Parents can make a difference! I know, because I'm working hard to make changes happen here at our local school district. Read about my adventures in advocacy here!
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Here we are, in the throes of the coronavirus, and its ensuing economic collapse. I will post soon on its effects on health and wellness advocacy at our public school, but first a post about the deluge of social media activism related to the recent protests, riots, and subsequent movements on racial issues. In my…
Vaping is a terrible affliction. It has definitely come to PAUSD like everywhere else. This year, PTA Council made vaping a number one advocacy effort. Last January, we invited Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Ph.D, Professor-Research of Pediatrics at Stanford University, to come speak to our community on vaping. Here is her presentation:
Image from Flickr. Advocacy can take a lot of energy. It’s often something energizing that gets you involved in the first place. That energy can be either or both positive and negative. No matter which one or both is relevant to you, it can take a lot out of you. Advocacy is filled with ups…
My last post was about Patience, and how you might need to readjust your time frame for getting whatever you advocate for done. However, what might speed things up? Here are some possibilities that I’ve observed: When the community is roused fully, things could move faster. If a sizeable amount of the parents calls for…
When I started advocating for sugar restraint, I thought many things would happen quickly. However, this was definitely not the case. There is always some urgency around issues parents advocate for. Their children are always top of mind, and if harm or deficiency is perceived, that urgency can reach extreme heights. When our children are…
In my advocacy work, one of the most important things to find is a person at the school district who can take the lead with whatever you’re advocating for. Without it, you’ll be constantly frustrated at the lack of progress since no one has clear ownership of this particular issue, and everyone is already busy…
Advocacy always involves spreading your message and gaining support for your advocacy. Parent Education, or Parent Ed for short, is a great strategy to get the word out and reach parents. By offering up a speaker in an area that is interesting to parents, you can get your message out in a way that is…
Image from Flickr – some rights reserved. Last year, someone approached me to get help on launching a sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) tax done in Palo Alto. Unfortunately I was heavily involved in another campaign and could not take on another effort like this one. However, the benefits would have been pretty great. Berkeley enacted…
During my entire time working on nutrition, one of the things that I strove to discover was what would bring people onto my side on the issue I was advocating for. It also means defining who the audiences really are first. Who are the audiences involved in a school district? There are 3 I have…
When I started advocacy with the school district, I had no idea what I was doing. Looking back, I made a lot of errors! However, I did manage to fumble my way up to some decent success despite my lack of knowledge on how to advocate. I did try later to see if I could…