Kentucky's Teacher of the Year skips White House visit to protest education policies
Kentucky's 2019 Teacher of the Year skipped a formal ceremony at the White House on Monday in protest of the Trump administration's education policies.
Jessica Dueñas, a founding teacher at the W.E.B DuBois Academy, was joined by Minnesota English teacher Kelly Holstine in skipping the meeting in Washington, D.C.
Dueñas was named the commonwealth's Teacher of the Year for her work as a special education teacher at Oldham County Middle School.
Dueñas told WLKY about her decision to skip the ceremony:
"I, as a first-generation American, child of a formerly undocumented immigrant, woman of color who identifies as Afro-Latina, ally of the LGTBQ community, and advocate of public education, declined my invite to the White House because belief systems/policies that our current administration support are either attacks on public education students or people like me. Currently, students who should be in classrooms and with their families are still at the borders. Public education funding is currently under threat in Kentucky (and nationally). Privatization is also a threat to the state, and when Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos came to Kentucky, not a single Kentucky public school education representative was at the table; even students were turned away. I've heard people state, 'This was your chance to tell members of his administration how you feel and you missed it.' To be honest, I have also seen the way Mr. Trump conducts himself with people he does not see eye-to-eye with typically, so I would be absolutely open to conversation with any members of his administration if they were willing to have a dialogue in a respectful manner. Also, from my peers who did attend the ceremony, it was clear that there was no opportunity to talk to anyone in the administration outside of a handshake because they came in, shook hands and took photos. It would not have been the space for such a conversation.
"It was not an easy decision to make, and I completely respect my colleagues who went. Many were very excited to go, and even if they were not all excited to go, many found it to be a great learning experience. I just believe in doing the right thing for the state I was honored to represent, my students and myself."
U.S. Education Secretary Besty DeVos attended the event and recognized National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, a Virginia social studies teacher. DeVos supports education reforms including charter schools and private school vouchers, hot-button issues with Kentucky educators.
President Donald Trump reportedly did not attend the event.