Advocacy For Our Students’ Future

Advocacy For OurStudents’ Future A School Board Team Discussion Tool Click here to continue

Legislative Advocacy An important influence on the future of your district (and therefore an important influence on the future of your district’s students) is the Iowa Legislature and the governor. What can you do to influence their work? What can your board do to make a powerful impact upon the actions of legislators and the governor? Is this even possible? Click here to continue

The Iowa Association of School Boards knows local boards can make a difference. If you do not attempt to make a difference you will guarantee a lack of influence from your board. We cannot guarantee success from your advocacy efforts, but we can guarantee your failure if you don’t participate. We can assure you that, at the very least, your board will begin to develop meaningful relationships and understandings which will eventually make a difference. Click here to continue

Overview This discussion guide is divided into two parts: • Reading a scenario in which the Dreamfield board discusses the importance of advocacy, and considering how their priorities in advocacy efforts make sense for your district (slides 5-16.) • Determining suggestions for specific action steps for local board advocacy that seem to “make sense” for your board. Click here to continue

Part One: Scenario and Discussion Let’s begin by reading through a scenario. As you read through the scenario consider the various interests expressed by the members of the Dreamfield board and discuss how those interests might resonate with your board members. Click here to continue

Scenario An item on the Dreamfield Agenda reads as follows: “Determination of Legislative Priorities and Planning for Board Action.” The Dreamfield board president, Sara Smart, opens the discussion. Click here to continue

Board President Sara Smart “Advocacy ‘on the hill’ in Des Moines is something we haven’t paid much attention to in the past. Under my leadership I would like to see this whole board take an active part in discussion and determination of legislative priorities. I don’t think we can just say, ‘That’s solely the job of Charley Challenge, our IASB delegate.’ as we have in the past.” Click here to continue

Board Member Donna Dubious “Well, but isn’t it? And if it isn’t Charley’s role, then it must be the superintendent’s. Isn’t that part of his job description? It seems to me that is Standard Six of the Iowa School Leadership standards. So why do I need to get involved with this? I don’t think it would do much good anyway.” Click here to continue

Question This brings up the question of “whose job is it?” Before continuing to read the scenario please pause and consider why this might be seen as a whole board responsibility and why it is a worthwhile consideration for the whole board. Then click the box below to continue. Click here to continue

Board Member Charley Challenge “I have been the IASB delegate for the last 12 years. I have tried. But to make a real difference, I think we need the support of the whole board. Every single board member should be determined, and equipped, to make a phone call or attend a meeting because they have clear talking points on our main priorities. This is a whole board job. I appreciate the work our superintendent does…but we are elected representatives just like our legislators. We should all be working on this. It is too important to just hope one or two people can make a difference. This legislative session could have a big influence on our children’s future.” Click here to continue

Board Member Paul Proud “Well, I can tell you what I think our big priority should be. We have been talking about the importance of high expectations for all and the Iowa Core for years on this board. We have strong student achievement, but we have not closed the gap for our children in poverty. And we know our current assessment does not necessarily reflect the higher expectations of the Iowa Core. I believe making real high expectations a reality will take two things. First of all, money to support teacher training so they can implement the changes needed for this kind of learning; and a well-aligned assessment that will tell us if the changes they make have any effect.” Click here to continue

Board Member Carl Cranky “Well, that’s all well and good, that student achievement stuff, but as I see it nothing is going to happen as long as we don’t have enough money to make it happen. The governor and the legislature have to quit stalling and set the 2014 allowable growth and set it high. AND they need to start being more responsible and dependable. We need to tell them to keep setting it high in the next few years to give us an indication that Allowable Growth is going to match our increasing expenses. In the last few years I have seen our costs growing rapidly and the legislature getting stingier. And I think we need to tell our legislators to shape up. It’s all about the money!” Click here to continue

Board Member Donna Dubious “Well, I am not sure that the ‘shape up approach’ will get us anywhere, Carl. There has to be a more positive approach. I think a good approach would be for us to talk about unfunded mandates. We could really talk about what great things our teacher/librarian has brought to the junior high. With all the talk about mental health, I think we can also be very proud of some of the things our counseling staff has done. But, each of these mandates has taken money away from other programming. Let’s talk unfunded mandates as a big ‘push.’ We could do that positively.” Click here to continue

Board President Sara Smart “Those are all great comments, and there are two areas we haven’t even talked about. One is incentives for sharing or restructuring (our sharing of science teachers and professional development programs has enriched student learning). Another is the school start date. I think we need to reemphasize our special timing needs here in Dreamfield. We have a lot of students graduating early. If we wait to start our school year, then our first semester ends late. How can our mid-year grads get into a college program with our current schedule?” Click here to continue

Board Member Charley Challenge “There are more issues, as well. For example, no one has mentioned property tax relief. We have hit on some really important issues. Let’s list them and try to think of a couple of talking points for each of these. We may have to focus our time and pick a few issues to focus on. I think looking at these areas separately will help us consider the real impact on our students’ learning, and we can develop some really concrete talking points. Doing this can also help us think about what our big ‘push’ might look like this year; and then we can develop a plan of action!” Click here to continue

Talking Points Please identify at least one or two powerful talking points that your board might develop around each of the issue areas identified. This is just a quick development of shared ideas. When you have determined your talking point in a given area,click on the bulleted area on the next slide and see what Dreamfield has developed as talking points. Click here to continue

Dreamfield’s Talking Points Iowa Core Allowable Growth Unfunded Mandates Restructuring School Start Date Property Tax Relief Click here to continue

Iowa Core Assessment • The Iowa Core identifies the kinds of skills students need to succeed in a changing society, but until a test is developed that reflects the Core, how can we know if we are succeeding? • Here are three skills that the Iowa Assessments do not test: writing, showing your reasoning and thinking in problem solving, and the ability to analyze and evaluate texts in reading. Don’t you think these are important skills for our children’s future? Click here to continue

Iowa Core, continued… • This data reflects our difficulty in meeting the needs of children in poverty in our district. Any work on the Iowa Core has to also include equalizing children’s opportunities to succeed in all areas. This will take time and money. These are children we cannot forget or just assume they will catch up. • Our teachers need to learn new skills to help implement the Iowa Core. Where is the money coming from for that training and that time? Click here to return to the Talking Points Selection Page

Allowable Growth • With allowable growth set at 0%, as compared to 2%, every kindergarten student will generate $121 less next year. This will have an ongoing impact for the educational career of each student, resulting in each student generating $1,573 less throughout his/her career. For our kindergarten class of 200, that will amount to $314,600 less to educate that class. Both of these reduction comparisons are just the result of the action taken when they were in kindergarten. • By not setting allowable growth 18 months ahead as required by Iowa law, the state forces our district to make projections on the worst-case-scenario. This will result in more reductions and less funding for programs we might otherwise be able to offer if we knew allowable growth 18 months ahead. Click here to continue

Allowable Growth, continued… • Allowable growth has a long-term impact on school districts. It is not just a single year impact. Had allowable growth been set at 4% every year for the last 12 years, our district would have generated an additional $_______ to educate our students. • With allowable growth set at 0%, our district will have a budget guarantee of ____, which will cost taxpayers $______ per thousand over and above the regular levy calculations. Click here to return to Talking Points Selection Page

Unfunded Mandates • We have invested $____ in the last six years on just two unfunded mandates: Teacher Librarians and Guidance Counselor requirements. Yes they have made a difference for children. But the cuts (list) we have had to make to fund these additions have made a difference as well. Please look at this illustrated balance scale of improvements and cuts. It really shows the difficulties of dealing with unfunded mandates. Click here to return to Talking Points Selection Page

Restructuring • Incentives have helped us develop a better science program through our sharing with the Pleasant Dreams School District. This chart shows the changes in student achievement since the sharing began. • Sharing our reading professional development program with the Pleasant Dreams School district has made a difference in student achievement, as this chart reflects. Incentives would help districts made accommodations for high quality shared learning for teachers. Click here to return to Talking Points Selection Page

School Start Date • Our programming gives students a “jump start” on college. Here is a list of our graduates who have graduated early in the last three years, and wanted to enroll in the college of their choice in January; only to find they are too late. We would also like to give students some days to participate in our Dreamfield Winter Wonderland festivities. But the current calendar does not make room for that. We appreciate our legislators always attending our Festival Forum, but our students miss it. Can’t you let us, as a district, decide what is appropriate for our students and our situation? Click here to return to Talking Points Selection Page

Property Tax Relief • Here in Dreamfield we have below average taxable valuation per pupil. We are “property-poor.” This creates a higher burden on our property taxpayers. It is important that the state provide dollars under Property Tax Equity Relief (PTER.) Also the loss of state funding for the instructional support program creates an even bigger inequity for our district. Click here to continue

Reflection Having discussed their main messages, the Dreamfield board took a few minutes to discuss how they might communicate their main messages. Their action steps were divided into three parts. Please consider some steps in each area that might be productive in your district. When you have determined an action step or two in a given area; click on the bulleted area on the next slide and see what Dreamfield has committed to. Click here to continue

Possible Action Steps Intra-District Communication (Board, Staff and Administration) Direct Legislative Communication (Lobbying) Marshaling Community Resources Click here to continue

Intra-District Communication • Once our talking points are completed, we will see that they are distributed, along with the minutes of this meeting, to every staff member in our district. • We will ask each building to consider methods by which they might communicate these talking points to the Iowa Legislature. These points matter to their future and their students’ future; how can they talk to the Iowa Legislature about them? Click here to return to Possible Action Steps

Direct Legislative Communication • We will have a standing item on our agenda at every board meeting to discuss, exemplify and refine these talking points. Minutes will be sent to our legislators by our board secretary with a cover letter emphasizing their importance. • We will agree to individually contact our legislators by phone, e-mail or in person at least monthly during the legislative session, using our talking points on a given issue. Click here to return to Possible Action Steps

Marshaling Community Resources • Each board member will identify someone with a direct connection (family, business, church, etc.) to a legislator and/or the governor and contact that individual with the talking points. • Each board member will give the talking points to at least five community members and ask them to contact a legislator with the points that most appeal to them. (Carl Cranky is sure that if he talks to his mother, Mrs. Cranky can get the entire Care Center to agree to participate.) Click here to continue

Conclusion The Dreamfield board feels they have clear, local and logically-developed main messages that are worth communicating to their legislators. They feel they have a legitimately “doable,” although ambitious, action plan. In short, they are ready to make a difference and to build relationships. Are you? Click here to continue

Resources For questions on Allowable Growth section, please call Gary Sinclair at (800) 795-4272, ext. 226 or Patti Schroeder at ext. 231. For ideas on effective advocacy techniques please see Lobbying Tips on the IASB web site and/or call Mary Gannon at ext. 229. Iowa General Assembly Committee Meeting Rooms Floor Plan For more ideas around high expectations and the Iowa Core consider attending the next ABLE meeting. Registration Link to ABLE II: Reaching High: Raising the Bar Click here to continue

Thank you for participating in this IASB Board Learning Experience! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Board Development Team at (800) 795-4272, ext. 246

Advocacy For Our Students’ Future