@earthjustice.org and local/state groups that advocate for our state’s environmental justice such as Healthy Gulf, Rise St. James, & Descendants Project are also deeply concerned about the CCS project. Louisiana, esp. our rural parishes, have some of the leading environmental toxicity & pollution.

The community in Louisiana overwhelmingly oppose this project for its safety and health risks (potential contamination of the drinking water or pipeline ruptures). The pipeline would be less than a half mile from an elementary school. There also hasn’t been a full EIS for this project.

*should say As a special education of 17 years, [I have watched as]… (character limits ended up having me eliminate some words that impacted the wording here 🤗

Thank you for that catch! When I tried to fit it into the character limit, I probably reworded it and didn’t catch that (should say “As a special education teacher, I have watched as Rep. Scalise stood by - original statement is below!”)

These decisions will make my job and my colleagues’ jobs untenable & prevent our most vulnerable kids and families from getting the services they deserve. He has to be put on notice that we, yes WE, can and will apply and fight for his job.

Thank you so much Nichole- we truly appreciate your support 💞 🤗

I was able to fully learn from retired and current educators, attend trainings, learn my rights, and understand how to be a better advocate for kids. Thank you to @aubriruth.bsky.social for the interview and @npr.org for covering this story.

I acknowledge that TfA got me to my pathway of teaching here, but what really kept me going after that third year was connecting with our local union UTNO and becoming an involved and active member.

I saw so many questionable and unethical things happening my first few years teaching in New Orleans charters, particularly with special education. I now work in our only direct run public school in New Orleans.

I taught special education in schools in Laplace and Reserve under the St. John the Baptist Parish School System during my corps service, and then started working in charter schools in New Orleans in 2011.

I did not grow up here in New Orleans and I was a freshman in college in 2005 during the storm so I know that my perspective of the education landscape here is very much through how I came here when I was 22 as an outsider and as a 2009 corps member of Teach for America- and I cannot change that.

I know from running before that was absolutely cannot do this alone. We will be posting our links for volunteers & additional staff soon! Our donation link 🔗 is here: secure.actblue.com/donate/laure...

We as workers are the hands, the hearts, the souls, and the backbones of our state and our country and we deserve a representative who believes in that and acts on it. I ask you to join me in this important fight against the erosion of our rights and democracy.

As a public school special education teacher for the past 16 years, I am no stranger to hard work & long hours and I will take that same approach to stand up for what all of us as working people in Louisiana deserve: dignity, a life we can afford, and thriving opportunity.