union leadership, presiding over the Virginia Education Association from 2004 to 2008 and eventually moving up the ladder at the NEA.Moss now takes on...