Getting Politicians and Voters to Listen

We have had some very controversial and contentious issues to face in our schools. We have had meetings extra to the usual PTA meetings to discuss and plan strategies. We come up with edited lists of points to be made and discuss how best to make them, who should do what, etc.

Our PTA and other organizations try to attend School Board meetings. When a group of parents attend, filling up many usually vacant chairs, people notice. People are also allowed to sign up in advance to address the board for a few minutes. We've found that it's most effective if two or three people speak, covering differing aspects of the issue rather than duplicating each other. If the issue is particularly contentious, the press will usually attend.

E-mails are sent and phone calls are made. Letters are written to the local papers.

Sometimes school board members and/or administration officials are invited to PTA meetings for Q&A. We have found that it works best if these meetings are moderated to avoid shouting matches.

It's very important to try to get representation in the PTA of minority interests. Otherwise the PTA can be easily marginalized by calling them a privileged clique. It can be very difficult to get a broad spectrum of parents involved.

I don't know where your children go to school. Mine are in Cleveland Public. In our district we do have new schools being built. The new ones and the new ones to come look as though they are and will be beautiful. I wrote a letter to our CMSD President. The main reason I wrote to him was regarding student/teacher ratio and the fact that we did not have "actual teachers" for our middle school students. I have a son in 7th grade. The most important thing I wrote in my letter was that ...maybe all of the "new schools" should get all of the attention...maybe the older "lower-class looking schools" should be left behind. (It really did feel this way!) I'm not saying that I was the reason we gained three new teachers that actually have Master Degrees for the subjects they teach, but writing the letter and explaining, not complaining, how I felt, really did help. Many other parents who have children in middle school wrote letters, too. We did have parents who threatened to call the local news...this may have had a bigger impact on the district's decision.

I don't really know. I just really care about my kid's education. We can't afford private school anymore. If they want to build Cleveland up again they certainly are heading in the right direction with tearing down old and building new and improved schools. I only hope that that kids and parents will appreciate it. That's my biggest worry! Anyway, sorry so long! It's nice to know that there are other parents who care!

Take care and good luck

The best advice I've ever seen on getting attention for school needs comes from the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership [www.cipl.org/]. The key is power in numbers!
If enough parents indicate interest in school improvement, administrators are usually willing to listen. CIPL parent trainers like to use this example, called “Collaboration Counts”:
1 parent = a fruitcake
2 parents = fruitcake and friend
3 parents = troublemakers
5 parents = let’s have a meeting
10 parents = we’d better listen
25 parents = our dear friends
50 parents = a powerful organization
The other advice I would offer is to be calm, logical and respectful when it comes to bringing your concerns to administrators or legislative leaders. You are more likely to be taken seriously in this way than if you come in whining and yelling. Then they'll think you are just another crazed parent.

This is a tough issue. I would extend it to include getting the school district to listen.

Our PTSA has found that the best way to get the school district to act on issues (including safety issues such as mold in the classrooms, rust and other contaminants in the water, sidewalks in front of the school) is to be a squeaky wheel. The parents pick a topic that they want to address, invite the school district person who can best address the problem to either a PTSA meeting or a school community meeting. If we gripe enough, eventually something happens (it can take years).

Unfortunately, what also has happened is bad publicity for the school. :-( Prospective parents don't like to consider schools where there are health or safety problems.

I would love to hear additional suggestions for how to get school issues addressed while minimizing the "bad publicity" that comes along with it.