Looking forward to this—join us!!

#edusky join me for this important conversation

Excited to announce that Teachers Unify Community Meetings are back! Join us on January 28th, 7pm EST! Many thanks to our incredible Ambassadors, Sydney and Liesl, for relaunching this important opportunity for connection, support & action. Register here: shorturl.at/afM6f Hope to see you there! ☮️❤️‍🩹📚

Even when gun violence happens outside of school, our school communities are impacted. Schools have closed for the rest of the week in Minneapolis and the entire state of Minnesota is struggling — teachers, students, and families will be focused on anything but learning for quite a while. ❤️‍🩹☮️

After the Brown University tragedy, Sydney (2017 Nat’l Teacher of the Year & TU Ambassador) & Abbey (TU co-founder & Sandy Hook survivor) spoke with @bostonglobe.com. We refuse to normalize this! Crisis Team help: [email protected] | (203) 296-3689 ☮️💔❤️‍🩹📚

Thank you, Michelle White Mendoza, of KIQI 1010 AM San Francisco — “Información Es Poder,” for uplifting Sarah’s story and Teachers Unify. ☮️📚📓

“The first two year of teaching, instead of graduating my students, I felt like I was burying them more to gang and to gun violence,” — Sofia Gonzalez, Teachers Unify Ambassador, teacher, education leader, activist. 🎧 here & subscribe to our Substack! ☮️📚📓 @teachersunifypc.bsky.social

This episode features Sofia Gonzalez, an educator from Chicago. She talks about losing students to gun violence, what brought her to education & navigating as an activist. She shares an excerpt of an essay & gives suggestions for change. @teachersunify.bsky.social teachersunify.transistor.fm/56

Thank you for decades of leadership on gun violence prevention and for uplifting educator voices and @teachersunify.bsky.social! Proud to work alongside you. Here’s to a safe 2026! ☮️📓📚❤️‍🩹

Abbey Clements read and sang to her second-grade students in an effort to drown out the sound of gunfire as the lives of 20 first graders and six of her colleagues were stolen at Sandy Hook School in 2012. “I still hold within me clear feelings and images of that horrific day,” shared Abbey.

Listen to the voices behind this unique team of survivor educators committed to helping others in school communities navigate the aftermath of fear and impact of gun violence. Please spread the word about us: [email protected]. ☮️📚📓 @teachersunifypc.bsky.social

Our Teachers Unify Community Meetings are back in 2026! Mark your calendar for our kickoff on 1/28 at 7pm EST. Registration link forthcoming. All educators, allies, and supporters are welcome! ☮️📓📚

We’re incredibly grateful for our Teachers Unify community—dedicated volunteers, partners, allies & supporters who refuse to accept gun violence as inevitable. Thank you for standing with us & raising our collective voice for change. Wishing you & your loved ones a safe, happy & healthy 2026! ☮️📚📓

Our December 2025 Newsletter is out — 📖 about: ☮️ The life-saving importance of secure firearm storage — and why school communities must be part of the solution ☮️ Our upcoming collaboration ☮️ Voices from the classroom #BooksNotBullets 📚📓❤️‍🩹

#BooksNotBullets #EndGunViolence #SafeSchoolsSafeCommunities 2/2

The fear & impact of gun violence have no place in our schools & communities. In 2025, we took action—building networks, organizing & training, providing survivor-led support & amplifying voices for change. ❤️‍🩹☮️📚📓 www.teachersunify.org www.projectlockdown.org @teachersunifypc.bsky.social 1/2

As we wrap up 2025, please consider making an end-of-year donation and sharing this with your circles. We have big plans ahead, and your support makes them possible. ☮️📚📓❤️‍🩹 Thank you — here’s to a safe 2026! donate.teachersunify.org/a/donate

“I truly believe that if anything’s going to change, it’s going to be the school conversation that is going to be the one that changes things.” ❤️‍🩹☮️📚@teachersunifypc.bsky.social

This episode features Alex Fleming, a gun violence survivor. She talks about her experience & journey as a drive-by shooting survivor, the importance of the teacher-voice, the advocacy work she’s done and more. @teachersunify.bsky.social teachersunify.transistor.fm/55

We envision a future where schools and communities are safe from gun violence. Educators deserve a seat at every table shaping solutions. Our voices are vital. Join us and spread the word: shorturl.at/KWzwo ☮️📓📚❤️‍🩹

Robin , Liesl, Amy & Abbey were teaching their students on the day of the Sandy Hook School tragedy on 12/14/12. They’re members of our Crisis Intervention & Support Team & believe in the power of connecting with others who experience similar trauma. Reach us at response@teachersunify, 203-296-3689.

Shortly after the shooting, Abbey became a passionate advocate for gun safety. In 2021, she co-founded @teachersunify.bsky.social, an organization to give a voice to educators who navigate the anxiety and trauma of gun violence in their classrooms on a daily basis.

We started because educators were being left out of crucial conversations & knew that had to change. In 4 years we’ve: 🍎 Empowered thousands of educators ☮️ Helped shape research & policy 📓 Built a Crisis Intervention & Support Team 📚 Amplified secure firearm storage This is just the beginning!

Students, faculty, and staff should be safe from the fear, trauma, and impact of gun violence. No one should be killed, shot, or traumatized at school! 💔☮️📚📓

This episode features the @teachersunify.bsky.social Crisis Intervention & Support Team who attended the inaugural Summit in Philadelphia on Nov. 7-9, 2025. The voices include survivors from Columbine, Sandy Hook, MSD, Sparks, Santa Fe & a licensed clinical counselor. teachersunify.transistor.fm/54

I am the co-founder & Board Chair of @teachersunify.bsky.social along w co-founder & Exec Director @abbeyclements.bsky.social & co-founder @sarahlerner.bsky.social A few years ago we did a panel at @votersoftomorrow.org summit on gun violence w @miatretta.bsky.social 1/

Heartbroken to learn about the loss of so many young people who won’t have the chance to learn, grow, and thrive. This is why we fight for a future free from gun violence. 💔💔💔💔

We’re proud to join the End Gun Violence Michigan coalition! Excited to partner with them on the MI Safe Homes, Safe Schools initiative. ☮️📚📓

These voices remind us that after the headlines fade, there is a community still rebuilding with determination, grief, and remarkable resilience. These voices model a kind of courage and honor that runs far deeper than any public narrative could convey. #BooksNotBullets ❤️‍🩹☮️📚📓 11/30/21

Gun violence takes a devastating toll on our schools—on teachers, staff & students. We’re making sure educators have a seat at the table so safety policies & protocols are shaped by people who know kids best. Your gift powers prevention, crisis support & life-saving campaigns. #GivingTuesday ☮️📚📓🫶🏽

Our November 2025 Newsletter is out! Read about: ☮️ The Teachers Unify Crisis Intervention & Support Leadership Team Summit in Philly ☮️ Giving Tuesday — It’s today, 12/2! ☮️ Voices from the Classroom 📚📓❤️‍🩹

“Every child deserves to feel safe at school and in their communities.”

Every day, teachers carry the profound responsibility of keeping students safe, healthy & ready to learn. This year, as Giving Tuesday approaches, we invite you support raising the voices of those who are always giving: teachers & staff. secure.actblue.com/donate/TU-AL... ☮️📚📓

Invite educators to the table. We know what’s best for kids & what’s harmful. We can be a part of the solution by doing what we do best: 🍎 advocating for preventative best practices that are supported by data & promote wellness, 🍎 educating the public on resources that can help in times of crisis.

Meet our newest Ambassador, Sofia Gonzalez! “Being a teacher against gun violence is a huge part of my life’s work. Teaching inner-city Chicago for many years & being very proximate, specifically to gang violence—it’s something I’ve been combatting for over a decade…Enough is absolutely enough.” ☮️📚📓

In one NIH multi-city study, every 1-pt increase in county food insecurity was linked to ~56 additional gun-related injuries per 100,000 people. 62% of those injured in the study resided in counties with high levels of food insecurity. Follow @feedingamerica.org to donate to or host a food bank. ☮️📓📚

It was great to connect with educators committed to protecting kids from gun violence, alongside @pftlocal3.bsky.social Chief of Staff LeShawna Coleman. Prevention and healing are possible with greater resources, political will, and education!

Thank you @chalkbeat.org & our incredible Crisis Intervention & Support Leadership Team! ❤️‍🩹☮️📓📚

Thank you to all the educators, counselors & school staff who show up for students every day with dedication & heart. Your commitment ensures kids can learn—even in the face of the threat & impact of gun violence—while shaping futures & strengthening communities. We are grateful for all you do. 🩷☮️

📣 new blog post about a group of retired teachers working hard to promote secure firearm storage to save lives & prevent trauma. Deep gratitude to Team Ithaca and to our Ambassador Sydney Chaffee—2017 National Teacher of the Year, blog editor & HS teacher. Please share & subscribe to our Substack! ☮️

We may not perfectly protect kids online, but at least we try. We don’t show that same commitment when it comes to gun violence — the number one cause of death for children and teens in America. And we know it’s preventable, with proven ways to reduce it. #BooksNotBullets projectlockdown.org

Minnesota friends & others near & far, please consider donating today! #GTMD25 www.givemn.org/organization...

“They don't have to be alone with those thoughts or those fears in the aftermath,” said Kiki Leyba, who was teaching at Columbine High School during the 1999 mass shooting.

Constantly in awe of my incredible friend @abbeyclements.bsky.social for her brilliance and kindness and leadership and for all the ways she shows up -- every single day -- for our teachers and kids and schools. @teachersunify.bsky.social www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Our Crisis Intervention & Support Leadership Team came together in Philly for a powerful few days of connection, strategic planning & shared purpose. Lasting change in the prevention & aftermath of gun violence must begin with those on the front lines of our schools. [email protected]

It was a weekend filled with laughter, tears, hugs, work, planning & determination to make this world safe from gun violence. These are some of the toughest, bravest, most resilient educators. Our experiences brought us together & our friendship keeps us together. @teachersunify.bsky.social

“Having teachers and schools more routinely educate about Red Flag laws will not only make the public more aware of their options, but it can also help make these important tools seem less intimidating to people who are in crisis.” - Abbey Clements, co-founder of @teachersunify.bsky.social

Must 🎧 @teachersunifypc.bsky.social episode! #BooksNotBullets ☮️📚📓

Meet Crisis Intervention & Support Team Member, Flo Rice! “I want others to know I’ve been there—and they are not alone.” Flo was shot 6x during the Santa Fe HS tragedy in 2018 when she was a substitute teacher. Flo testifies, meets with lawmakers, and is active in the wider survivor community.