The Network for Public Education has now held three national conferences. The first was in Austin, Texas; the second in Chicago; and the 2016 conference just concluded in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About 500 activists, mostly teachers, but also principals, administrators, school board members, parents, and even representatives of the Newark Student Union were there. Most of the best-known education bloggers were there. I haven’t done a count but we had representation from nearly every state, including people who flew in from California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nebraska.

Every one of these conferences has been exciting. It is exciting to meet the people you know online but have never met face to face. It is exciting to be surrounded with people who share your beliefs and values. It is exciting to know that you are not alone. There was a sense of collegiality and camaraderie that occasionally felt like…