| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n: o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e. COPYRIGHT PEYTON WOLCOTT 2003-2008 |
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How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| Heads up to grassroots school reform activists: Be smart, be effective By Peyton Wolcott Updated 12.02.07 |
| Most parents and taxpayers are rational beings whose lives work because we operate in them rationally. When we experience a precipitating incident which warrants our dealing with our local school districts, most of us generally approach them armed with facts and the same rational thinking that enables us to pay for our houses and cars and the property taxes that fund our local schools. Generally this is our first mistake. If we compound our mistake by also being angry, we might as well go stand in front of the administration building and shake a big bag filled with rattlesnakes; no good acting surprised when the rattlesnakes react by hissing and trying to bite us. Watching pushback from schools, especially here in Texas, escalate over the past few years (more at right) leaves me troubled; I believe based on my own experiences and observation of others' that many of the difficulties parents and taxpayers are experiencing can be avoided by changing our approach. |
| Heads-up to citizen journalists, bloggers The Internet is a tremendous gift. We've seen changes here in Texas public education in the past five years which I do not believe would have been possible without the Internet. Many parents and taxpayers are finding themselves pressed into service as citizen journalists who have no formal journalism background. Most often, it is these well-intentioned folks who appear to be getting into the most trouble. We've seen here in Texas in the past two years alone one SLAPP suit filed and another on the way, plus an amicus curiae by a third district. Worse, we've had onerous anti-sunshine legislation encumbered on all of us as a result during this past Lege. Citizen journalism 101: |
| How to change rattlesnakes into teddy bears It starts with changing our mindset. After trying rational thinking, facts and figures, reports and studies with our local administrators, all to no avail -- including a memorable detainment by three armed public school district police officers for taking photos in an administration building during summer with no schoolchildren present -- I realized a new way of doing things was necessary. Because of my experiences over the years as a volunteer organizing other volunteers for charity fund raisers, it was a natural next step for me to organize friends into a group. |
| 5. Who are you? Put your photo and your goals on your home page along with an easily accessible email address. One site I looked at recently posted email addresses for all of the school district's trustees and top administrators -- then made visitors to the site fill out an obnoxious form in order to send an email to the site. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. A group in another state prides itself on its integrity -- yet operates completely anonymously whereas the people the group attacks (constantly) have all been willing at some point to come forward with their names and contact information. 6. Mind your manners. Attribute everything, and properly. 7. Curb your anger. Anger's a funny emotion. It permeates everything we do, renders our best-intentioned work useless, and leaves us worn out. If your administration's done something truly outrageous, sleep on it before posting an angry response. Remember: In order to accomplish anything you're going to have to organize however small a group which means being positive enough in your approach and outlook that people will be drawn to you and your cause. Negativity repels. Positive enthusiasm is a magnet. 8. No community comments. Several reasons. You may run hot for a while but when things start winding down and your local administrators see (0) comments again and again they will assume you have no community support. Also, a lot of anonymous venting can occur. Let your local newspaper handle this -- they can afford lawyers -- or talk to each other in the parking lot of your local barbeque joint or over the produce section at the grocery store. Venting is a form of gossip, and may or may not support your goal. Anything that takes away from your goal is a distraction and to be avoided. 9. Be nice. People will like you more and you'll sleep better at night. 10. Be friendly. Treat your administrators and/or board members and/or any other opposition as you'd like to be treated. I didn't make this up; it's called "The Golden Rule." |
| Rattlesnake, Teddy bear (PHOTO--Steiff) |
| How we view our public schools: Then vs. now Remember the scene from the musical, "Oklahoma!" in which Curley gives up his horse and his saddle -- everything he owns -- in order to buy Miss Laurey's box dinner? "It's for the new schoolhouse," says the auctioneer, Auntie Eller. Like the new school Auntie Eller was helping raise funds for a century ago in northeastern Oklahoma's rural Claremore, when our small towns were first established in the American wilderness one of the first things to be built was the schoolhouse, a simple one-room building on par with the farmhouses and cabins families built for themselves -- all a far cry from today's Taj Majal high schools with their natatoriums and indoor practice fields. |
| GOAL SETTING Pick a goal, any goal Find a goal you and your small group can agree on, and distill it into one sentence. This is useful because when reporters come calling you'll already have your sound byte ready. Your goal should be important to you and your group and your community and one you can easily and quickly accomplish in a short period--two or three months and no more than six. If you're not sure where to begin -- the list is so long -- or can't agree among yourselves, a good first goal might be to ask your school district to post its check register online if it hasn't already. (How to here) It's an easy, quick goal. Think of yourselves more as guerrillas than Rotary. No fixed meetings every Tuesday, no announcing how many members you have or who they are, no lists of members, no lapel pins. Instead of meeting at meetings, communicate via email and phone. When you accomplish your goal, your community will sit up and take note, favorably. Then disband and take a breather for a while until you figure out what you want to accomplish next. Your next goal will likely mean different participants because not everyone will be interested in participating in everything. One more thing about goals Many times we want to start big and large, at the state or national level. Better to start small, start simple, start local. Prove that your idea can work locally and others will pick up on it, copy it. This is how ideas spread. |
| Oklahoma poster |
| 1. You can be angry and upset -- however righteously so -- OR you can be effective. You can't be both. 2. Using a carrot is more effective than using a stick. Think about it. Would you rather have someone come after you with a carrot or with a stick? Don't you become defensive when somebody shakes a big stick at you? 3. Our school districts -- including administrators, board members and those profiting from friendly relations with them -- may say they want more parental involvement. For some of them this is true. For too many others, what they mean by parental involvement is "Come write checks and say nice things about us and don't question anything we say or do." 4. Our school districts may say they want to improve; here again, some really do want to hear from us; for many others, they don't really welcome your helpful suggestions even when you know you're right and they're wrong. As my wise school board trustee friend told me years ago: "When you criticize them, you're calling their baby ' ugly.' " Your administrators and trustees and their minions will take your factual comments and questions personally and attack you personally in response. 5. Our public schools are essentially socialist models. Their engine and currency is the realm of emotions and people skills. 6. The world of public education is a world of feelings. Think about how often you've sat through a superintendent's budget presentation to his/her board and/or the community and at the end the supe says, "I feel good about this budget." For many of us who live in the rational world we're not much interested in our supe's feelings about the budget. We want to know that based on his expertise with budgets (too often, too little) he has presented a budget which will make ends meet. When you talk with educators, talk about your feelings about a topic rather than your thoughts about a topic. 7. In any endeavor, it's always a good idea to consider your opponent. Really look at them. If the product your company produces is packaged ice, you're not going to head north to Alaska to sell it. No matter how nice you are, they're not going to be interested up there. Along these lines, keep in mind that most school districts today are well-oiled (with your tax dollars) PR machines. The average parent wading in to engage with them armed with facts lubricated by some degree of righteous indignation stands little or no chance of winning. It is like watching lambs marching into the slaughterhouse. Further, public schools are generally the largest budgets in our counties; for this reason they have access to resources such as money and legal help. IMPORTANT: Because your schools can dominate any playing field available to them, you must pick and choose a different playing field. Emotions win over facts every time. No matter how well prepared your spreadsheet is -- you Spreadsheet Dads know who you are -- if you do not have some compelling facts to present to your community, facts which will grip their imaginations and hearts, your spreadsheet will accomplish little. 8. No matter how powerful you may be in your world, your work arena, school is a different arena. You're playing on someone else's turf and it behooves you to pay attention to how they play the game. Your rules don't work in their arena. The sooner and better you can master their rules including their jargon the sooner you can be effective. 9. The broader your base, the broader your focus, the more you want to serve rather than get (get something for yourself and/or your family -- or get even) the more likely you are to succeed in your goal of helping your district. 10. Let go of the idea you're a victim or that you've been wronged. Both will hinder your efforts. So long as you speak the language of woundology (thank you, Carolyn Myss), your community and the press will largely discount what you have to say. We are a nation of sturdy pioneers who overcome our difficulties. |
| Austin, Texas courtroom, Sept. 2006 - Lake Travis ISD SLAPP suit; plaintiff's attorneys (L) and defense (R). |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Some basic things to think about: |
| Edgewood ISD 08.02.06 |
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| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
However righteous or correct your cause, too often parents and taxpayers don't stop to consider the resources of their opposition. Our local school districts are well-oiled and well-funded, all with our tax dollars, PR machines. Our superintendents and administrators attend education conferences and trainings and seminars where they are coached in how to deal with disapproving parents and taxpayers. Our local schools also have apparently unlimited access to lawyers, whom they have demonstrated time and again that they will use all legal assistance available. Are you willing to take out a loan to pay your legal bills? |
| What's your motive? Are you taking action because you're offended that the district is violating rules and/or someone there is stealing? Are you motivated by the principle of the thing or do you want to achieve results and make real changes in your district? |
| 1. No adjectives. They tend to be inflammatory. 2. Ask questions rather than make accusations. 3. Be very sure of your facts before publishing -- have a paper record in hand. Wishing doesn't make it so. 4. Give your opponents an opportunity to respond. Note in your blog that your phone calls to the district were not returned, etc. Ask the person about whom you're writing if they disagree with any facts you're publishing and if so and can they please provide a paper record or some such supporting their factual disagreement. |
| More questions... |
| Back then there was a real feeling of community participation about the erection of the new school; without the townspeople's |
| pitching in and helping out there was no school; today, we are charged property taxes on our houses to pay for our schools, and most often have little or no control over how our tax dollars are spent. We all love that feeling of being part of something larger than ourselves, some greater good. In order to accomplish anything, you're going to have to have broad-based community support, and this only occurs with positive goals and campaigns. Your good name The name of your group is more important than you can imagine. I do not recommend including any of the following in your name: Watchdogs, Concerned (as in "Concerned Citizens of Clearwater"), Watch (as in "We're watching you and we're never going to be happy with anything you do"). "Accountability" and "responsible" are also good ones to avoid. Same for "taxes" and "taxpayers." Better to choose an innocuous name that your district can't slam you on for being negative, something like "Friends of Clearwater Schools." Your district will learn what you're about soon enough. Here's something that I had a very hard time accepting: While a few people will give you a thumbs-up for your negative campaigns, most people want to associate with something they perceive as being positive and will run from anything they perceive as being negative. Handling your anger There is a general consensus among reporters, politicians, attorneys and business and community leaders with whom I speak off the record that so many folks who become involved in their local schools are just plain angry; for this reason, the establishment discounts what the angry folks have to say -- no matter how justified their comments. Here's one example: Last spring when I visited legislators' offices to lobby against two pieces of anti-sunshine legislation (SB 889, which failed, and HB 2564, which is now law) resulting, legislators testified, directly from too many public records requests filed by parents in suburban Austin school districts (Lake Travis ISD and Eanes ISD) it was interesting to watch legislative staffers respond to telephone calls from parents and taxpayers railing against this bill. I wish those callers could have seen the staffers holding the phone away from their ears and making faces while at the same time responding in a soothing tone to the callers. It's important to not confuse face or phone time with achieving results. |
Start small, start local, start simple. --Peyton |
| Friends, you may be wondering whether any of the strategies I suggest will really work in your local schools. We're always at the beginning convinced our schools are the worst and the situation so bad that it really is hopeless. Do not despair: All of these strategies have worked. Here's a bit of my story. -- Peyton |
| 1. First PEAK$ group It was born of frustration about the situation several years ago at our local high school. (More here) I quickly realized that our administrators would not pay attention to us until we exhibited widespread community support, so we organized. With a few phone calls and emails, 70-80 people showed up at our first meeting; we discussed our complaints but when the list quickly jumped to a second sheet of paper -- single spaced!-- it was clear we were going to have to focus. Although they were not my two top picks, our group seemed mostly aligned on the need for drug testing and a dress code. We kept at both until they were accomplished, and quickly. These successes were important for several reasons. |
| PEAK$ group For every decision in our local schools, does it promote: P = Parent and community involvement? E = Excellence and equality? A = Accountability? K = Is it for the Kids? $ = And of course, are all the decisions made with an eye to finance$? |
| 5 PROVEN RULES 1. Define your goal in a single sentence-- who, what, when, where, why and how. Write it down on a sheet of paper. If you're against something, turn it around into its positive equivalent. 2. Develop allies who share your goal. Connect the dots and identify your opposition; beware shifting alliances and beware Greeks bearing gifts. 3. Set a goal that can be quickly and easily achieved, a goal that when you've achieved it everyone can recognize who did what. No side detours! Gather factual data supporting your one goal and stick to your one goal and facts supporting your one goal. Leave everything else alone for now. 4. Follow the money-- and play your cards very close to your chest. 5. Stay focused on your one goal, stay positive, keep your eye on the prize, and don't quit. This is not about process; you're looking to achieve an end result. |
| 1. Set and achieve one goal at a time. 2. Join forces with others who are of like mind regarding our goal. 3. Follow the money. 4. Stay positive. |
| WHAT WORKS, WHAT'S TRUE |
| 10 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL CHANGE 1. Be nice. 2. Develop a thick skin and let the personal attacks and insults run off your back like you're made of Teflon. IT'S NOT PERSONAL. When you rattle Education, Inc.'s cage, you're threatening jobs and careers. Remember that wonderful line from The Godfather, "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business." Lacking facts and truth, your opposition will do anything they can to discredit you, including attempt to smear you with personal attacks. Let them. Rejoice. It's a sign you're on the right track. 3. Get everything in writing. Document, document, document. Verify, verify, verify. If the superintendent wants to visit with you in his/her office about your concerns--don't, unless you have a tape recorder with you and are following your state's laws for recording meetings. Email's better so that you have their words in writing. It's easy enough for the superintendent to promise to look into the situation and give you a hug on the way out the door--then drop the ball. If you're emailing, you can ask, "When may I expect to hear back from you?" and then you have his/her response in writing. 4. Speaking of which, set responsibilities and dates and times for everything, whenever you interact with another person or persons, whether it be a two-person meeting or a hundred. Confirm by email in writing. Never leaving a meeting of any kind with a vague, "Let's do such-and-such, great idea!" Otherwise, you've wasted your time. 5. Don't repeat gossip unless you have a sheet of paper in hand to verify. Citing some numbers at a school board meeting that you got from a friend that turn out to be wrong will hurt your credibility; yet another reason for the importance of public records. 6. If the atmosphere at your district's head office becomes too unfriendly or otherwise threatening, take a trusted friend with you-- don't go alone. If he's a linebacker from the local pro football team or your husband's third cousin, Vinnie the Hulk, so much the better. Provided it's legal in your state, wear a small I-River or similar recording device, and keep it running from the time you exit your car until you exit the parking lot heading back home. I've had parking lot encounters I wish I'd recorded. Take a small digital camera with you for just in case or a camera phone. 7. Pace yourself. Too many good people wear themselves out in a year or two with all their work for naught because they grew frustrated. Develop patience and a sense of humor. 8. No matter how provoked or how righteous your indignation, keep cool. If nothing else, it's a good exercise in self-control. 9. Do what you do for the highest and best good of the children and the parents and the teachers and the taxpayers in your district. Don't expect a parade down Main Street or your statue in the town square. This is what differentiates us from the cheerleader moms and the football dads. 10. Moms and dads are often afraid to get involved because they're afraid it will hurt their kids. If you make your case big and public and loud, and make it not about just your kid but all the kids in that category--choir, special ed, gifted and talented--you will have more community support. I was as noisy a mom as any at our local high school, and our daughter not only won the coveted lead her senior year in the high school musical but also received the faculty- awarded scholarship for strength of character. In no way was she hurt by my activism--and my activism never had her name on it. |
| SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS 1. Formed 1st local parent/taxpayer group. (2001) 2. Lobbied for state (TSPR) audit; supe & ass't supe resigned within 10 days, and 3 long-time board members chose not to run again (2001). 3. Formed 2nd parent/taxpayer group. (2003) 4. Placed all five of our reform-platform pledge- signing candidates on local board in one day. (2004). 5. Formed 3rd group; defeated state anti-sunshine legislation (HB 2464) (2005). 6. Founded national grassroots online school district check register project. (2006) 7. Worked to persuade Texas Governor Rick Perry to appoint Robert Scott as state education commissioner rather than NCLB architect/ Pearson Education lobbyist Sandy Kress and friend of then-President George W. Bush; Robert was appointed in 2007 and sworn in by Texas Senate 2009. 8. Lobbied against government-run pre-K (Texas state rep. Diane Patrick's HB 130); Gov. Perry vetoed HB 130 on Friday, June 19, 2009. |
| THE FOLLOWING IS A DISTILLA- TION OF EVERYTHING I'VE LEARNED AND SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED IN A VARIETY OF SITUA- TIONS: LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL. |
| First, in order for our high school to be safe we needed drug testing. Second, how could we expect our kids to perform at school when they looked at 8 a.m. like they were coming home from a rock concert? Our kids benefited from our activism. Third, we served as a positive forum for the community, where before there had been none. Fourth, with these wins, the community paid close attention and our next campaigns were easier. So when I say, "organize," this is one reason why. |
| MORE ABOUT THE 5 RULES These 5 rules are the result of direct and often difficult experience, and every word of every one of them is important. While they don't need to be followed in this particular order, I recommend that you not proceed past the first oneuntil you figure out exactly what you want and can write it down on a sheet of paper in a single sentence. Otherwise you'll wind up wasting your energy and become frustrated because it doesn't appear you're accomplishing anything. With a quantifiable goal, you'll be able to recognize where you are in reaching it. Also, this gives you a useful sound byte for your community and the press. These 5 rules are not meant to restrict you but to empower you, to save you time and energy. As I tell my kids, 'Go make new mistakes. Don't repeat mine.' There's a lot of good to be done. |
| 2. Lobbied for Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) audit It became clear that the local school district administration would not listen to parents on certain points; for example, we were convinced the district had too many administrators, particularly at the high school. Also, the district's internal controls needed strengthen- ing, plus the superintendent had introduced block scheduling which was an expensive disaster for many reasons. I lobbied for the TSPR audit because the district would not listen to parents on some key issues; it took a year, but on December 10, 2002, the state comptroller announced that she was bringing the audit to the district. Within ten business days both the superintendent and the assistant superintendent had announced their resignations. Read all 389 pages including the auditors' suggestion that the high school could do with fewer administrators and the district's internal controls needed strengthening here. |
| 3. Second PEAK$ group. Another school district was having greater problems than my daughter's high school -- their superintendent became Texas first Public Information Act conviction -- and this |
Developing . . . |
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