Editor's note: This column is provided by Mary Bell, a teacher in Wisconsin Rapids and the president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

The past 12 months have marked an unprecedented time in Wisconsin history. On Feb. 11, 2011, Governor Walker came out with his surprise attack on worker rights – announcing union-busting legislation designed to silence the voices of public employees, including teachers. Soon after, the foundation of public schools was shaken as state funding was cut by $1.6 billion. Divisiveness was embraced by state policymakers as the new way to govern.

Few among us can say they haven’t been personally affected. The actions and reactions of leaders and citizens have shaken the very fabric of our communities. From Rice Lake to Racine, from Green Bay to La Crosse, Wisconsin citizens demanded policies that reflected their values. In each village, town and city, citizens from all backgrounds – union and non-union – refused to sit back and be silent as the foundation that Wisconsin was built on – opportunity, fairness and the value of public education – was weakened. 

The whole nation watched.

Pay and benefit concessions made by educators could not make up for Scott Walker’s $1.6 billion cuts in education funding. If you talk to teachers, they’ll tell you how they’ve been impacted by what’s happened over the past year. Relationships with families and friends have become strained. Class sizes and workloads have increased. Taking on two or three part-time jobs to support their families and make up for the lost take-home pay adds additional strain for educators, and especially impacts support staff. Fear and uncertainty is commonplace as new rules and laws are continually introduced with no input from the people who do the work. Morale is suffering. In the last year, Wisconsin has seen a record number of retirements as thousands of experienced, quality educators left the profession, much earlier than they intended. Many younger educators are wondering if they’ll stay in this career.

Despite all of this, educators are trying to do what’s necessary so their students don’t notice – because they are dedicated and caring professionals. But they can’t cover for programs that have been cut, or books, technology and field trips that can no longer be funded.

Teachers want to make a difference every day in their classrooms and it breaks their hearts to see fewer resources to help their students learn. It tears them apart to know that they are no longer at the table in important conversations about what happens in their schools.

As a union of educators, our members – teachers and school support staff – have shown in unprecedented ways that we cannot sit by the wayside. We are united, something proven by overwhelming success in last fall’s union recertification elections. Our members are committed to having a collective voice. They are the union.

We’ve seen educators who have never before been politically active volunteering their time to go door to door to talk to voters. Record numbers of educators volunteered their nights and weekends to stand in the cold and rain to collect recall petition signatures.

Why? Because it’s clear that there’s a bigger political agenda afoot.

In one short year, other states have mirrored legislation to silence the voices of workers, both public and private, at the same time disinvesting in critical public services. We’ve seen the same divide-and-conquer approach to governing. That’s unfortunate, because when Wisconsinites should be uniting, the governor is focused on dividing.

Unions are built with people standing together, though, and that’s where the Wisconsin movement draws its strength – in grassroots energy and commitment. We’ve seen what that can do, a million times over.

Over the next 12 months, educators will continue to come together on behalf of children and schools, despite fewer resources to meet their students’ needs. We will continue to join with others in our communities who hold shared values in public education. And we will continue to build upon the energy that has been ignited across the state, because we are seeing firsthand how extreme decisions made at the state level impact our local schools and communities.