BAY AREA PLANParent Leadership Action Network

Building a Social Justice Movement for Families

Strategic Plan 2008–2010

Spring 2008

Letter from the Executive Director

Dear friends,

It is with great excitement that I share with you this summary of Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network’s strategic plan. This plan, which is the product of a comprehensive process taking place over most of a year and engaging all of PLAN’s diverse leaders and stakeholders, will serve as a guide for PLAN’s priorities and growth from 2008 through 2010.

We are grateful to the support of PLAN’s Advisory Board, Leadership Council, staff, constituents, partner organizations, and funders for their tireless efforts, curiosity, vision, and perseverance in creating this plan. We are especially honored to have had the support of Greg Hodge to guide us through this process. His dynamic facilitation, probing questions, and commitment to hearing every voice kept everyone engaged throughout the strategic planning process.

Over the course of the strategic planning process summarized in this report, PLAN’s leaders revisited and affirmed our mission: to unite and strengthen diverse Bay Area parent leaders and organizations through alliance-building, leadership development, and action. We remain firmly committed to the charge that we took up at the outset of our work together in 2004. Though the methods we use may change and our partnerships expand, we are deeply engaged in the process of making change that improves the quality of the lives of families in the Bay Area.

With budget cuts looming and persistent educational inequities threatening the well-being of children and families, particularly in low income and immigrant communities, the task of building a social justice movement for families is more important than ever. I invite you to join us as a participant, member, donor, or partner as we embark on the next three years of movement-building for positive change for the Bay Area’s children and families.

In solidarity,

Melia Franklin Executive Director

Strategic Planning ParticiPantS Note: Individuals’ affiliations and roles are listed for identification purposes only, indicating their affiliation at the time of their participation.

adviSory Board memBerS

Nicole Bandy, Children’s Network of Solano County

Jamie Lopez, East Bay Asian Youth Center

Dan Safran, Children’s Council of San Francisco

Jean Tepperman, Action Alliance for Children

Maria Luz Torre, Parent Voices—San Francisco

Laura Valdez, Caminos-Pathways Learning Center

Christina Wong, Chinese for Affirmative Action

leaderShiP council memBerS

Lourdes Alarcon, Parent Voices—San Francisco

Patricia Artia, Nuestra Casa

Shanita Bradford, Verde Involving Parents

Jennifer Greppi, Parent Voices—Southern Alameda County

Kido, Parent Leader, Oakland

Dawn Love, LIFETIME

Ana Martinez, Parent Leader, San Francisco

Paula Michel, Parent Leader, East Palo Alto

Cecilia Ornelas, Verde Involving Parents

Lorena Ortiz, Parent Leader, Oakland

Flor Ramos, Parent Leader, San Francisco

Rochelle Robinson, California Partnership

Organizational Profile

miSSion and viSion The Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN) unites and strengthens diverse parents and parent-based organizations working to build a social justice movement for families through alliance building, leadership development, and action. As a regional network working for educational equity, economic justice, quality child care, and parent representation, PLAN builds bridges between individual parent leaders, parent-based groups, allied coalitions, and policy organizations that span multiple issues, county lines, languages and cultures.

PLAN’s long-term vision is to build a visible, powerful constituency of low-income parents able to advance issues important to the well-being of children and families and to act as a powerful counterweight in a society that increasingly puts their needs at the bottom of the public agenda.

PLAN is currently led by a regional Leadership Council of grassroots parent leaders and organizations and an Advisory Board.

hiStoryThe Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN) emerged out of a two-day conference, Parents Leading the Way Toward Stronger Communities for Children, held in Oakland in October 2003. Attracting 175 diverse participants from throughout the Bay Area, the conference sparked a dialogue between staff and parent leaders working in many different issue areas—education reform, family support, child care, immigrant rights, and other issues—about the dreams and desires, challenges and strategies associated with achieving social justice through parent power.

In March 2004, PLAN launched as a project of the CIF of the San Francisco Foundation. Founding partners included Action Alliance for Children, Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action, Parent Services Project, and Parent Voices.

valueSPLAN’s work is guided by the following core values:

Parents—by which we mean anyone who serves as a primary caregiver for a •child – are the experts on what children and families need to thrive and are natural leaders who have capacity to advocate for their children.Parents—especially parents from low-income, immigrant, and communities •of color who have been historically disenfranchised—must have a strong voice in the decisions that affect families.A parent-led movement that unites parents across the boundaries of •language, race, culture, and geography will strengthen the parent voice in education and public policy and improve the lives of children and families.

StakeholderS

Kimberly Aceves, Youth Together

Sandy Fewer, Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth

Judy Goddess, CACE

Nina Goldman, S.H. Cowell Foundation

Carmen Iniguez, Californians for Justice

Tammy Johnson, Applied Research Center

Jenny Ocon, Parent Services Project

Anne Okahara, Oakland Unified School District

Mauricio Palma, Peninsula Partnership for Children and Youth

Neku Pogue, Office of Senator Don Perata

Anita Rees, LIFETIME

Molly Wertz, United Way Bay Area

Lorrainne Woodruff-Long, Parents for Public Schools

Deena Zacharin, San Francisco Unified School District

Staff

Martha Benitez, Training Consultant

Melia Franklin, Executive Director

Beverley Jenkins, Administrative Assistant

Michelle Matos, Leadership & Advocacy Coordinator

Veronica Neal, Training Consultant

Rhina Ramos, Training Director

current funderS 2007-08

S.H. Cowell Foundation

First Five Alameda County

Walter & Elise Haas Fund

Evelyn & Walter Haas Fund

Reach A Star Foundation

San Francisco Foundation

Zellerbach Family Foundation

Planning conSultant

Greg Hodge

Strategic QueStionSPLAN’s strategic planning process, which took place between April 2007 and January 2008, answered the following key questions:

What is PLAN’s theory of change?•

Who are PLAN’s primary •constituents?

What is PLAN’s role in the broader •parent leadership and social justice movements?

What key strategies, resources, and •organizational structures are needed to support PLAN’s mission and goals?

What are PLAN’s priorities and intended impacts over •the next three years?

methodSStakeholder Involvement •Held two strategic planning retreats, two Leadership Council meetings, and three Advisory Board meetings focusing on key questions.

Committee Work •Formed a Leadership Council Governance Committee, which met four times to develop a proposal to address membership and representation. Formed the Advisory

Board Ad Hoc Committee on Incorporation, which met five times to address governance structure, the costs and benefits of becoming an independent 501(c)3 organization. Formed a staff committee, which met twice to map out resource and staffing needs.

Research •Conducted interviews with 13 key stakeholders, including participants, partner organizations, and funders. Researched membership and organizational models and interviewed 3 key ally organizations.

Internal Asessment •Assessed human and financial resources, organizational leadership and governance and infrastructure needs.

Strategic Planning Process Overview

PLAN’s primary beneficiaries are parents and caregivers •who are low-income, working class folk, especially people of color.

PLAN’s secondary beneficiaries are parent-based •community organizations who work with parents as “advocates to be.”

To ensure authentic parent voice in all of our work, PLAN decided to:

Build a base of dues-paying members, made up of both •individual parents and allies, as well as parent-led and parent-based organizations

Ensure that PLAN’s Leadership Council is •representative of members by allowing members to vote on representatives each year

Empower the Leadership Council •to elect a majority of the Board of Directors, phased in over four years

Develop a Board of •Directors that will be comprised of 60% constituents by 2012, phased in over four years

viSion for a conStituency-led organization

Parents and caregivers are the heart of PLAN’s work and should be represented in every level of the organization.

key findingSPLAN has been able to position itself as •a regional entity.

PLAN is one of the few organizations •that support community building, organizing, and civic participation in a regional scope.

There is a continued and urgent need •for comprehensive and consistent advocacy training, leadership development and parent organizing work, especially within communities of color.

PLAN is effective, in part, because it has •done work on a range of issues facing low and moderate income parents and caregivers including quality child care, K-12 education, economic justice and issues facing immigrant families.

PLAN should provide education reformers with even •more training and strategy development as it relates to systems and legislative agendas.

PLAN’s approach is strong and remains viable because it •values low-income parents, and makes meetings family-friendly.

PLAN’s capacity-building work should focus on building •and maintaining independent grassroots organizations.

PLAN should forge a connection between state and local •work of grassroots organizations.

PLAN can make a major contribution by encouraging •the development of a comprehensive strategy to build a broad-based parent-led movement.

PLAN should network with other regional parent groups •in other parts of California in order to strengthen statewide networks and statewide campaigns.

“There are very few networks that get parents from working and low-income families together to advocate for the range of issues that PLAN does. PLAN members are very educated on issues that most community members aren’t. PLAN is very organized.

Without PLAN, fewer parents would feel empowered to make change in our communities. Reminding public officials who they need to keep in mind when making decisions is what PLAN is great at doing in an educated and persistent, but not pushy manner.”

What Others Say About Our Work and What Is NeededAs we worked to create a meaningful plan for our future, we interviewed some of our key allies who gave us their views about the relevance of our mission; the current political landscape; whether and how we fill a niche in the field; and innovations we might consider. Below are some of the most important ideas they shared with us.

Theory of Change

DEvELOP grassroots leaders by expanding their knowledge, capacity, and voice for systemic change

PrOmOTE effective leadership development, organizing, and advocacy strategies among parent-based organizations

EmPOWEr individual parents as well as organizations to create systemic change

BUILD a parent-led movement that interweaves appreciation for diversity and awareness of systemic inequities and oppression

INTEgrATE movement-building work that cuts across issues, cultures, languages, and county lines

SUPPOrT parent participation by providing a family-friendly environment

LINk local efforts to each other and broader movements for social justice

Low-income, immigrant, and families of color have • unequal access to resources and decision-making power at the school, city, and state level

Deep divisions exist along race, ethnicity, and class•

Parent organizing efforts are often disconnected • from each other and from broader movements

Parent organizations are often lack a framework • and capacity for systemic leadership development

Parents from low-income and immigrant • communities need opportunities to develop leadership skills

Parents lack a voice in many policy decisions • that affect their lives and the well-being of their children.

mEmBErSHIP BASE-BUILDINg

Build and engage a strong membership base

LEADErSHIP DEvELOPmENTDevelop grassroots leaders

through a regional Leadership Council

ACTIONSIncrease parent influence on decision-makers through a

parent platform, legislative visits, accountability sessions, and

actions and campaigns

TrAININgExpand parents’

knowledge of and participation in public

school reform

CAPACITY BUILDINgStrengthen parent

organizations through expanded trainings

and intensive capacity-building

FOrUmSLink parents and

organizations to each other through dialogue on issues and solutions

INFOrmATIONConnect parents and

organizations to events and resources through weekly email bulletin

Parents are natural leaders and are an authentic • voice for the needs of children and families

There is growing awareness among educators • and policy makers of the need to engage parents, especially in school leadership and education reform

Many strong parent-based organizations are doing • excellent work on issues

School districts are increasingly prioritizing and • allocating resources to parent engagement efforts

A growing number of organizations serving • children and families are committed to leadership development and empowerment among parents.

SolutionS

StrategieS

challengeS oPPortunitieS

Priority goals & Strategies 2008–2010

goal StrategieS

Leadership & governance

Ensure PLAN is predominantly parent-led.

Design and implement a membership development • approach which includes:

Leadership Council & Board representation•

A dues structure with active & general membership • distinctions

Annual Membership Summit to elect Leadership • Council and set goals and priorities

Develop a Board of Directors that represents PLAN’s • constituencies while building our capacity to raise funds, operate effectively and reach and empower new allies

Organizing & Alliance Building

Increase the impact of parents on local, state and regional policies and build a parent-led movement.

Build and engage a dues-paying membership base•

Expand the attendance to and visibility of Parent Action • Forums

Engage members in actions and campaigns to build • visibility, develop leadership, and increase impact

Educate policy-makers about parents’ concerns through • legislative visits & accountability sessions

Leverage support of allies and high-profile leaders•

Training & Capacity Building

Increase the ability of parents and parent-based organizations to effectively engage in and lead school reform efforts.

Expand the PLAN to LEAD Training of Trainers (TOT) • geographically

Develop an advanced program, Parents in Action, offering • intensive, on-site technical assistance to select TOT graduates

Expand leadership training to parents of younger children • by designing and implementing a new curriculum, Parents Ready for School, targeting parents with preschoolers

Expand training at school sites and school districts.•

Development & Infrastructure

Create sustainable growth in staffing, organizational infrastructure, and resources to achieve the goals in the strategic plan.

Incorporate as an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit•

Increase revenues by 25% per year over the next three • years

Develop the Board’s capacity to lead fundraising•

Increase grassroots fundraising efforts and fee-for-service • contracts

Add critical program positions such as parent organizer • and trainer, as well as organization-strengthening positions such as office manager and development coordinator.

BAY AREA PLANParent Leadership Action Network

405 14th Street, Suite 811

Oakland, CA 94612

510-444-7526

Fax: 510-444-7527

www.parentactionnet.org