Today is National Support Public Education Day, which is a day of importance for all of those in public education. The ATPE vision is to support the state’s largest community of educators who are dedicated to elevating public education in Texas.

National Support Public Education Day began in 2010, but public education has a long and storied history of popular support. In the 1700s, the federal government began giving plots of federal land for public schooling, according to National Today. However, public schooling began gaining traction when Horace Mann pushed for education reform including supporting public schools in the 1830s. From then on, public education continued to grow across the country.

In 2018-19, there were 98,755 public schools across the country, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and that number has only grown with new schools popping up left and right. In Texas, Houston ISD was amongst the largest school districts in the country with 209,772 students enrolled in the fall of 2018-19. According to projections for 2022, about 50 million students are currently enrolled in public schools. Suffice to say, public education is only going to grow more as the population increases, but issues continue to rise that threaten public education.

There are several ways to support public education. ATPE supports education through its advocacy, and by offering individual legal representation and myriad other benefits to its members, the public school teachers, faculty, and staff who work to continue bettering public education in Texas. While there are a multitude of issues surrounding public education right now, ATPE’s current legislative program supports several measures to ease the burden on those who work within it.

For those outside of education, there are still ways you can support our public schools. You can start by volunteering at school events and donating supplies. Also, teachers often make wish lists—whether it be on Amazon or some other platform—for school supplies each year. Keep an eye out for these lists and consider buying some supplies for their classrooms to help ease their financial burden. And helping teachers can have a significant impact on students as well.

Most of all, you can support public education by voting for elected officials who believe in its important to the preservation of American democracy. ATPE’s TeachtheVote.org allows you to research the education stances on your ballot. We must vote like our public schools depend on it. Because they do.