Fundamentals of Organizing: Education

Teaching & Discipline

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Forms of Organizing

Accepts existing power relationships

Challenges existing power relationships

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Direct Action Organizing

Wins real improvements in people’s lives Makes people aware of their own power Alters the relationships of Power

NAACP version attacks structural racism Decision-makers factor NAACP in

beforehand

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Dual Forms of Bias

Individual BiasA teacher who says,

“There’s no way your son could have written that essay.”

Institutional BiasA policy that doesn’t offer

advanced placement courses at a predominantly Black school.,

because,“Those students will never use that

kind of knowledge.”

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Speaking truth to power

Individual Bia

s• Direct Service

• Self Help

• Education

• Advocacy

• Direct Action

Institutiona

l Bia

s

• Education

• Advocacy

• Direct Action

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Our Goals

Put theory into action! Attack institutional racism in education with a

national campaign for Excellence & EquityA campaign is a sustained plan for change using

strategies that impact our issues.¾ Identify issues in agenda¾ Identify promising strategies¾ Apply known tactics to each strategy

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Our Issue Agenda

Improving Teaching Improving Discipline Increasing Resource Equity Ensuring College & Career Readiness

* All applied to turnaround schools

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Our request – Each unit/branch picks one

Participate in the Campaign for Equity & Excellence by:

Adopting (at least) one issue area in education

Committing to (at least) one strategy Targeting turnaround schools Applying tactics that fit your community Working to perfect our education organizing

capacity

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FOCUS ON TEACHING

FOCUS ON TEACHING

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Teachers who close the achievement gap

1. fully prepared when they entered teaching,

2. had taught for more than two years, 3. certified in field &/or by National Board

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Strategies to improve teaching

Strategies: ¾ Stronger, More Diverse Pipeline (preparation)

• Tactics: ID future teachers, TEACH grants, residencies

¾ More Mentoring & Coaching (slows turnover)

• Tactics: Lead Teacher, mentoring, new teacher supports

¾ More teachers with Advanced Certification (certification)

• Tactics: Support for National certification, changes to state licensing

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Local tactics by function & engagementCommunications(Promote)

Education (Sensitize, inform)

Advocacy(Influence decision-makers/policy)

Direct Action(Grassroots Mobilization)

Medium Engagement

1:1 meetings with journalists, newsletter articles, feature issue in a blog post

Workshops, town halls, testing, monitoring data, conducting internal research and surveys

Phone individuals, speak @ school and board of ed mtgs; advisory boards

Hearings, panels, candidate surveys & scorecards

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Putting it all together – medium engagement

Branches with a medium interest in advanced certification Arrange a local media profile

(communications) Conduct & share a survey of

teachers(education) Form an advisory board (advocacy) Hold a scorecard rally(direct action)

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Putting it all together – escalating tactics

Branches interested in strengthening & diversifying the teacher pipeline could:

Distribute information about TEACH grants (low, education)

Appeal to the school board for incentives (med, advocacy)

Raise funds & challenge board to supplement TEACH grants (high, direct action)

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Strategy Chart

Constituents, Allies and Opponents’

Targets Tactics

Constituents = those directly affected by the issue; folks we can get to do things for us Allies = supporters, sympathizers; extra strength Opponents = those who’ll actively organize against us; recognize and move on; can be moved to allies

Primary Target = has what you want & wouldn’t otherwise give it to you Always an individual Secondary Target = has power over target but we have power over them Use only if primary won’t budget

Educational = target needs info on facts, situation or impacts Power= target needs motivation by threat, fear of losing something Must go outside their experience & get their attention

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Wrap-up

Group debriefQ & AEvaluation

Thanks for participating!

tbethglenn@naacpnet.org410-580-5104 (direct)410-358-3385 (fax)