Who We Are
Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence is a grassroots movement of educators across America whose mission is to elevate stories of gun violence in schools and communities in order to influence policies and Americans at large to make us safer.
Teachers Unify was founded after the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan on November 30, 2021 by three public school teachers and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) members, two of whom survived the worst of America’s school shootings – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, FL) & Sandy Hook Elementary School (Newtown, CT). With a total of 70 years of teaching experience among them, the founders intend Teachers Unify to fill a gap in the national dialogue around gun violence that has too long excluded teachers.
What We Do
Teachers Unify welcomes narratives from everyone who works or who has worked in schools and universities, from paraeducators to counselors, principals, school nurses and others.
Through teacher testimonials, podcasts, forums, videos, and more, Teachers Unify empowers this missing and vital population of our country who knows the great impact of gun violence first hand by:
Sharing experiences among survivors of school- and community- involved shootings and educators whose students are impacted by gun violence and the threat of gun violence in their schools, homes and communities.
Offering resources and support to educators on ways to empower one another to navigate the American teaching experience that includes the threat or existence of gun violence in every community, every school.
Elevating stories to impact and pass local, state, and federal gun violence prevention legislation and to help change the culture of gun violence.
How We Started
Founded by Abbey Clements, Sarah Lerner & Sari Beth Rosenberg, three AFT members. Their goal is to organize teachers/school staff to end gun violence.
Abbey Clements is a survivor teacher of the Sandy Hook School tragedy in 2012, and elementary educator for 30 years. Clements has been a gun violence prevention activist, wearing many hats over the last near-decade, including as a Moms Demand Action volunteer leader and strategic consultant on gun violence issues for the AFT.
Sarah Lerner is a survivor teacher of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy in 2018. Lerner has been teaching for 20 years, with the past eight at MSD. Her bylines and more information can be found on her blog.
Sari Beth Rosenberg has been teaching U.S. History and AP U.S. History at a New York City public high school, the High School for Environmental Studies, for the past two decades. Her bylines and more information can be found on her website.