This Nov. 2 we cannot afford to elect candidates who deny our students the education they will need to bring us all together to produce communities, states, and a nation where everyone can thrive.

Educators want our students to have an education that encourages them to understand who we are, where we came from, and what we are capable of being no matter our skin color, gender or background. But there is a small group who want to turn us against our schools and censor our ability to teach our students.

They are misleading us about the lessons our educators teach on the subjects of history and social studies. Instead of supporting a more honest and complete education about race in America, they try to divide us, so that we are unable to join together to demand all that our students and their families need.

As educators, we know our students deserve the freedom to see a complete picture of our nation and our past — the good and the bad — because we are not just doing a job, we are educating the leaders of tomorrow.

Our students depend on our leadership to provide them with the information necessary to assist them in making critical choices for their future. If we succeed in our responsibilities, those choices will be based on sound reasoning, and not false assumptions or lack of information. Students must have the tools to understand and investigate different perspectives. They should graduate from school ready to engage with others and thrive as respectful, informed, and productive citizens in a diverse, interconnected world.

This Nov. 2 I hope you will join educators like me/us in voting for candidates who support truth and inclusion. Working together we can, and must, make a brighter tomorrow for us all.

Michael Freeman of Groton is President of the Stonington Education Association