(Washington, DC, Wednesday, September 1, 2021) – American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten will travel the length and breadth of the country this month in a $5 million multi-state “Back-to-School for all” tour to engage families, students, and educators in full-time, in-person instruction by creating safe and welcoming environments where kids can recover and thrive.

Schools are critical for our kids’ recovery, and this moment is an opportunity to fund our future fully and equitably, to create public schools where educators want to teach, parents want to send their kids, and kids can learn.

Working together with parents, administrators and communities, the American Federation of Teachers is helping to create a full return to in-person learning that meets the academic, social and emotional needs of all students, regardless of geography or demography.

These initiatives will enhance trust and emphasize the importance of vaccines and other mitigation measures to get schools and staff safely back to classrooms amid a troubling surge in the delta variant.

The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for students, their families and communities.  The AFT represents 1.7 million members, including pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; and nurses and other healthcare professionals.