The American Federation of Teachers will host its biennial TEACH (Together Educating America’s Children) professional development conference starting Tuesday, helping thousands of educators recover and respond to a year marked by unprecedented disruption and inspiring resilience.

TEACH 2021 will feature numerous high-profile guest speakers over five days, including Stacey Abrams, bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi, Harvard University professor Danielle Allen, LiberatED founder Dena Simmons and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten, on issues including rebuilding academically from the pandemic and creating anti-racist communities.

The conference will offer over 60 engaging cross-curricular sessions for educators and union leaders with meaningful tools and resources; solutions to ensure students’ social-emotional learning and the freedom to thrive; wellness sessions; and opportunities to collaborate with colleagues.

AFT President Randi Weingarten will kick off TEACH 2021 with a keynote address at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 6, and the speech and general sessions will be streamed live each day on the AFT’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Weingarten’s speech will honor educators for their dedication during the most challenging year of their professional lives, offer a full-throated defense of their duty to tell the truth about the nation’s history, and emphasize the importance of fully and safely returning to in-person teaching and learning.

The following schedule for the general sessions is approximate and subject to change. Additional speakers may be added. These sessions will be streamed live on the AFT’s social media channels.

Tuesday, July 6:
1 p.m. ET: Opening and Welcome

1:10 p.m. ET: President Randi Weingarten, Keynote Speech 

Wednesday, July 7:
6 p.m. ET: General Session: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi in Conversation with AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram

Thursday, July 8:
3:30 p.m. ET: General Session: “Preparing Our Students: Civic Education, Engagement and Participation,” with Stacey Abrams and Dr. Danielle Allen

Friday, July 9:
3:30 p.m. ET: General Session: “When the World Feels Heavy: Self-Care, Healing and Equity-Responsive Practices,” with Dena Simmons, Ed.D., on strategies to meet student and teacher needs and promote equity and healing post-pandemic.

Saturday, July 10:?10:30 a.m. ET: General Session: “The Future of Public Education,” a roundtable featuring Deputy Education Secretary Cindy Marten joined by AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus and AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram.

The American Federation of Teachers is a union of 1.7 million professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for students, their families and communities. The AFT is committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism and especially through the work its members do.