This session will include stories from the frontlines where mayoral takeover and an austerity agenda have devastated school and communities leading to the current phase of massive, sweeping restructuring, takeovers, outsourcing and often literal closing of neighborhood schools. Participants will offer their insights and solicit feedback in how to make sense of this phenomena, the recent attacks on public education, and how to move our struggles forward in the interests of parents, students, teachers and the broader community.