Teachers at Excellence Boys Launch Protest March Through Brooklyn

When Uncommon Schools closed down on June 1 in the wake of the anger and grief over the murder of George Floyd, staffers were encouraged to use the day in whatever way they wanted to process events.

Five Uncommon teachers from Excellence Boys Middle Academy, led by teacher Tyrek Laing, used the day to organize a protest march through Brooklyn that ultimately attracted 5,000 marchers --most of them teachers and staff from a variety of schools on Monday afternoon. The march started on the campus of Long Island University and culminated at City Hall. At one point, the group was so large that it covered the entire span of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Calling themselves Educators for Justice, the purpose of the group is to “gather educators, parents and community leaders from all social, racial and economic backgrounds to stand together against the injustices we have been experiencing in our communities.”

In addition to Laing, the other Excellence Boys teacher organizers were Amber-Jazz Petrus, Davina McCabe, Jermaine Isaac and Jocelyn Pena.

According to the group, educators are “front line workers who are responsible for developing and shaping the next generation.” They see teachers as responsible not just for academically and intellectually developing students, but also for “instilling core values and encouraging them to use their voices and social influence to affect change in the greater society.”

Several Uncommon Schools teachers spoke at the event, as did Uncommon Schools’ CEO, Brett Peiser, who joined the march.

The march was “one of the most powerful experiences I have ever been a part of,” said Laing. “Seeing that many passionate educators join together to raise awareness of the injustices we see within our educational system was inspiring.”

Laing said that his group is working with 10 educators in the U. K to host a march in London that will bring awareness to the injustices within their educational system. “We are looking forward to hosting virtual town halls and workshops as we continue to organize and mobilize educators to lead educational reform all across the world,” Laing said.

Excellence Boys is a college prep K-8 school in Bed-Stuy and one of Uncommon schools’ 24 public charter schools in Brooklyn. Uncommon Schools serves nearly 10,000 students in Brooklyn in grades K-12. Student seats for the 2020-2021 school year are available at nyc.uncommonschools.org