When it comes to the question of public education, no amount of reform, including those we advocate, are enough to establish a genuinely high-quality educational system for working people in the 21st century.

Indeed, what is needed is a revolutionary working-class solution to the crisis in public education. In our view, that means working people organizing and taking the lead in the fight to wrest control of education from the exploiting and oppressing classes, as part of a broader fight for a future that works for working people.

The Workers Party advocates that public education be placed under the control of democratically-elected councils or assemblies of educational workers, parents and students. These councils, elected school by school, would oversee all aspects of the organization and education of education, from the hiring of administrators and school employees to the specific classes in the curriculum to the allocation of funding.

Democratic workers’ control of public education would begin to immediately resolve many of the largest issues of contention facing public schools today: shared responsibility and accountability by parents, teachers, school workers and students in the care and success of schools; democracy and transparency in the functioning and administration of public school districts; meaningful oversight of resources; etc.

In addition, workers’ control would allow districts to work together on programs that enhance and improve the educational experience of students, such as exchange and open enrollment programs that allow young workers from inner cities to study in suburban districts and vice versa, or adding programs to classes that make learning more relevant or personal for students, such as teaching what John Henrik Clarke called “the other half of history” — the “unofficial” history of Africans in America, of women, of Latinos and Asians, of radical movements, of the working class.

But workers’ control of education is only part of the overall battle for a better world. The Workers Party advocates workers’ control in all aspects of society, including the economy and in politics, through the establishment of a workers’ republic.

This is what the Workers Party stands for. As the only political party organized and led by workers — by your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends and family — we are unique among those who call themselves revolutionaries or communists.

If you like what we have to say, let us know. If you want to know more, talk with us. Better yet, join us. Help to build your party and fight for your future.