The most important thing you can do is to educate people about the state of education in this country, and galvanize your neighbors. To raise local awareness of education issues, and to make your voice heard, use the following ideas as starting points for planning activities and events. Some ideas apply to individuals, and some involve more than one person. Please adapt any of them to suit your community.

Editors are most likely to print letters that are topical in some way and refer to a recent published story. Keep an eye out for articles related to energy policy or the environment you can use as a “hook” for a letter of your own. In your letter, be sure to spell out what other individuals and organizations are doing in your area, and let people know how to get involved.

If writing to more than one newspaper (and we encourage you to do so!), each letter must be unique. Most papers will not knowingly publish letters that have been printed elsewhere.

Write an Op-Ed Piece
The Opinion/Editorial (Op-Ed) pages of newspapers include articles written by experts in certain fields. These articles usually offer a viewpoint on current events and hot topics. An Op-Ed should be sent to the editors of your local newspapers. You can locate the editor's name at the top of the Op-Ed page in each newspaper. Remember to ask for word count limitations. Toolkit Download

Submit Prewritten Articles to Community Newspapers
Community papers often accept prewritten articles and photographs. Call the editors or reporters at community papers at least six weeks before you would like your article to appear.

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Team up with a Local Education Reform Group
Many communities already have an organization dedicated to improving learning. Add your voice to theirs by attending their meetings and meeting their members. If your community doesn't have such a group, start one! Parents for Public Schools is a national network of community chapters. If they don't have a chapter near you, they'd be happy to help you start one in your neighborhood. You can find more information at: www.parents4publicschools.com

Form a Coalition of Concerned Citizens
Bring teachers, parents, librarians, children's museum directors, school administrators, and others together to promote effective teaching and learning in your community schools. At your meetings, push to develop a strategy to bring about real change in your local education system, and look to make your voice heard on a broader level. To begin, contact anyone you think might be interested in such a group, and try to form a committee to organize the meeting. This committee may wish to contact schools, libraries or museums in search of a venue. They will certainly want to prepare an agenda for the meeting. Once that is in place, find ways to advertise the meeting to others and drum up interest.

Stage a Town Meeting about Education Reform
Use the meeting to communicate your coalition's concerns to the wider community and to your local government officials. Take the opportunity to discuss possible solutions with them.

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Write to Your Elected Officials and Candidates
Educate them about the issues and make your viewpoint known. Let them know what kinds of programs you support, and what kinds of changes you feel are needed.

Involve Local Businesses
Ask local businesses to support your organization by making a donation or putting up your posters and brochures.

Host an Awards Breakfast or Lunch
Recognize key individuals who are doing great things in the education field, whether it's a teacher, a parent, a principal or an organization. Invite as many members of the community as you can.

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Submit a Press Release to Local Newspapers or TV/Radio Stations
Press releases are designed to gain publicity. They lay out the “who, what, where, when, why and how” of a story. Use them to inform the public about education issues and what's being done about them. You can send press releases to TV and radio stations as well as local newspapers. Before submitting your materials to any media outlet, inform yourself of their format and tailor your press release to fit them. A newsworthy event could be a local vigil or demonstration. Create an event designed to educate and dramatize the issues. Toolkit Download

Develop Public Service Announcement
Public Service Announcements (PSA's) are free advertising for non-profit organizations. Local radio and television stations donate a percentage of their airtime to worthy campaigns, but they have a limited amount of time and many non-profits are trying to secure a spot. Many media organizations require that a PSA request be submitted at least six weeks prior to when you would like it to be aired or printed. Toolkit Download

Utilize Local Libraries to Spread the Word
Ask the library to allow you to display literature on education reform. Many libraries have display cases with rotating exhibits that can be very effective for communicating your message, especially those displays around children's sections. One idea: consider using school artwork to emphasize the benefits of an arts curriculum. Also, ask the library if you can distribute fact sheets to its patrons.

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Develop an Education Reform Exhibit at a Local Shopping Mall
It can be a similar display as one used in a library, with fact sheets to pass out to shoppers, and perhaps the date of a town meeting or education coalition meeting. Informing as many people of the issues as possible is extremely important.

Hold an Essay or Poster Contest for School Children

Poster—What learning means to me!

Essay—What is the difference between schooling and education?

Invite Candidates to Your Community to Discuss Education Issues
Try to organize a town meeting when candidates can appear and speak directly to the voters. Prepare a list of key questions to ask each candidate. Toolkit Download

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