The following is a statement from ACT's CEO Janet Godwin:

I am deeply troubled by the events that unfolded in the U.S. Capitol yesterday. The peaceful transition of power is a bedrock of our democracy, and yesterday that bedrock was shaken. 

We’ve not seen anything like this in our lifetimes, and I hope that we never do again. What struck me to my core, was how we got here and what we need to do to ensure this threat to our democracy never happens again.

The answer is not a simple one – the complex challenges facing our country require complex solutions. Still, as we look at our country and seek these complex solutions, I was reminded of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education…to prepare each citizen to choose wisely and to enable him to choose freely are paramount functions of the schools in a democracy.”

With Roosevelt’s charge, it’s clear that we must ensure that our citizenry have a robust, broad, and deep education that imparts the rich history of our country, the civics that are foundational to our democracy, the critical thinking and reasoning that being a good citizen requires, and the structural foundations like reading, math, and science needed to actively participate in a productive life.

Today, and every day forward, I am recommitted to the fight for a fair, equitable, free education for everyone. I’m committed to working alongside leaders across the education ecosystem, at all stages of the learning lifecycle, to ensure that we never face such horrors again. I hope you’ll join me, and all the team members at ACT, in this, the fight of our lives.