Why Lobby? Ten Reasons to Lobby for Your Cause
1. You can make a difference. In Toledo, Ohio, a single mother struggling to raise her son without the help of a workable child support system put an ad in a local newspaper to see if there were others who wanted to work for change. There were. Over time, they built the Association for Child Support Enforcement, which has helped change child support laws across the country.
2. People working together can make a difference. Mothers Against Drunk Driving convinced dozens of states to toughen their drunk driving laws. As a result, the numbers of drunk driving deaths are lower nationwide.
3. People can change laws. History is full of people and groups that fought against great odds to make great changes: child labor laws, public schools, clean air and water laws, social security. These changes were not easy to achieve. They all took the active involvement – the lobbying – of thousands of people who felt something needed to be changed.
4. Lobbying is a democratic tradition. The act of telling our policymakers how to write and change our laws is at the very heart of our democratic system. It is an alternative to what has occurred in many other countries: tyranny or revolution. Lobbying has helped keep America’s democracy evolving over more than two centuries.
5. Lobbying helps find real solutions. People thinking creatively and asking their elected officials for support can generate innovative solutions that overcome the root causes of a problem. Through such work, abused children have found rapid placement in safe homes, and restaurants have been able to donate excess food to those in need.
6. Lobbying is easy. Lobbying is not some mysterious rite that takes years to master. You can learn how to lobby – whom to call, when to call, and what to say – in minutes. There are a few simple reporting rules that your nonprofit organization needs to follow, but they aren’t complicated.
7. Policy makers need your expertise. Few institutions are closer to the real problems of people than nonprofits and community groups. Every professional lobbyist will tell you that personal stories are powerful tools for change. People and policymakers can learn from your story.
8. Lobbying helps people. Everything that goes into a lobbying campaign – the research, the strategy planning, the phone calls and visits – will help fulfill your goal whether it be finding a cure for cancer, beautifying the local park, or some other cause that helps people.
9. The views of local nonprofits are important. Because local governments often decide how to spend federal and state money, local nonprofits have even more responsibility to tell local policymakers what is needed and what will work. Your lobbying can have an immediate, concrete impact on people in need.
10. Lobbying advances your cause and builds public trust. Building public trust is essential to nonprofit organizations and lobbying helps you to gain it by increasing your organization’s visibility. Just as raising funds and recruiting volunteers are important to achieving your organization’s mission, so is lobbying.
Adapted from “Ten Reasons to Lobby for Your Cause” from Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest at www.clpi.org
If you build it, they will come
By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
“If you build it, he will come,” whispered a mysterious voice in one of my favorite movies, “Field of Dreams.” By the end of the movie, a corn field in the middle of Iowa was transformed into a magical baseball diamond, where a father and son were reunited, and their relationship was mended through a game of catch.
I have no plans to build a baseball field anywhere in Northwest Ohio. However I, along with fellow education advocates in the area, did construct something last week that was like our field of dreams. We set up a screening of the documentary “Rise Above the Mark,” set in Indiana, which chronicles the problems we’re dealing with in public education; over-testing, underfunding and unaccountable charter schools.
We created handouts, telling people how they could get involved. We promoted the event through social media and by working with other local organizations. We set up a panel consisting of two locally elected school board members and an education expert.
We built it, and they came.
They, parents, teachers and community members, came despite frigid temperatures. They came from Toledo, and Sylvania and at least five other school districts in Northwest Ohio. Close to 100 people came to engage in an evening focused on public education.
The audience of close to 100 saw a powerful movie. Some of my friends cried, watching a teacher explain that she’s retiring because the joy of teaching is gone, then later, seeing a father choke up as he tells how important his son’s principal was in his child’s growth.
It was clear, by the attendees’ reactions following the hour-long film, that the documentary struck a chord with them.
Audience members posed questions about how to deal with over-testing, explaining that they didn’t want their kids subjected to hours and hours of PARCC-based questions, wondering if opting their children out of the tests was the best option. Teachers added testimonials to confirm the stories shared in the film. People left agitated, wanting to write to their state elected officials, wanting to know what they could do to help the cause and stand up for public education.
There is no definitive answer. There is no quick fix. However, there is hope, because people from different political backgrounds and different ties to public education came together last week; all of them realizing the importance of a strong public education system. School board members, one Democrat, one Republican, sat next to each other, conveying the same sentiments about the issues facing our schools; both supporting the efforts of educators.
From the success of last week’s event, I know that we must keep building “it;” programs, where all supporters of public education can get together and learn about the issues facing our schools. We must build people’s understanding about the harmful effects of testing by telling stories about children who cry during tests, or about our own children, who can’t sleep the night before a PARRC test, worrying what a sub-par score will mean for themselves and their teachers. We must build an engaged audience within our communities, talking in person or using social media.
If we build all these things, people will come, and they will stand with us, in support of public education.
Our miracle won’t be ghosts emerging from rows of corn. It will be quality public schools for all Ohio’s children.
OEA Urges Lawmakers To Adopt More Comprehensive Charter School Reform
COLUMBUS – February 18, 2015 – Ohio Education Association (OEA) President Becky Higgins today urged members of the Ohio House Education Committee to adopt provisions that would close persistently failing charter schools and to revise the way in which charter schools are funded so that local public schools are not disadvantaged. In her testimony on House Bill 2, Higgins called HB 2 a good foundation upon which more comprehensive charter school reform should be built. A complete copy of her testimony is attached.
Higgins said Ohio’s current charter school law does too little to ensure good choices. “The result is that real choice is too often the exception, not the rule,” said Higgins. “Too many students are going to charter schools that do not perform as well their local public school.”
OEA agrees with StudentsFirst Ohio Executive Director Greg Harris, who told the Columbus Dispatch, “We think a lot of them (charters) need to be closed, because they’re not doing a good job. We think charters have a role in the education base, but we also think most of the charters in Ohio stink…..”
Higgins offered three principles, in her testimony, that OEA believes should be part of comprehensive charter school reform.
“First, accelerate the process for closing failing charter schools. Many charter schools have been persistently underperforming for years,” said Higgins. “We urge you to adopt provisions that would shut down failing charters more quickly.”
She cited research at Stanford University showing that charters that fail after 3 years will almost always fail.
“Second, ensure that charter schools are subject to the same public records laws and financial transparency standards as any other public entity,” Higgins testified. “We urge you to make charter schools, their sponsors and operators subject to the same public records, meeting and financial inspection requirements as any other public entity.”
She noted that for too long, the public has not been able to see many of the financial dealings of charters, their sponsors and operators.
“Third, fund charter schools in a way that doesn’t penalize local public schools,” said Higgins. “We urge you to find ways in which to fund charter schools so that children in local public schools aren’t deprived of needed resources.”
She noted several ways this can be done, such as having the state directly fund charters or limiting the money taken from local districts to the amount of the state’s per-pupil share. Under the current system, said Higgins, “too much money is going to poor performing charters at the expense of kids in local public schools.”
Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation
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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.
CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org
OEA Urges Lawmakers To Move Quickly To Address Problems Associated With Student Testing
COLUMBUS – February 12, 2015 – The following statement is attributed to Becky Higgins, president of the Ohio Education Association:
“As Ohio gets ready to implement the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests, a school superintendent recently told the Senate Education Committee what has been apparent to OEA members for some time – ‘Ohio is not yet ready for it.’ Matthew Miller, superintendent of the Mentor Schools in Lake County, described ‘fatal errors’ in the practice run of the PARCC assessments recently conducted at the Mentor Schools.
He said numerous students were booted off the system and ‘could not resume even after refreshing teacher screens.’ He also described bugs in the system that prevented students from submitting their answers even after responding to all the questions. Superintendent Miller told the Committee that if Mentor is having a problem with PARCC – with its ‘robust technology infrastructure’ – then “the rest of Ohio’s schools will be having issues as well.”
Other superintendents pointed to what teachers all across the state have been saying – the ‘lack of timely and firmly established guidance’ from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) in helping districts to get ready for the PARCC exams. Several superintendents agreed with another issue for which OEA has been advocating. It was articulated by Sue Lang, the superintendent of the Wyoming City School District in Hamilton County, who urged the Committee to ‘consider this year as a PARCC transitional year……do not count the PARCC on the state report cards and do not count scores against teachers and students.’
Well before this year’s implementation of PARCC, OEA has been urging state lawmakers to go beyond the ‘safe harbor’ provisions that were signed into law last year that placed a one-year hold on high-stakes decisions based on test scores. It is increasingly clear that ‘safe harbor’ protections must be extended beyond the current school year and should also be granted to students.
The urgency of addressing the problems associated with PARCC is also part and parcel of the need to do something about the overall excessive use of testing in our schools. More and more superintendents are echoing what professional educators in Ohio have been saying for some time – allow more instructional time, and less testing, to drive student achievement. The longer it takes for lawmakers to address the testing issue, the greater the likelihood is that more parents will choose to have their children ‘opt out’ of some of these tests.
The growing number of ‘opt-outs’ puts educators in an untenable situation. Not only could educators see their own evaluations adversely impacted by high-performing students who chose not to take a test, the results of which are a factor in measuring teacher performance, but as the Avon Lake Superintendent told the Senate Education Committee, he doesn’t want to have teachers placed in a position of lying to parents that all this is workable.
Changing the way students are tested and teachers are evaluated in Ohio cannot happen soon enough. OEA will continue to push hard for that to happen.”
Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation
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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.
CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org
OEA Reaction To Governor Kasich’s Proposed Budget
COLUMBUS – February 11, 2015 – The following statement is attributed to Becky Higgins, president of the Ohio Education Association:
“Any effort to increase funding to Ohio’s schools is a welcome development. However, like many lawmakers, we have questions about the basis for determining which districts are ‘needy’ and which districts have the ‘capacity’ to generate more local revenues for their schools. Under this plan, more than half of the school districts would receive less funding than in the previous budget. Additionally, money will continue to flow to charter schools at the expense of local school districts. A recent study estimated that one third of the school districts slated to receive an increase in state funding will see that funding wiped out because of the way the state funds charter schools.
All of this comes at a time when state revenues are growing. This is an occasion to make investments in Ohio’s future, and what could be a better investment than doing more for our students and schools?
As budget deliberations begin, legislators from both sides of the aisle are expressing concerns. These concerns include changes to the state funding formula, a reduction in tangible personal property payments to districts, and changes in transportation funding. We share the difficulty many are having in understanding why seemingly similar districts are treated differently and why the funding for so many struggling school districts is being cut. At this time there are more questions than answers.
OEA is committed to the principle that all children should receive high-quality educational opportunities regardless of where they live. This cannot happen without a school funding formula that provides adequate resources. Ohio’s constitution makes it clear that the state has a responsibility to make sure our schools are adequately funded. We call on the governor and members of the legislature to pass a budget that fulfills this constitutional obligation. Furthermore, we urge elected officials to recognize the opportunity we currently have to strengthen our economy and secure our future by investing more in our children and their education.”
Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.
CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org
The Talk
I had “the talk” with my 10 year-old daughter, Nina, yesterday.
I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to explain more than she needed to know. I didn’t want to use words that would confuse her. I was worried that once I explained things, she might tell her friends.
I felt like I had to tell Nina the truth, though. She’s been asking a lot of questions. She even stayed in from recess one day last week to do some internet research. Now she wants to write letters about it.
In case you’re wondering what kind of internet filter my daughter’s school has, don’t worry. We’re not discussing where babies come from. We’re talking about standardized tests.
As I’ve organized community forums on testing, shared articles on Facebook and talked with friends and colleagues about standardized testing, I have resisted telling my daughter my true feelings about the tests she takes every year. I’ve been worried about how she would take that knowledge and whether it would impact her overall love of school and learning.
Things changed this past week, when she told me she wanted to learn more about the tests.
“Did you know we have to take 13 hours of tests this year, Dad?”
I told her I did, trying to conceal my disdain for the tests; trying not to portray negativity about something school related. However, the more I thought about it, the more I felt compelled to share my feelings about testing.
So today, I thought I would show her a three-minute Youtube clip called “Standardized Testing is not Teaching,” by Chris Tienken. The video has excellent analogies. When Tienken explains that standardized test results don’t come back until the summer, he says “…it’s kind of like going for an annual checkup at your doctor, waiting five months for the results, and not being able to know what tests the doctor ran on you.”
I asked Nina what she thought of the clip. Through the ensuing conversation, she made some thoughtful remarks.
“It’s like we’re not really learning anything from these tests.”
“So they don’t count for anything?”
“Why do we even have to take these?”
My favorite, after I explained that teacher ratings were tied to student test scores: “The people who want to judge the teachers should just go and watch them.”
Thankfully, the conversation did not make Nina angry or upset. It made her want to learn more about the tests, so that she can write a letter to whomever she believes can make a change in the testing rules. It’s become a teachable moment, with Nina learning how to search the internet and how to understand complex texts.
It’s ironic that standardized tests and test preparation are the antithesis of authentic learning, yet Nina’s quest to combat them, have created an authentic learning opportunity.
The authentic learning will continue this week, when I take Nina to a screening of “Rise Above the Mark,” a documentary about high stakes testing and other issues facing public schools. I’m excited to see Nina’s reaction to the film, and to continue our dialogue.
I’m glad I had “the talk” with Nina. I hope other parents will do the same with their kids before high-stakes testing season ramps up, so kids understand what they are being subjected to. Maybe these conversations will be the impetus for a whole group of young activists to stand up to the testing culture.
By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
February 2015 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- Teaching not testing – Over-testing takes away from students’ time to learn and does nothing to close opportunity gaps. How do we address over-testing and take back teaching and learning
- Members gain a new understanding of their value and power at OEA’s 2015 Collective Bargaining Conference
- NEA’s 2015 Read Across America Celebration invites readers to create, explore and imagine
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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