Hundreds Rally: ​“Protect Our Kids. Protect Our Schools”

High School in the Community (HSC) junior Japhet dreams of becoming the first college graduate in his family — but also worries that dream won’t be possible if federal education cuts are made by the Trump administration. 

Holding signs reading ​“People over profit” and ​“fund our schools,” Japhet marched alongside hundreds of fellow New Haveners to fight for the future of public education.

That was the scene Tuesday afternoon as nearly 300 New Haven school staffers, students, and community members marched through downtown from Gateway Community College to the Green to call on state and federal leaders to ​“protect our kids” through equitable and fair public education funding. 

HSC juniors Japhet and Jonaily Colón, who serves on the Board of Education, said that the Tuesday rally’s energy and clear support for them as New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) students made them feel lucky and motivated to continue advocating for fully funded schools. 

While listening to Tuesday’s speakers, Colón said she couldn’t help but think about how we got to this point. ​“We’re all not on the same page because there are people who voted for this. We need to elect people that care,” she said. 

Japhet said Tuesday’s rally reminded him of why this fight is necessary. He has goals to study fashion design at the University of Connecticut, and won’t be able to afford college if federal aid disappears. ​“I really want to go to college. I hope they wake up,” he said. 

Click here to watch Tuesday’s rally. 

Tuesday’s march down Church Street brought together a coalition of community partners to pass along ​“a clear message to our leaders in Washington, D.C. that we will stand up and fight back to protect our kids and protect our schools,” New Haven Federation of Teachers President Leslie Blatteau declared. 

It took place a day after the U.S. Senate confirmed Connecticut businesswoman Linda McMahon as the nation’s next education secretary, and as public school districts across the country brace for more budget cuts from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has led efforts to cut around $1 billion from the Education Department so far, and House Republicans last year sought to reduce the agency’s budget by $11 billion. The department has justified canceling contracts in part by dismissing them as ​“wasteful and ideologically driven spending not in the interest of students and taxpayers.”

Ambar Santiago-Rojas, a youth member of the Semilla Collective and the New Haven Immigrants coalition, led the group through a moment of silence for 11-year-old Jocelynn Rojo Carranza from Texas, who committed suicide after bullies threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on her parents. 

Santiago-Rojas, who is a senior at Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS), told Tuesday’s crowd that she refuses to stay silent while her community is under attack. ​“The proposed federal education cuts would devastate students like me,” she said. ​“These cuts aren’t just numbers, they mean losing teachers, losing support, and losing opportunities that could change lives.” 

Santiago-Rojas said that the fight is not just about school funding but also ​“about who gets the chance to succeed and who gets left behind.” 

She noted New Haven families rely on schools for not just education but daily meals, support, and safety. 

She recalled being 7 years old attending rallies with her family and community during Trump’s first presidency. Her parents told her at the time, ​“Cry now, but we will stand up and fight later.” That instilled in her a passion to always fight for her community. ​“We are here to say we will not let them take away our futures,” she said. 

Her concluding message to state and federal leaders Tuesday was a reminder that education is a right and not a privilege, and ​“Do not cut kids for tax cuts or you are going to face me and my community.” 

Blatteau noted that if there are budget cuts by the Trump administration, the direct impact to New Haven’s public school system would be a loss of $21 million. 

“Are we going to let it happen?” she asked. ​“No!” the crowd chanted back. 

She called on the community to call their local state representatives to overturn Gov. Ned Lamont’s recent line item veto of the legislature’s approval of a $40 million increase to special education funding statewide. 

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten closed out Tuesday’s rally with a civics teacher’s hat on, reminding New Haveners that ​“the funding that they’re trying to gut right now is for kids who are poor.” 

As speakers took the microphone, students from the crowd called out, ​“Our dreams matter!” and ​“We will win!” 

If given the chance to talk directly to Musk or Secretary of Education McMahon, Weingarten said, she would ask: ​“Really, you’re going to take this money from our students for a tax cut that you don’t need?” 

She added that there were over 2,000 actions like Tuesday’s around the country sending the same message for elected officials to stand with communities like New Haven’s that are defending public education against ​“harmful policies and dangerous cuts.”

According to the event’s press release, Tuesday’s advocates specifically called on state and local elected officials to:

• ​“Fully fund public education to ensure schools have equitable resources for all students;

• Stop privatization attempts that siphon resources away from public schools and weaken communities;

• Adjust the fiscal roadblocks and create new equitable revenue streams through progressive taxation;

• Protect vulnerable communities by expanding of HUSKY for Immigrants and strengthening the TRUST Act; 

• Improve access to public higher education by expanding the PACT program to state universities; &

• Uplift working families by establishing a Child Tax Credit and Just Cause Housing protections.”