At a time when public education and democratic principles face intensifying political pressure, the 2025 Building for Education and Democracy (BEAD) Conference gathered educators, civil rights leaders, and advocates for a day of collective learning. Hosted by Bank Street College of Education and organized by its Public Engagement and Research Initiative (PERI), the BEAD conference was organized to be “A Freedom School for Educators,” in which participants were free to embrace education as a means for both renewal and resistance.
Building on Bank Street’s history, tradition, and expertise in progressive education and centering the critical link between civic engagement and progressivism, the conference provided insight and tools for participants to navigate the current policy context while exploring the transformative potential of education to restore and renew democracy.
In his opening remarks, Shael Polakow-Suransky, GSE ’00, President, Bank Street College of Education, shared stories of Bank Street alumni working across the country to create healing spaces in times of crisis and develop programs that build collective power.
“Democratic institutions are under attack, yet I remain hopeful, not because any of us are shielded from the risks of a society sliding into fascism, but because I believe in the power of education rooted in human dignity,” he said. “Together, through our daily acts of teaching, leading, and organizing, we are shaping a more just and democratic future.”
The conference featured a keynote address—“Critical Conversation: What Educators Need to Know about the 14th Amendment, Public Education, and Our Democracy”—with Sherrilyn Ifill, President Emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and founding director of the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy at Howard University, and Columbia professor and MSNBC commentator Basil Smikle Jr.
Ifill spoke about the erosion of democratic norms in the current political climate. Drawing on the history and original intent of the 14th Amendment, she emphasized the classroom as a frontline space for civic learning and constitutional literacy. She connected today’s attacks on public education and academic freedom to a larger pattern of civil liberties being stripped away.
“What is happening now is not like McCarthyism—it’s like many of those moments all at once,” she warned. “Educators are the stewards of democracy. They are teaching the very rights now under siege.”
Smikle echoed the concerns and highlighted the longstanding role of public schools in building democratic consciousness, emphasizing that the fight for inclusive and truthful education is not just a professional concern for teachers, but a societal imperative.
He said, “Public education has always been a battleground for American values. If we allow the curriculum to be shaped by fear, not facts, we lose the very mechanism we have to prepare young people for civic life. What happens in the classroom defines the future of the country.”
Throughout the day, attendees participated in a range of presentations and workshops. A morning plenary moderated by José Vilson, educator and Bank Street research associate, featured a panel discussion with speakers from PEN America, the ACLU, Brotherhood Sister Sol, and the National Newcomer Network. Together, they explored the legal and political challenges facing educators and students, including censorship laws, immigrant student rights, and ongoing disinvestment in public education.
“Litigation is just one tool,” said ACLU attorney Leah Watson. “We need collective advocacy—teachers, parents, students—working together to hold the line against censorship and erasure.”
The conference also offered breakout sessions and workshops tailored to K-12 educators that highlighted the critical work going on across the College to underscore the connection between education and democracy. The Culture, Race and Equity team from the Bank Street Education Center facilitated storytelling sessions and arts workshops for conference participants, and workshops were led by faculty from the Graduate School and the School for Children. Participants explored trauma-informed teaching, cultivating classroom libraries for democracy, and strategies for teaching Black Lives Matter in schools.
A special performance by the EPIC Theatre Ensemble, a student-led group from New York City high schools, electrified the audience with their original play, FixED, or You Do Not Exist, which dramatized the struggles and triumphs of young people navigating a deeply inequitable education system in which curriculum that reflects their lives and struggles of their ancestors is being banned. They reminded the audience that youth voices are central to any movement for justice.
Educators shared personal testimonies throughout the day. Alejandra Vasquez-Baur, a Century Foundation Fellow and the Executive Director of the National Newcomer Network, spoke about her experience teaching immigrant students in Miami.
“They were placed in my class without support, without consideration of their needs. That injustice drove me to advocacy,” she said. “But I’ve also seen schools do it right. There are models that work.”
Sari Beth Rosenberg, a New York City Public Schools teacher, addressed the risks of speaking publicly.
“I’ve been threatened, but I won’t stop,” she said. “If you’re safe enough to speak out—do it. There are more of us than them.”
As the day concluded, the conference returned to its central vision: When public education is rooted in justice and community, it is a powerful force in countering threats to democracy. With art-making, storytelling, and coalition-building woven throughout the program, the BEAD Conference offered analysis along with imagination, hope, and action to educators and provided community to a growing movement committed to speaking the truth, protecting young people, and building a future where democracy is lived in every classroom.
PERI provides research and engagement partnerships to co-construct solutions that lift democracy through work with key public education stakeholders in local contexts. For more information, please email peri@bankstreet.edu.