Bringing a Public Voice to the School Governance Debate

Posted by on April 18, 2011

Putting Public Voice in Public Education:
How New York City’s Campaign for Better Schools influenced the debate on mayoral control of public education

There is a careful transformation that often takes place during advocacy campaigns: individual advocacy groups join up and collaborate with other groups to form coalitions. And sometimes, coalitions become forces to be reckoned with. Research for Action recently concluded a two-year study that examined this transformation through the work of the Campaign for Better Schools – a coalition of education advocates, organizing, research and policy groups determined to bring authentic parent and community voices into the debate about school governance and mayoral control of schools in New York City.

Our reports – Bringing a Public Voice to the School Governance Debate: The Campaign for Better Schools and Mayoral Control in New York City – explore the Campaign’s journey as it worked to balance idealism and principles with the pragmatics of influencing public debate and policy outcomes. The report also chronicles the challenges and opportunities inherent in forging alliances among a range of types of groups, each with a different constituency and set of interests.

This is a story of a competition of ideas, strategy and negotiation on a fast-paced political playing field, and ultimately about wins and compromises. As education reform initiatives take root in cities and states throughout the country, perhaps the Campaign for Better Schools can offer valuable lessons about careful relationship-building as a strategy for members becoming a formidable force in pursuit of long-lasting, sustainable education reform.

You can access the full report on Research for Action’s website.

http://www.researchforaction.org/projects/?id=73

The story of education reform in New York City

The authors of the report about the Campaign for Better Schools, including RFA’s Eva Gold and consultant Elaine Simon, authored a book chapter in the new release Education Reform in New York City: Ambitious Change in the Nation’s Most Complex School System. Their chapter, entitled “Parent and Community Engagement in New York City and the Sustainability Challenge for Urban Education Reform,” examines the role of parent and community engagement in securing sustainable school reform. You can order the book here.

http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/137/EducationReformInNewYorkCity