Basic
Tools
1.
Meet the Public
- Share breakfast
of lunch with key groups of community members on a regular basis.
- Facilitate
and participate in small group meetings with parents.
- Host open
houses.
- Invite key
audiences (realtors, business leaders, senior citizens, etc.)
to “Meet the District” at events designed especially
for them.
- Host county-wide
meetings with legislators.
2.
Be a Joiner
- Become more
active role in booster and other support groups.
- Participate
in or host town hall meetings.
- Participate
in various group meetings to converse around key issues.
3.
Include All Voices
- Provide
op-eds and columns by key education stakeholders to the local
newspaper.
- Publish community
concerns and comments in your own publications, with answers offered
by trusted school staff.
- Encourage
everyone in the community to speak up on behalf of schools so
that the community will be stronger.
- It is important
to involve the biggest detractors and get them to the table.
4.
Stay Aware of Community Issues
- Participate
on city/township/county boards.
- Work with
others to promote the entire community.
- Bond together
on common issues whenever possible.
- Hold community
conversations around key issues.
- Network
with other business leaders (Business Organizations, Chamber of
Commerce); Talk about the business of running school.
5.
Persist Over Time
- Nurture
ongoing relationships with legislators. Be persistent in communicating
with them.
- Never give
up; Mona Shores took three years to pass bond.
- Continually
gather input and use it to design district directions.
- It takes
time (years) to involve many community members.
Power
Principles
- MASA has
collected a Grassroots
Toolkit with resources, examples, and information collected
from throughout Michigan.
- The Tri-County
Alliance has prepared its own Grassroots Toolkit to guide districts’
advocacy efforts. Click
here for details.
- The Kalamazoo
Promise is an outstanding example of a collaborative effort in
support of community development. Click
here for details.
BACK
TO TOP |
“We have recognized in the tri-county area that not one
of our children can wait for the funding crisis in Michigan to pass.
It’s time to advocate. Lets get busy.”
– Tri-County Alliance Grassroots Toolkit
“The
time has come when it will require your voice, as community members
and voters, to convince those whom we have elected, to make essential
decisions that support our local schools,”
– Tri-County Alliance Grassroots Toolkit
|
