"I was surprised at the inequities in education, and I wanted to do more than the PTA," says Terri Factora, a San Francisco mother of two young children who has been involved with Coleman Advocates for seven years. So last year, Factora and other parents got active when Coleman Advocates set up a separate Action Fund to campaign for Sandra Fewer when she successfully ran for the San Francisco school board. Fewer is a long-time parent advocate and formerly Coleman Advocates’ parent organizing director. Factora says, “I’ve never been involved in a (political campaign) before,” but she joined the campaign because, with Fewer’s election, “we would have someone with our point of view (on the school board) to speak on behalf of parents.”  

Identifying the issues

Factora believes Fewer “really knows the issues facing parents, families, and students.” She points to the achievement gap and the lack of college preparation courses for students of color as big issues facing San Francisco children.

There is a “big disconnection between teachers and students,” adds Rosario Ramirez, a parent leader who is now a community organizer with Coleman Advocates. Many teachers come from different cultural and economic backgrounds than their students and have trouble relating to them, she adds. She believes better teacher training in cultural awareness would help.

“Passing (school board) policies is not enough,” adds Ramirez. It’s important to make sure policies are implemented, “so we see the change in our students,” she adds.

Building on previous efforts

Coleman Advocates’ long history of organizing parents “helped a lot with the preparation for the campaign,” says Ramirez. The Action Fund helped mobilize parents from the community—and parent leaders had experience with “phone banks, literature drops, how to talk to voters, and how to convince voters that our campaign is important,” she adds.

Mobilizing the community

Factora and other parents hosted house parties on behalf on the campaign. They handed out invitations to their neighbors and, at the parties, Fewer participated in question and answer sessions. Parents also dropped off pamphlets—in English, Spanish, and Chinese—about Fewer’s experience and platform on the doorsteps of local residents.

Parents held rallies in the Excelsior District, the district with the largest population of children attending public schools. They held signs saying, “Please vote” and handed out literature on Fewer. Fewer attended the rallies to answer questions.

Documenting the need

During the campaign, Coleman Advocates published a policy report to show the need for “parts of the platform (Fewer) was running on,” says Chelsea Boilard, a communications associate. The report found that 30% of San Francisco families live below the poverty line and estimated that 66% of children in San Francisco will not be economically secure as a working adults. The report called for more college-track educational opportunities, among other recommendations to move children out of poverty.

Success

In November, Sandra Fewer was elected to the San Francisco school board. “Parents added legitimacy, validity, and authenticity to my campaign,” she says.

For more info: Coleman Action Fund for Children, www.colemanactionfund.org

Correction: Coleman Advocates was not involved in the school board campaign for Sandra Fewer. Coleman Advocates established a legally and financially separate 501(c)4 organization called the Coleman Action Fund for Children, which was proud to endorse Sandra Fewer and engaged members of the Coleman community as volunteers in her campaign. The article has been amended to reflect this correction.