Welcome!

Strategic Planning Retreat

July 12 2014, 10 am to 4 pm

Resurrection Metropolitan Church

Agenda

10:00 Welcome & icebreaker

10:30 Political landscape-threats and opportunities

11:00 Deciding on issues for 2014-15 campaigns

12:00 Lunch

12:30 Power Analysis

1:15 Effective Campaign Planning  

2:45 Organization Building

3:45 Summary and evaluation

WELCOME & ICEBREAKER

Steps in building

CVPE power & winning change

Fall 2011 – Spring 2012

Nov. - Dec. 2011

• Form CVPE Organizing Committee
• Screen Inconvenient Truth About Waiting for Superman
• Build consensus that corporate education “reform” is damaging our schools
• Official launch of CVPE

Victory!!!

Jan. – Feb. 2012

• Identify strategic campaigns: Board resolution to reduce high stakes testing
• Develop campaign plan
• Launch recruitment drive with house meetings

March – April 2012

• Continue recruitment drive
• Screen Inconvenient Truth jointly with HFT
• Publish op-ed in Houston Chronicle
• Plan and conduct delegations to 7of 9 Board members

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May 10, 2012

• Reach out to media, hold press conference
• 90 people turn out , 25 speak before Board
• Board votes unanimously for resolution

Steps in building

CVPE power & winning change

Fall 2012 – Summer 2013

Aug. - Dec. 2012

• Email campaign to stop poorly conceived HISD test bank costing millions
• Hosted candidates forum for Progressive Harris County and State Board of Ed candidates - 2 of 3 won
• Launched postcard campaign to limit practice, or benchmark, exams; ban high stakes testing in Kindergarten; and limit student scores to 20% of a teacher’s evaluation
• CVPE members speak at two board meetings

Jan. – March 2013

• Following candidate forum, CVPE block-walkers successfully get out the vote for State Sen. Sylvia Garcia
• 150 parents, students, teachers get on bus to Save TX Schools Rally in Austin, call for restoration of $5.4 billion cut and end to excessive high stakes tests, take center stage

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April – May 2013

• Delegations to 5 of 9 Board members
• KUHF interviews CVPE members on over-testing to HISD school board
• 80 CVPE members ask HISD board for limits on benchmark exams, deliver 1500 signed postcards
• 75 CVPE members & allies participate in teach-in on corporate education reform

June 2013

• CVPE Op-ed in Houston Chronicle stirs debate over Apollo program
• My Fox, Channel 2, KPFT interview CVPE
• 12 teachers, parents, & students speak before school board
• 3 Board members vote vs. funding Apollo
• Helped win $14 million for struggling students

Steps in building

CVPE power & winning change

Fall 2013–

Spring 2014

July 2013

• CVPE Leadership retreat with 25 attendees: Conducted SWOT analysis, power analysis, issue review, and selected campaign for fall

August – November 2013

• Over 150 volunteers work for Anne Sung’s campaign for HISD Trustee – District 7. Multiple endorsements including HGLBT, Jewish Herald Voice, Tejano Dems, etc.. Led fundraising in September and October.
• Result: 47% Sung - 53% Moore (difference of 800 votes)

Jan-March 2014

• Opposed school closures and process: Letter-writing ,Dodson boycott, speakers/delegations to board , research, KPFT & KUHF interviews, op-eds. 3 of 5 schools remain open
• State of the Schools Leaf-letting to oppose closures (Feb)
• CVPE recruits 4 out of 7 teachers for HISD lawsuit
• CVPE members write four Houston Chronicle op-eds about closures and teacher evaluation (Jan-May)

March-June 2014

• CVPE parent successfully opts son out of testing-; KUHF, Ch 11 & 13 media attention
• 17 CVPE members speak before board in highly coordinated effort about teacher evaluation (May)
• HISD reduces use of student test scores from 50% to 30% of a teacher's evaluation. CVPE started this campaign in spr 2013.

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CVPE STRATEGIC PUZZLE

Power

Analysis

Policy

Analysis

ORGANIZING

POLITICAL

EDUCATION

CAMPAIGNS

POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

HISD Board Member votes on CVPE Issues

Local Issues

Opportunities

• School Board Elections
• Running candidates in Districts 3 & 4

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• Supporting other organizations
• SEIU, TOP, NAACP, “Coalition”

Threats

• Grier continues to run the district
• Arnold

State Issues

Opportunities

• Elect Wendy Davis, Van de Putte

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• Support Real Values Campaign

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• Increase funding for public education

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• From high stakes to diagnostic- Re Jimmie Don Aycock

Threats

• More charters, less oversight,less funding for comprehensive public schools

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• Problems with HB5 implementation

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• High stakes testing- accounitability issues, Special Education, promotion, etc.

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• Federal government requires that states use test scores to evaluate teachers in order to receive funding

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• Home rule

Legislature convenes the 84^th Regular Session

January 13, 2015

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•State finances in better shape

•Larger ending surplus in August 2013 than expected by about $1.7 billion

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DEMAND: Fully restore funds for public education

LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY--Interim Charges

TX House Public Ed Cmte has 9 charges:

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1. Monitor HB 5 implementation
2. Explore innovative options for improving student achievement
3. Solicit input on good governance, board/administration checks and balances, and effective board/superintendent relationship
4. Review successful strategies and methods that have improved student achievement at chronically underperforming schools
5. Review the scope and breadth of the current TEKS in tested grades
6. Examine the role of Harris County Department of Education (HCDE)
7. Review state regulatory/administrative systems for bond issuances*
8. Study the impact of SB 393 and SB 1114 (criminal charges)*
9. Monitor agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction

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* Indicates joint charge

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TX Senate Ed Cmte has 2 charges

1. Examine STAAR writing test content, scores, need for professional development, and the STAAR alternate assessment redesign
2. Monitor implementation of HB 5, HB 1926 (virtual school network), SB 376 (school breakfast), and HB 617 (special ed transition planning)

Senate Intergovernmental Relations Charges

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1. Make recommendations to increase transparency in local debt
2. Posting more financial information, increasing citizen awareness, moving elections to general election date, and requiring ballots to include outstanding debt and tax rate impact

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Who represents you in Texas?-delete

Houston State House Representatives by District

Houston State Senators by District

ISSUES FOR 2014-2015

Overuse of high stakes, standardized tests

• Test score in teacher evaluation
• STAAR as a promotion standard
• Special Education testing

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Tactic we’ve already started: Opt-out

HB 5- Special Education Issues

As of 2014-15, there will be NO modified or accommodated exams for Special Education students except those with severe cognitive disabilities (capped at 1%)

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Implications:

• School districts may eliminate resource classes and mainstream all students.
• Special Education students will be tested out of compliance with IEP.

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Teaching Gap

• Professional Development
• Pay for advanced degrees and lifelong learning

School Closures

• Professional Development
• Pay for advanced degrees and lifelong learning

Class Size

• Professional Development
• Pay for advanced degrees and lifelong learning

What else?

LUNCH

POWER

0

10

3

4

5

2

1

SUPPORT

Pro CVPE

Anti CVPE

5

POWER ANALYSIS

CAMPAIGN PLANNING

BREAK & GAME

ORGANIZATION BUILDING

How you can help

• Become a subject matter expert
• Setting up the 501c3/501c4/PAC
• Media
• Be available for media interviews
• Posting news on FB, twitter and website
• Blogging
• Recruiting
• Attend PTA and civic club meetings
• Create current brochure
• HISD School Board political campaigns
• Nationbuilder transition (website, data, emails, coordinating)

REFLECTION

CLEAN UP