Creating a Sustainable Advocacy Engine:
How The Ohio 8 Coalition Secured a Seat at Ohio’s K-12 Policy Table
The Ohio 8 Coalition, a strategic alliance of the superintendents and teacher union presidents from Ohio’s eight urban districts, was formed in the 1990s — a time before the widespread expansion of charter schools, before No Child Left Behind, and when school systems had more funding and resources. Understood as the only labor and administration coalition of its kind in the country, they formed with the aim of improving student academic achievement in urban districts, in part by becoming a leading voice in K-12 education policy and practice at the state and local level. Members knew that achieving this goal would be a long-term process, but they soon learned that it would also require a strategic, broad, and sustained advocacy effort.
Since the 90s, the perception of public education among Ohioans, particularly in urban areas, has shifted dramatically, and The Ohio 8 Coalition adjusted its advocacy strategy to create a stronger voice in support of public education, starting with forming alliances and relationships outside the legislative realm.
“In our earlier years, we did not make the distinction between advocacy and lobbying. We were very focused on meetings with legislators and the executive branch, but didn’t quite realize how activity outside the statehouse would boost our position and our reputation inside it,” says David Quolke, President of the Cleveland Teachers Union and former Ohio 8 Coalition Co-chair, in a newly released ACS case study. “When we first asked ACS to meet with The Ohio 8 Coalition in 2011, they outlined a much broader perspective to help elevate our Coalition priorities and how a range of advocacy and communication activities could advance our work. This combined with their in-house experience as former school district staffers and knowledge about K-12 policy bent the learning curve to virtually zero.”
What Creates Good Policy Muscle?
In a word: relationships.With the help of ACS, The Ohio 8 Coalition began to build relationships with a broad set of partners and the media, including the Ohio Board of Education, state Department of Education, the state teacher’s unions, local school boards, superintendents, and education associations. In addition, ACS helps The Ohio 8 Coalition look beyond the “usual suspects” to find unlikely partners as well, such as the Coalition for Rural Appalachian Schools.
Being a policy powerhouse also means having an advocacy strategy that is both focused and flexible. Legislative agendas can change rapidly, and ACS helps The Ohio 8 Coalition respond quickly when called on to provide information or testimony to legislative committees. ACS also supplies The Ohio 8 Coalition with a regularly updated set of key talking points and infographics to reinforce its advocacy messages so that key audiences quickly understand both the needs and the value that urban districts bring to K-12 education in the state.
Earning a Seat at the Table
The Ohio 8 Coalition continues to frame the conversation about education policy in Columbus and in communities throughout the state. The Ohio 8 Coalition and ACS have attended hundreds of legislative meetings during the past three years. These relationships earned The Ohio 8 Coalition two seats on a Senate Advisory Committee on Testing, and a seat on the state’s Dropout Prevention and Recovery Study Committee. The Ohio 8 Coalition is also working with the Ohio Department of Education to help develop the state’s plan for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Recently the group developed guiding principles and a set of priority next steps to help sustain their advocacy momentum.
“When we started, we were a little-known group that was rarely included in policy discussions,” says Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Mary Ronan. “Now, The Ohio 8 Coalition is respected as a resource by both policymakers and the media. Most of the time we are invited to the decision making table and if we are not, ACS helps us find a way to get to that table because we know that our voices must be heard in order for policy priorities to gain traction.”
To learn more about how The Ohio 8 Coalition became a policy powerhouse — and how you can too — download the full case study and explore the full suite of advocacy tools from ACS.
