Why Public Schools Are Still Worth Fighting For
Written by Sara Timm, MEd
Think for a moment about the students who walk through the doors of your school. Some come carrying backpacks full of books, but others bring invisible burdens—hunger, worry about housing, the absence of medical care, undiagnosed or untreated emotional health needs, or the weight of family stress. Teachers and staff see these needs every day, and they respond in ways that go far beyond teaching reading, writing, and math. Schools are often the first, and sometimes the only, place where a child’s needs are noticed and addressed. I will argue that today, more than ever, our public schools are a critical component for the well-being of our society. They are the heartbeat of our communities—the steady rhythm that keeps children safe, families supported, and neighborhoods alive with possibility. When the pulse of our public schools is strong, everything around them is nourished. When it falters, all feel the loss.
With this role comes a profound duty of care. Schools are legally and ethically responsible for protecting children, and the expectations are high—for safety, for learning, and for growth. Federal and state level accountability for the learning of every student ensures that each student is counted and each student matters. Those accountability measures and expectations don’t lower the bar for students in poverty or students who are experiencing significant levels of distress. Students are expected to be in attendance and be ready to learn. As a result, schools have had to adapt to being all things for all students.
When students come to school hungry, schools find a way to feed them. When students come to school in clothes that don’t fit or with stress that impedes their ability to focus on academics, our schools find ways to clothe them and provide them with the services needed to build resilience and cope. Educators are trained to recognize when something is wrong and to intervene when a child exhibits signs of distress. They are often the first adults outside of the home to identify abuse, neglect, or emotional health concerns. Home visits are conducted, families are connected with resources, events are held to empower parents, to name just a few of the ways that our schools respond to ensure that all children have the best opportunity to learn. In this way, schools are not just places of learning—they are protectors of children’s well-being.
“Educators are trained to recognize when something is wrong and to intervene when a child exhibits signs of distress.”
The importance of that role became undeniable during the 2020 pandemic, when the heartbeat of schools was disrupted. As classrooms closed and daily connections with teachers disappeared, reports to Child Protective Services plummeted. Not because children stopped suffering, but because the people who normally saw and reported signs of harm no longer had eyes on them. Researchers estimate that more than 200,000 cases of child maltreatment went unreported in just two months. In Florida alone, referrals dropped by nearly 15,000—a 27 percent decline. Across the country, states saw decreases of 20 to 70 percent. At the same time, pandemic-related stressors like job loss, food insecurity, and isolation created even more risk for children. The silence in reporting was not evidence of safety—it was the sound of a missing heartbeat.
To fight for public schools is to fight for the steady rhythm that sustains our children and our networks. It is to fight for the organizing force that gathers resources, for the hub that connects families to vital care, for the protectors who safeguard well-being, and for the high expectations that keep every child striving forward. Public schools are one of the last universal institutions that are truly for all of us, and they remain one of the most powerful equalizers we have.
When the heartbeat of public schools is strong, children thrive, families are supported, and the collective network flourishes. When we let it weaken, the whole system suffers. So think again of the students you pictured at the beginning—the ones carrying heavy, invisible burdens alongside their books. They are the reason public schools are worth defending. They are the heartbeat of our future, and they are worth every effort to protect.
“When the heartbeat of public schools is strong, children thrive, families are supported, and the collective network flourishes. When we let it weaken, the whole system suffers.”
Sources:
Baron, E. J., Goldstein, E. G., & Wallace, C. T. (2020). Suffering in silence: How COVID-19 school closures inhibit the reporting of child maltreatment. Journal of Public Economics, 190, 104258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104258
Rapoport, E., Reisert, H., Schoeman, E., & Adesman, A. (2021). Reporting of child maltreatment during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in New York City from March to May 2020. Child Abuse & Neglect, 116(Pt 2), 104719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104719
Katz, C., Priolo Filho, S. R., Korbin, J., Bérubé, A., Fouche, A., Haffejee, S., Kaawa-Mafigiri, D., Maguire-Jack, K., Muñoz, P., Spilsbury, J., Tarabulsy, G., Tiwari, A., & Varela, N. (2021). Child maltreatment in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A proposed global framework on research, policy and practice. Child Abuse & Neglect, 116(Pt 2), 104824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104824
