Yesterday, over 500 parents, students along with their labor and Occupy allies converged on the Capitol for First Things First 2012 – a rally and speak out where they voiced their grievances and concerns with school aid cuts that have led to the layoffs of thousands of teachers and increased class sizes.

The event, organized by the Alliance for Quality Education, started off with a rally on the Millionaire Dollar Staircase in the Capitol as people from across New York – from Rochester to New York City to Long Island – held a spirited singalong before proceeding to the Legislative Office Building.

Inside the Hamilton Hearing Room, we conducted a speak-out where parents and community leaders urged Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to include the New York State Board of Regents’ proposal to increase aid for high-need schools and increase funding for Pre-Kindergarten education in his Executive Budget for 2012-13.

Several members of the Assembly spoke, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who kicked us off. “The most powerful lobbying group for our students is their parents. This is beyond dispute,” he said in response to Governor Cuomo’s statement in his State of the State address that he was going to become a lobbyist for students. (Read his full remarks here.)

After the speak-out in the hearing room, people went to lunch where activists from Occupy Buffalo performed a small skit and other students talked about how the school aid cuts led to layoffs of their favorite teachers and faculty members. During lunch, parents made visits to the different legislative offices, dropping off literature outlining the importance of enacting the Board of Regents’ proposal and how closing corporate tax loopholes would help with restoring the deep cuts that our public schools have suffered from. (Click here to see the literature.)

Other Assemblymembers who spoke include Catherine Nolan, chair of the Assembly Education Committee, Assemblyman Kareem Camara, chair of New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, Phil Ramos, Guillermo Linares, Addie Russell and Sam Roberts.

Other speakers include: John Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation; Nikki Jones, Communications Director for the Alliance for Quality Education; Nicole Felter, Hudson Valley BOCES; Yudelka Valdez, President of NYC PTA; Jackie Hayes, an adjunct instructor at the University at Albany and organizer with Save Our SUNY and New York Students Rising; and several parents and students from across the state.

Here is video of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver addressing the crowd, with an introduction by Alliance for Quality Education Executive Director, Billy Easton:

Here is the video of John Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation: