You Can Gut a Department, But You Can’t Kill our Spirit

What happens when Washington walks away from public education? We keep fighting for what’s right.

When did chaos become such a vibe?

As the CEO of RocketPD and a former journalist turned staunch education advocate, I cannot in my life remember a time when the future of our schools — in particular, vital resource allocations for tens of thousands of disabled and at-risk students — felt so summarily expendable.

As someone with Cerebral Palsy, I personally benefited from the types of special-education services that the current administration seeks to undo in its fervent dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. I remember my therapist, Ms. Betsy, pulling me out of class weekly to hone flexibility, fine motor skills, even basic handwriting. I don’t know where I’d be if not for Ms. Betsy’s professionalism and care. Almost certainly not here.

Like you, I’ve seen footage of the protests outside federal buildings in Washington, D.C. Yet, I can hardly imagine the uncertainty that my friends and colleagues on the front lines in schools across the country must be feeling as they wake up and head in to work not knowing what, if any, resources they or their students will have even a few months from now.

Rumors of the federal education department’s demise have been circling for months — if not, years. But the axe-like finality with which cuts to vital staffing, student loan, IDEA and teacher-training programs are occurring has left little time for contingencies. Faced with so much uncertainty, no one could blame you for retreating — at the very least, for pulling back and taking stock. A quick scan of state budget projections tells us everything we need to know about public sentiment. Even in my role now, as a leader, there is some part of me that wants to bury my head in hopes that all this will pass. But I learned long ago that I am not that type of person. If you’re like the hard-working educators that I’ve gotten to know and learn from, neither are you.

Three short years ago, we were smack in the middle of a global pandemic. We sacrificed, but we persevered. If our students needed great teachers and staff then, they need that benefit even more now. It won’t be easy. Rising to this moment requires us to get creative in how we allocate and use finite resources. It requires undaunted courage in our work and actions. Most of all, it requires a plan.

So here’s my ask:

Take whatever professional learning dollars you do have — and stretch them. Start small. Start smart. Focus on solutions that give teachers more voice, more choice, and more flexibility. Ditch the high-cost, one-size-fits-all compliance-heavy workshops. Instead, invest in learning that fits into a real teacher’s day and actually helps them do the job better tomorrow than they did it yesterday.

Train the people you have so they can train others. Create space for peer mentoring. Build internal capacity so your best educators become your most trusted guides.

And when possible, lean into partnerships that are built around actual problems — not just policy checkboxes.

We started RocketPD with a simple belief: when you give educators the tools and the time to think, to collaborate, and to grow — they rise. They always rise. Even now.

We may not be able to reverse the chaos being wrought in Washington. But we can meet this moment with the resolve and ingenuity that have always defined our profession.

Our kids are still showing up. Our teachers are still showing up. So must we.

Let’s get to work — and keep up the fight!