Vote for My Future – Educating and Mobilizing the Silicon Valley Bay Area Parent Community
A Bay Area-wide campaign incorporating public service announcements, educational videos,grassroots outreach, an educational workshop, and public official forums/debates to increase civic engagement from the parent community in Silicon Valley and beyond for the November 2010 elections. The campaign is led by EDUCACY, a parent-led non-profit organization, in partnership with Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Working Partnership, South Bay Labor Council, KTSF, Univision, business associations, media partners and local grass roots organizations.
California has the largest K-12 public education system in the nation and the eighth largest economy in the world. However, it ranks close to the the bottom in funding per student and teacher to student ratios. Additionally, less than 70% of students graduate from high school.
California s failure to provide an adequate, equitable, and rational school finance’system that supports required educational programs and student needs jeopardizes the futures of its children, the state, and the nation.
There is a pressing need for education reform and parents have been the missing link in that path. As a group, parents have the purest and greatest interest in the success of their children,but they have lacked the understanding, the time, the means, and/or the collective power to be instrumental in instituting change. Parents have a history of low voter turn out. This campaign is intended to register more parent and youth voters. Though they comprise the majority of the student population in California, Asian Pacific Islander and Latino communities in particular have much lower civic engagement than the general community due to cultural and language barriers. However, education is a top concern for both communities. Based on recent analyses performed by Working Partners, many of the reforms sought by EDUCACY are short 100,000-500,000 votes statewide. In Santa Clara County, the measures/elections are short 40,000 votes. EDUCACY wants to play a lead role in increasing voter registration and turnout to overcome these shortages and help school districts pass local parcel taxes as well as other campaigns that move communities in the direction towards greater education reform.
The goals of the campaign are to:<
- Create awareness of the education crisis utilizing public service announcements targeted primarily to traditionally under-represented groups.
- Educate the parent community about education issues using special news segments, grassroots outreach, education workshops, and forums/debates.
- Mobilize parents to take action with a deep understanding of the education crisis and the role that they have towards short-term and long-term reform.
Activities/Events in Silicon Valley:
- Public Service Announcements in 7 languages to run from September 1 November 2–election date. Messages from children will urge parents to engage in the election process. Educational videos in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese and English to explain why it is important to vote on November elections.
- Panel and workshop on California’s education system and financing From Top to Worst’–(mid. September)
- Education-focused forum/Debate for Governor’s race Meg Whitman vs. Jerry Brown–(late September)
- Forum/Debate for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction race Tom Torlakson vs.–Larry Aceves (early October)
- Get Out To Vote : Grassroots mobilization partner with local grassroots organizations,–teachers unions and students groups to increase voter participation from high school students and the parent community during November 2010 elections
For more information about EDUCACY, download the Executive Summary or join the following Yahoo! Groups:
EducateCA (http://groups NULL.yahoo NULL.com/group/educateCA/)
ParentsForAction (http://groups NULL.yahoo NULL.com/group/parentsforaction/)
StateAdvocacy (http://groups NULL.yahoo NULL.com/group/StateAdvocacy/)
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