Despite the shocking news headlines from big unions like the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), 2025 has been a year of success and hope for America’s education system and educators alike.
Not coincidentally, the Freedom Foundation in March launched the Teacher Freedom Alliance to provide non-union alternative for educators. Against that backdrop, the organization’s third annual Teacher Freedom Summit was poised to be the biggest and brightest conference yet.
The event was held July 16-18 in Washington, D.C., and brought together more than 400 attendees from 45 different states — all of whom share a passion for protecting education and fighting back against the grip of big government unions.
The summit began on July 15, and as attendees began rolling in the conference hall was quickly abuzz with excitement from the educators, supporters and administrators.
The event formally kicked off with a casual dinner at the nearby Hard Rock Café and Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich as its featured speaker.
During the jam-packed second day of the conference on July 16, attendees heard from mainstage and keynote speakers while attending breakout sessions that kept everyone hustling and bustling from room to room.
Mainstage speakers included a morning panel hosted by Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe and featuring: Mark Janus, plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed the right of public employees to opt out of union membership and dues; Orange County (Calif.) educator and Freedom Foundation staffer Peggy Nguyen; and, Bill Messenger, legal director of the National Right to Work Foundation, who discussed the Freedom Foundation’s primary mission of First Amendment rights, the ever-relevant Janus decision and opting out.
Throughout the day there were also breakout sessions offered that covered a wide range of education-oriented topics. Some sessions included:
· Working with Your School Board, featuring speakers Brad Miller, Sonja Shaw, and Freedom Foundation’s Cortney Salt;
· Combating Woke, featuring speaker Kelly Schenkoske;
· Restoring Our Republic, One Classroom at a Time, featuring speaker Jill Simonian from PragerU Kids;
· Navigating School Choice, featuring speakers Dicky Shanor, Brad Miller, Will Flanders and Ginny Gentles;
· Anti-Semitism, featuring Freedom Foundation litigation counsel Shella Alcabes;
· Removing Sexually Explicit Material, featuring speakers Cory Brewer and Daniel Buck; and,
· Union Bullying, featuring speakers Stacy Adair and the Freedom Foundation’s Matt Hayward.
As the end of the day’s sessions came to an end, the conference spaces were prepared for the dinner’s keynote speaker Yeonmi Park. In her speech titled “This is How Freedom Dies,” Park shared her incredible story of escaping North Korea and fighting for her freedom.
Park’s character and story bear witness to the importance of safeguarding democracy and holding both our education system and our nation to the highest standard.
Park has authored two best-selling books, “In Order To Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom” and “While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector’s Search for Freedom in America,” that chronicle her experiences.
Despite all her trials, Yeonmi Park delivered an address to Summit attendees that left everyone in awe of her hope, strength of character and unwavering commitment to calling out the lies that today’s world is fraught with.
Following dinner, the TFS and FF staff threw the first “Party in The USA!” after-party, and surprised longtime Freedom Foundation supporter, Colorado teacher and all-around educational advocate powerhouse Stacy Adair with the organization’s first-ever Teacher of the Year award.
Adair’s friends and colleagues attended the event and surprised her with a custom video highlighting her achievements and commitment to improving education in her school district.
The conference concluded on Friday, July 18, with morning breakout sessions catering to each of the Freedom Foundation outreach directors’ territories.
Following that was a mainstage address from Heritage Foundation fellow Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty and an outspoken defender of parental rights in education.
The day’s last mainstage session featured Anastasios Kamoutsas, Florida education commissioner, who was introduced by Lindsey Burke from the U.S. Department of Education.
As attendees began to depart, the recurring feedback from everyone was that this summit was easily the best one yet. TFS’s goal is always to bring educators together and empower them to speak out against the injustices they are seeing in their schools, as well as equip them with the necessary tools to be successful.
This fall, educators, supporters and school administrators alike will set foot on school grounds ready to bring positive change and protect the needs of those most important: America’s children.
As this summit concludes, the future of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, all Teacher Freedom Summits to come, and America’s education system, is the brightest it has been in a long time.
