Communities are coming together in many parts of the United States to defend public education. In Newark, New Jersey, where almost a third of the population are below the poverty line, thirty public schools are slated for closure, some to be changed into semi-privatised charter schools. The threatened closures have galvanised communities, who are organising themselves to fight closures across the city and are joining up with student groups and teachers to co-ordinate the fight back.

Meanwhile in Portland, Oregon, both school students and parents have been on the streets demonstrating their support for teachers who are locked in contract negotiations with the school board. Just as in Newark, public schools are underfunded and some are threatened with closure. As the students at Jefferson High School put it on their facebook page, they demonstrated:

"1.To stand in solidarity with our teachers during contract negotiations, 2.To improve the reputation of Jefferson High School and show that Jefferson has a strong community that will not be quiet when it comes to issuesthat affect our schools and our students. We are not a ‘failing’ school, and 3. To protest inequality within our district in terms of enrollment balancing and racially influenced school closures."

Teachers in Portland say they are already desparately overworked and the school board's intransigence on the contract negotiations, which have been ongoing since last April, and their negative portrayal of teachers were just adding to the stress. Altough there is some hope that negotiations may be successfully completed this weekend, the union is preparing for the worst and asking substitute teachers not to cross picket lines should there be a strike.

In Philadelphia, as we have already reported there is an ongoing struggle to defend public schools against closure. Students are in the leadership of this fight as they campaign against the closure of a further 64 schools, predominately for low income children. Despite a massive and articulate campaign, 24 schools were closed in the town in 2013. The same developments are happening in Chicago, with schools being closed in low income areas and children being forced to walk across gang lines, to get to schools outside of their communities. There too teachers, students and communities have come together and continue to fight a determined campaign to defend public education from the privatisers and 'reformers'.

The struggle to defend public education is global. Closure and privatisation are happening in almost every country in the globe, including my own. And everywhere that this is happening communities are coming together to fight back. Developments in the US are just a part of this global struggle and the determination of communities there, and in particular of the young people, is an inspiration to all of us fighting for public and democratic education.