Challenge:
In the past, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) had relied on episodic training events to help teach basic grassroots advocacy skills to charter school parents. While these trainings helped familiarize charter school parents with the fundamentals of grassroots advocacy, the INCS needed a long-term solution to engage charter school parents, build grassroots leadership, accommodate various levels of technology knowledge, and integrate advocacy year-round. Charter school parents put a human face on charter school issues and are powerful advocates for improving the quality of education in Illinois.
Solution:
grassroots solutions worked closely with the INCS to create an ongoing, comprehensive training program to maximize the grassroots capacity of charter school parents. The resulting Parent Leadership Training Program was designed to take place during the academic year and develop a cohort of parent activists who will become high-quality leaders, both within their child’s charter school and out in the broader community. The training program aims to build leadership, understand the context and policy surrounding the charter school model and movement, and develop grassroots organizing and advocacy skills. These trainings include a mix of group training, as well as “homework” activities and action teams that allow parents to practice and put their enhanced skills into action. To accompany the training program, grassroots solutions also developed a comprehensive Parent Leadership Handbook that contains concrete tips and tools for parents to organize, leverage events, work with media, and advocate for charter school issues.
Results:
- A comprehensive training program that supports the current and ongoing needs of charter school parents through group training sessions, school action teams, and communication and support.
- Increased leadership, ownership, and sense of community among charter school parents.
- A community of advocates for the INCS that continues to strengthen and promote charter schools and public education issues throughout Illinois.