In Act 1 we talk to teacher-organizers Martha Baumgarten and Renee Ridolfi about their pathway to becoming teachers and how they ended up at Acero Charter Schools in Chicago. Commenting on the broad problems with charters and with the broader privatization of education, they reflect on what they have learned about practices of anti-racist solidarity — spoiler, you don’t find it at Teach for America — and what they might have done differently.

Act 2: Between charter unions and charter abolition

In Act 2 we dive into the specific experience of being a teacher in the Acero charter school network, or what Renee describes as “setting myself on fire to keep everyone else warm.” We discuss the heroic response of teachers to these working and learning conditions: the first ever charter school strike in the winter of 2018-19. Through the lens of this work, Renee and Martha comment on the current moment, where teachers are under extreme pressure to resume in person classes during a pandemic.