First of all, congratulations to you for making up your mind to get involved in your local school district! A couple of weeks ago, we sent out an invitation to elevate your cause, which has been well received with many positive responses.

Now what? How do we get started after identifying the noble causes we want to advocate for?

Some prefer rallies. Others want to get behind campaigns for elections or recalls. Albeit exciting, these campaigns can hardly generate long-term results. Without solid local organizing, political campaigns alone are insufficient in helping us win the culture war in your school district. In this regard, it is crucial that you attend your school district board meetings in person at the start of your journey to improve local education.

By attending school board meetings, you will be able to familiarize yourself with lingo and concepts frequently used in local educational settings, such as: ADA, California dashboards, LCAP and etc. You may find out that you need to visit Transparent California to check out school district finances. You will learn about publicly available reports like FCMAT reports that give more information regarding your school district’s business practices. Perhaps you don’t think your public comments can call trustees’ attention to the important issues pertaining to your local schools. But trust me: when you have knowledge of school district businesses and speak with their language, your advocacy work can actually move the needle. First and foremost, developing practical knowhow on the business of local education policymaking through observing school board meetings up close and in person can help you build credibility among your fellows, which also can help attract parents and community members in the middle.

By speaking up at school board meetings regularly, you can also sharpen your capability to talk about often controversial issues calmly and your ability to conduct yourself professionally in an environment where many people are in disagreement with you. While we are the silent majority, you should realistically expect most other meeting attendees (school board members, district administrators and teachers’ union members) to passionately disagree with you on most issues. You should also expect to hear some of the most ridiculous statements coming from them. Showing up regularly and professionally would be a test to see if you can use prudence and express your points clearly under pressure. While it is understandable that many just can't help themselves to laugh or yell at the other side’s nonsense, you have to withhold from sharing your disgust in any toxic manner. Public meetings are a good place to practice being "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." (James 1: 19 NIV)

Going to school board meetings regularly will also aid in growing your team organically and gradually. You will meet other frustrated parents and concerned community members who may show up occasionally.

At these school board meetings, you will be able to demonstrate your love and understanding for the students and all fellow Americans through intent listening. Even though most attendees may share different opinions on some fundamental issues, you can work to find some common grounds. For example, in Poway Unified, a union-backed trustee listened to the parent watchdog group PUSD Community Watch (PCW) when PCW reported about the omission of the Pledge of Allegiance at an elementary school. The trustee, who has a military background, heeded PCW's advice. Your love for the next generation and our country makes it possible and necessary to work with those in disagreement. In the long run, it is critical for you to win the hearts and minds of your fellows.

Last but not the least, if you are lucky to have a school board trustee you already support, your presence and comments in support of him/her will provide the strongest encouragement and affirmation for the trustee. We have seen so many terrible cases in which the lone independent trustee is bullied by the teachers' union and its puppet trustees. Imagine just how grateful the lone brave trustee would be if you show up at the board meetings in person and consistently.

Summer is here. We implore you to challenge yourself and set a goal to speak at your school board meetings for the next scholar year. It will definitely be a sacrifice of your time and energy but will it will be immensely rewarding. You will find that you can build your knowledge, team, and self-control to advocate for education and for our future generations! Once you have the team and knowledge, you will have all the resources you need to take back your school district. And you will not be alone, if you have any question during your time at the board meetings, many organizations, including CFER, California Policy Center, Parents Defending Education and more can help!

Thank you for the kind attention!