The most powerful person at a school board meeting is not the board president or the superintendent. It is each member of the public whose participation is the foundation of democratic governance. When you show up to speak your truth, YOU are the most powerful person at a school board meeting. Our kids need you to wield that power ethically, strategically, and consistently. Here are three ways you can get started at the next school board meeting in your community.
- Elevate what matters to you by signing up for public comment:
Public comment can be intimidating. Most places only let you speak for 2-3 minutes and you are standing looking at a row of important looking people in elevated seating. The optics don’t match what should be the reality. The impact is that many speakers miss their opportunity for influence by only communicating their emotion (usually anger) or by telling a story without connecting it to a clear action.
A strong public comment is designed like a feedback statement. You describe the situation, you state the behavior, and share the impact on you. Bonus points if you close with a specific call to action.
Another approach is to think of your statement as three stories. You begin with your personal story which explains what brings you to this moment. The second is a communal story that helps connect your story to the experiences of others in the room. Finally, the story of “now” that explains the challenge and clarifies the action to take. There are great resources to help you tell your story.
In short, be clear about what your message is for the board and make sure every sentence reinforces that point. Repeat the main idea at least three times to make sure that is what is sticky for those listening to you. Sometimes there is a limit to how many people can speak. If you have done this preparation, you can easily turn your statement into a written comment to submit to the board.
- Ask questions that make board members think:
Asking a well crafted question is often a more effective approach to influencing people than making a statement. It is also an effective leadership move regardless of one’s role. The power of a question is that when you ask it, the listener’s brain begins to answer it which is not the case when you just state something. So, what are good questions you can ask at board meetings?
Questions that orient the board toward connecting their actions to student learning can keep the main thing the main thing.
- How does voting either way on <insert issue> impact student learning? How do you know?
- What values or student experiences are your privileging with this vote? How will you support those who are experiencing loss in this decision?
- If you had to explain this decision to my kindergartener, how would you do it? What questions do you think they would ask?
Questions that help people be more flexible in their thinking can lead to compromise.
- What would need to be true for you to change your mind about this issue?
- What evidence will you look at and how far in the future will you look at it to decide if the approach you have decided today is working?
- Tell people about what is happening at board meetings:
While I wish everyone would commit to attending at least one school board meeting a year, I know that most people won’t take me up on the invitation. That means it is important that folks who do attend talk to other people about what happened at the meeting. Share your reflections when talking to neighbors, dropping kids at school, at the grocery store, or on your social media.
Avoid the drama or any adult toxicity that distracts from student learning. Focus on what actions were taken and how those actions will impact the kids you love. Ask the people you share with what they think and invite them to do something about it.
A first step could be for them to share their thoughts at the next board meeting or to read this post and talk it over with you.
