School Board Member Advocacy by Fred Deutsch Watertown School Board Member fred.deutsch@k12.sd

1. School Board Member AdvocacybyFred DeutschWatertown School Board Member fred.deutsch@k12.sd.us

2. GOAL:To provide tools, ideas, personal experiences, references and resources to help school board members become better advocates for public education.

3. About Me • Fifth year School Board Member from Watertown • Married 30 years with four daughters • Believe part of the calling of a school board member is to represent the best interests of our children, not just locally, but at the state and national levels too.

4. Some People learn by reading, Others by observing, And others just have to learn by peeing on the electric fence. -- Will Rogers How Do Your Legislators Learn?

5. Advocacy is a matter of the HeartIt’s the Power to Create Change . . . And its PowerComes from Within

6. Fundamental Belief • At the heart of School Board Advocacy is the belief that the people that know best are those closest to the child. • Part of our job as School Board Members is to represent the best interests of our children to those that make the laws. • We must share our stories. Legislators must understand how the decisions they make impact our children at the local level.

7. It’s easy to sit and complain. Advocates actually ‘do’ something. Isn’t that why we were elected? • The tyranny of a prince is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. • - Montesquieu, 1748

8. Can we Really Make an Impact? • Absolutely. Legislators have to make hundreds of decisions every year, and they make those decisions based on the information available. • They listen to their constituents, particularly those with knowledge in the area they are advocating. • We are on the front lines in our community and can explain the real-life impact of state and federal level decisions.

9. Foundations of Effective Advocacy Develop your RFP • Relationships • Facts • Passion

10. Relationships The key challenge is to build respectful, trusting relationships with lawmakers that strengthen support for public schools.

11. Relationships “Trust is the residue of promises fulfilled.”

12. Must Read Book

13. Tips and Tools to Develop Legislative Relationships

14. Invest yourself into developing relationships with lawmakers – but not just during session. To win the advocacy game, we need to develop and nurture relationships throughout the year.

15. Personal Communication The best way to communicate is either face-to-face or through insightful, personal letters/email.

16. When Writing, Keep in Mind: • Focus on one issue or bill per letter. • Express you point of view and explain why your legislator should be supportive. Be brief and courteous. • Explain the local impact of the legislation. • Request your legislator take a specific position on the issue. • Ask for a response.

17. Communicate at Crackerbarrels • Crackerbarrels are opportunities for state legislators to gather community input on important legislation during session. • They are a great opportunity for face-to-face interaction.

18. To Email State Legislatorshttp://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/MemberMenu.aspx

19. Click on Name to Bring up Contact Info

20. To Email House Ed Membershttp://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/CommitteeMembers.aspx?Committee=17

21. To Email Senate Ed Members http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/CommitteeMembers.aspx?Committee=4

22. Key National Contactshttp://thune.senate.gov/public/http://johnson.senate.gov/public/http://hersethsandlin.house.gov/

23. Ongoing Communication is Important

24. Other Relationship Tools:Facebook Friends

25. Another Relationship Tool: Blog

26. Communicate through an Organized Network • Become a member of the ASBSD’s Legislative Action Network (LAN) – members are kept informed about current educational issues. They develop and nurture constructive dialog with state lawmakers. • Become a member of the National School Board’s Federal Relations Committee (FRN) – members receive regular communications from NSBA about congressional activities. We dialog with our congressional delegation, and once a year meet face-to-face with them in Washington DC. See Wayne Lueders for additional information.

27. Tips and Tools for Gathering Factual Information to share with Legislators

28. Talk to your Superintendent and Business Manager Learn how current or proposed legislation is or will impact your district. Document, document, document.

29. Become a Learner Read, read, read

30. Learn from Books: My “Sweet-16” List of Must-Reads • Becoming a Better Board Member, by NSBA • Eight Keys to an Extraordinary Board-Superintendent Partnership, by Eadie • Failure is NOT an Option, by Blankstein • Five Habits of High Impact School Boards, by Eadie • Future-Focused Leadership:Preparing Schools, Students, and Communities for Tomorrow’s Realities, by Marx • Good to Great, by Collins • Leading Change: The Case for Continuous Improvement, by NSBA • Raising the Bar: A School Board Primer on Student Achievement, by NSBA

31. My “Sweet-16” List of Must-Reads for SB Members (part 2) • Rethinking Leadership: A Collection of Articles, by Sergiovanni • Sixteen Trends, Their Profound Impact on Our Future, by Marx • Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire, by Esquith • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Covey • The Board Savvy Superintendent, by Eadie • The Key Work of School Boards Guidebook • The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics, by Kirp • What Matters Most for School Leaders: 25 Reminders of What Is Really Important, by Ramsey

32. Learn from Education Blogs

33. Understand the Data

34. Resources & Research for Information Gathering • American Institutes for Research (AIR) • American School Board Journal (ASBJ) • Associated School Boards of South Dakota (ASBSD) • Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) • Center for Public Education • Education News • Education Week • Federal Education Budget Project • IDEA – US DOE • Nat’l Council on Teacher Quality • NCES Common Core of Data • National Academy of Education

35. Resources & Research for Information Gathering • National Education Association (NEA) • National School Board Association (NSBA) • Partnership for 21st Century Skills • SASD • School Data Direct • SD 2010E • SD Administrative Rules • SD Board of Regents • SD Codified Laws • SD Department of Education (SD DOE) • SD Governor • SD Legislature

36. Resources & Research for Information Gathering • SD’s K12 Data Center • SD’s NCLB Report Card • SD Education Association (SDEA) • SD High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) • Trends in Higher Ed • US DOE • US Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin • US Senator John Thune • US Senator Tim Johnson • US DOE Budget Office • US House Budget • US Senate Budget • White House OMB

37. Passion: It’s what Drives Us

38. Passion is What Stirs us to Action

39. Passion overcomes Road Blocks

40. Passion Persists through Failure

41. Passion Persists through Crap

42. Persist through Crap

43. There’s no magic to becoming a good advocate. It’s like anything in life . . . It takes practice, practice, practice.

44. We’re Not at a Loss for Issues – We ‘Can’ Make a Difference! ESEA reauthorization (No Child Left Behind) State Funding Formula Consolidation Sparsity Factor IDEA Child Nutrition Act reauthorization American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Education Jobs Fund Federal funding for K-12 education School vouchers and charter schools Early childhood education Education technology, e-rate and the national broadband plan Performance pay Common Core academic standards

45. South Dakota House Majority Leader Bob Faehn

46. U.S. Senator Tim Johnson

47. U.S. Senator Thune

48. Email me at fred.deutsch@k12.sd.us for a copy of this PowerPoint.