From this "hit list" you will want to identify those few individuals who are as equally committed to your ideals as you and who are prepared to spend the time and energy to help you organize. These are the people you will want to recruit as organizational officers or board members. Consider how each individual can best contribute to the success of your mission, and don't hesitate to take advantage of the talent, influence or resources they put at your disposal. One may be a master organizer, another may have strong community connections or a dynamic public presence, another may be able to provide more money than time, or be a successful fund-raiser. Use the "capital" they have to offer, but "spend" wisely and well no one likes to feel his efforts have been wasted.

        Organize an introductory meeting to chart your agenda, share information you've accumulated and seek advice and support for your efforts. Topics of discussion at this initial meeting include basics such as deciding upon a group name, recruiting additional board members, deciding upon a structure, division of labor and development of committees or task forces, the agenda, frequency of meetings and how often you'll stay in touch. You may want to draw up general bylaws to cover some of these issues. Define your philosophy and mission, and set a few basic short and long term goals. Determine the specific steps you need to take to achieve those goals. Devise your short-term tactics and your long-term strategies. Don't be afraid to revise your objectives down the road as the situation changes in your district — but don't be taken in by promises that will bring the schools only half-way to where you think they should be.

        Take up a collection for basic start-up costs, and ask everyone to contribute. People can donate funds or provide their donation through in-kind contributions, such as volunteering to copy meeting notices, donating the use of their phone, car or home, creating and copying stationery or fund-raising. Set up a bank account to receive contributions and pay for literature. Designate two signers to the account — yourself and a treasurer.

        Discuss potential supporters throughout the community. You do not need a lot of money to start; collecting $25 from ten people and getting in-kind contributions is enough to organize a small mailing and get the word out. Most groups initially attempt to fill their bank account by soliciting donations from a hand-picked group of individuals sympathetic to their cause. Later in this section you'll learn about reaching out to business leaders who are good prospects for donations.

        You also can fund-raise through what is known as direct mail, in which you target specific people to whom you mail a letter or solicitation. There are people who do this for a living, but small groups usually choose to do it themselves. You'll need to find a friendly list to "prospect" for support. Possible sources for lists of names are community service organizations or other groups you've contacted so far. Such groups will have a directory that you may be able to get through a sympathetic member. Use these directories to pull together a small list, then mail a letter of introduction that includes a request for financial support.

        Be sure your correspondence is brief, engaging and to the point. Always make sure your mailings look highly professional — use a computer or word processor with a high quality printer. Never use a typewriter, and never send out photo copies. Each piece of correspondence should be personally addressed, including the salutation, to the recipient. Include a self-addressed envelope to help increase the likelihood of a reply. If the recipients don't respond on the first or second go-round, don't despair. It can take a lot of contact before direct mail pays off.

        Another tack is to plan a well-organized social or educational event. For example, you could hold your own education symposium and solicit donations from attendees. Choose a convenient but limited time, such as happy hour, serve light refreshments (always a good drawing card) and turn the gathering into a working session or how-to on school reform.

        This first "open" organizational meeting will be broader than your initial meeting. You will want to expand your numbers two-fold and begin building your organization. Hold the meeting at a neutral location and make it clear from the outset that this is not your personal project — it is a community organization which is seeking additional members.

        At this meeting, you will outline how the group came to be, its goals and any other issues that need to be discussed. This is a brainstorming session, primarily intended for networking. Send around a sign up sheet for names and numbers, which you will distribute later to all participants. Ask individuals to share names and numbers of others who perhaps could not attend but who may want to be involved.

        Note: no coalition should seek to be a democracy. It should be made clear that although members' input is valued, the organization will be led by a core group of officers. Too many coalitions strive to provide equal say to all members, and thus set themselves up to fail or get sidetracked on marginal issues. Make it clear from the start who your leadership team is, and set up a formal mechanism for comment. Determine if there is general consensus among those at the initial meeting.

        Now that you've organized some of your allies and drawn up the basic guidelines of your organization, you'll want to begin systematically expanding your membership and developing your group's profile in the community. To do this, you will need to put together some informational and public relations material on your organization and the community. This is discussed in the next chapter in "First Impressions."

        One of the first things you'll want to do is talk personally with community leaders to get their viewpoint and insights and to seek their endorsement. Some of those you will approach will be individuals from your ever-expanding "hit list" who weren't involved in the start-up of the organization. From them you will be seeking personal support and public endorsement for the organization, as well as leads on others who might want to get involved.

        Endorsements are valuable because they give credibility to your group, indicate your broad appeal and establish you as an organization of consequence in the community. Endorsements can be used to help raise funds, indicated on letterhead, used when approaching officials, the media, and individuals from within or outside the community. Just one endorsement from a reputable local business executive or owner can bring a ten or twenty-fold return of supporters. Strong candidates for such endorsements come from among:

· Business leaders (bank presidents, real estate firms, technology firms, law firms, office supply companies, local grocery stores)

· Civic and church group leaders who are not readily identified with a particular cause or ideology (for example, in many cities, there are very strong and well-respected pastors of African-American churches who are sympathetic to school reform but not heavily involved with existing coalitions or easily stereotyped)

· Parents of public school students

· Public school teachers, principals and officials

· Concerned taxpayers

· Elected officials

        As we discussed in Section II, most leaders of the various school associations probably will not take kindly to a reform effort of which they are not the primary architects. Nevertheless, there will be exceptions to this rule, and it is important that you try to win support from within the education community. If you get the cold shoulder from certain groups, at least you will know where they stand. But you may be surprised; the rank and file teachers and other education workers are very much in favor of expanding local control and devising creative solutions to their woes. Often they know surprisingly little about specific issues relating to school reform; teachers and school board members are busy people and do not always have as much information as you may think, or the information they have may be one-sided. So while you may get flat out 'no’s' from some, that brick wall may crumble once you get to know people, familiarize them with the facts and assure them that you are all working toward the same goal — educating kids.

Beyond your back door

        Once you've identified key players in your area, make contact with national reform groups and involve their own local contacts in your efforts. The more national groups that know you exist, the more help and support you will find when you need it. They can provide you with extensive assistance in networking, resources and research information. While your focus is local and should remain so, you will want to tap into and be part of the network of reformers who are working on similar or related issues across the country. (See Appendix II: Organizational Resources)

From Section III: Working For Reform

    Chapter 10: Getting Informed   
        1) Achievement
        2) Resource Allocation
        3) Leadership
        4) Policies and Programs
        5) Unions
        6) Demographics
        7) Comparisons and Alternatives

    Chapter 11: Building Coalitions for Reform: Laying the Groundwork

Click here to return to the complete Table of Contents for THE SCHOOL REFORM HANDBOOK.

The Center for Education Reform (CER) is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support to individuals and groups who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. CER is the leading authority for information on innovative reforms in education and works in states and communities across the country to advance the cause of educational excellence.

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