As home of the nation’s first public school system and the essential multi-racial cauldron for America’s formation as a democratic community, Boston must play a lead role in teaching America how history informs the meaning and relevance of all academic instruction as well as our collective ability to know ourselves and imagine the moral identity of the cities and towns we seek to create. Young people must receive high-quality history, civics and social studies instruction in partnership with local Boston institutions. It is thus unacceptable and indefensible that the Boston Public School executive staff would approve a restructuring plan to defund and demote the academic significance of History & Social Studies. Please support this petition to tell the Boston School Committee that Boston's young people and their families want, need and deserve better. Your signature concretely communicates the shared belief that our school system can and should do more for the 57,000 public school students working hard every day to learn about themselves and the world around them. How is this possible without adequate financial and staffing support for History & Social Studies instruction? Your signature formally challenges the Boston School Committee to reconsider its current restructuring plan and the long-term negative impact of staff reduction, diminished instructional content and decreased classroom teaching time that this plan ensures. We the undersigned agree that it is imperative to right this wrong today.