Press Release: WNY Students First Billboard & Zoom Event!

 WNY STUDENTS FIRST MARKS ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SCHOOL CLOSURES 
WITH NEW AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
 
WNY Students First announces a new awareness campaign to mark the one-year anniversary that schools in the region closed their doors to full-time, in-person instruction.
 
As part of that campaign, the group will call attention to the need for open schools on a billboard along the 33. Beginning on Monday, March 8th, and running for one month, the billboard will rotate three messages that highlight the safety of schools and the urgency of returning children to classrooms as soon as possible.
 
Parent Advocate, Dana Hensley, says “Every day that our kids are out of school is one day too many. After one year, it’s time to follow science - not politics - and return teachers and students safely to classrooms. It can be done.”
 
In addition, WNY Students First will produce a powerful zoom event entitled "One Year Later: I Am" to mark this year of loss for our children. The event will take place on Sunday, March 14th, at 6pm EST., and feature speakers including Vonetta T. Rhodes, Buffalo poet and educator, Melanie Gabriel, 8th grader, activist, and founder of the Open Schools USA group, Samuel L. Radford III, Buffalo public school activist and community leader, and Eleni Filippatos, public school teacher and founder of the group, Teachers for Open Schools. Please contact wnystudentsfirst@gmail.com for the zoom link.
 
ABOUT: WNY Students First is a non-partisan group of parents, caregivers, teachers, and school district stakeholders across Western New York working toward the common goal of giving students and families an organized and active voice regarding the education of students within their districts. 
 
Press Contact: 
Tarja Parssinen, Parent Advocate
WNY Students First
#FullyOpenNewYorkSchoolsNow petition
Email: tarjaparssinen@gmail.com