 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
New Help for
Charters – What in the World is an “iEdx?” |
The Challenge
So, you are a charter school operator. Let’s see if I’ve got this
straight – all you must do every day is:
No challenge at all for super heroes like you, eh? In fact, I can’t help but wonder what you do for leisure and entertainment with the remaining fifteen minutes available to you each day?
What if…
What if you had more help?
What if that help was free?
What if those helping had a vested interest in helping?
What if the parents (and teachers) of your students could become an effective
force for defending and promoting charter schools, including your charter school?
Help has Arrived at the Speed of “Mach T1”
Connected to a high-speed T1 line somewhere out in the ether sits a powerful
new resource that is available at no charge to you – an organization known
as the Internet Education Exchange. iEdx as it is known (pronounced EYE-eh-dex),
is a nonprofit virtual organization funded by philanthropic foundations. While
iEdx can’t run your school(s) for you, it can help ensure that the environment
in which you operate is protected or enhanced to allow you to do what you do
best.
As an incidental bonus, iEdx can unleash the power of a critical marketing force on your behalf – the parents of the children you serve. iEdx does not charge for these services, and it uses the Internet to transmit credible information, useful iEdx “Tools” and practical iEdx “How To” guidance to make taking effective action fast and easy for parents, educators and others with an interest in improving education .
How Does iEdx Help?
iEdx uses the vast potential power of the Internet to mobilize parents (and
school leaders, teachers and others) and give them the tools and the training
they need to move public opinion in favor of two key means of raising the American
educational tide:
iEdx makes it easy and fast for parents and others to take effective actions.
For example, iEdx can use the speed and low-marginal costs of the Internet to
help parents:
iEdx also operates a Rapid Response Center (RRC) to respond quickly to breaking developments. The RRC crafts and delivers the timely information and targeted tools that iEdx activist Partners need to seize the opportunities created by these events.
These iEdx-assisted actions all contribute to wider understanding among the public, policymakers and the media and stronger public opinion in support of charter schools (and often your school(s) specifically).
Before you know it, with our help dozens of the families that you serve will develop a better understanding of what charter schools are, what they mean, why they are important, and how vulnerable they are to the whims of policymakers and the attacks of those who see charter schools as a competitive threat. “Ordinary” (pronounced “extraordinary”) moms will understand even more fully what a precious gift educational freedom and quality choices are to the future of their children. They will become advocates, or in many cases develop into stronger and more effective advocates, right before your eyes.
When these “mama bears” swing into action on behalf of their “cubs,” no force known to man can stop them! This is good for charter schools overall. This is good for your charter school(s). This is good for kids. It is good not only for the students you serve, but also for the students who remain in traditional public schools. Healthy competition from charter schools (and other options) is clearly causing traditional public schools to improve. Examples abound.
Four Reasons Why Activation of Charter School
Forces is Important to You
Reason #1: Increased chances for kids to become
educated and have opportunities
The paragraph above focused on why activation of charter school forces is important
from the biggest of big picture perspectives. It’s important because charter
school options and competition lead to improved education for kids. Period.
But how does activation of charter school advocates lead to improved education for kids? Read on…
Reason #2: The need to shift and strengthen public
opinion
I have to tell you a little secret. Ssshhhh. Political “leaders”
are usually followers. They don’t typically get too far out in front of
public opinion. (Some one-term ex-politicians can explain this better than I
can if you have doubts about this.) Rather, believe it or not, they generally
prefer the safety of public opinion. The public wrestles with new ideas, arguments
emerge for and against, people take sides and if a public opinion “tipping
point” is reached, then it becomes safe enough for a majority of political
“leaders” to follow.
Charter schools are just such an idea.
Various states are in various stages of reaching their tipping points. Some 40 states and Washington D.C. have charter school laws, some weak, some strong and some in between. However, I daresay that no state which has reached a tipping point in schooling options generally, or charter schools specifically, is so solid that it can no longer be tipped back. All are vulnerable.
Performance matters and politics matters. Both are important. Public opinion is an important component on both fronts.
So, if iEdx can help you advance:
Reason #3: The need for a strong, stable and
supportive operating environment
The third reason flows from the second. I said above that both performance and
politics matter. Charter school operators tend to focus on the former (and on
the day-to-day nuts-and-bolts of running a challenging small business with a
great mission). Focus on performance is good. The futures of your students and
our nation rest upon it.
But, your ability to perform is greatly diminished if you face a hostile public opinion environment. Further, a hostile environment threatens your very existence, leading either to catastrophic changes in regulations or laws, or more likely “death-by-a-thousand-cuts” via creeping regulations and incremental law changes. Again, public opinion influences public policy. Make it work for and not against you.
Thus, it is imperative that charter school operators and other advocates come to an understanding that as challenging as running a charter school is, there exists both constant peril and ever-present opportunity to strengthen charter schools as a whole and your school(s) in particular.
An army of constantly active and loyal supporters preserving, protecting and promoting charter schools will allow you to operate in a strong, stable and supportive environment. In addition, these parents, teachers and others are likely to ‘virally’ market your individual school(s). This may be incidental to us (i.e. not the iEdx mission per se), but probably not to you.
Reason #4: Because Reasons #2 and #3 lead back
to Reason #1
In short, if your focus is on educating your students better than anyone has
ever done with them and you have the skills, your odds of success will be increased
if you also have:
Simply put, iEdx can help you increase those odds of success. If we do, you are more likely to be able to give kids a great education. Activating charter school forces can be a key part of increasing the odds. If charter schools are protected and promoted, the families who need them will have them. Great. Further, the families who don’t choose these schools will benefit from the competitive effect charter schools have on improving the performance of traditional public schools and private schools. Terrific. That is the ultimate answer to the question of how activating charter school parents can improve education for kids.
With an initial effort, ranging at one end of the spectrum from simply alerting parents and teachers to iEdx (through a school newsletter, parent meetings or distribution of iEdx collateral materials) or via a more active recruitment of volunteers, charter school leaders can reap dividends thereafter with little or no involvement because iEdx takes it from there. Of course, should charter operators and other leaders wish, they too can be involved.
In Closing
Is iEdx too good to be true? No. While we can’t promise to change the
world overnight, we can help others do so over time. Try us and see.
iEdx has two biases. We think more schooling options are better than fewer and we think competition can be as healthy for education as it has been in other aspects of our lives.
We want to improve public education. We are funded by philanthropic foundations that think our approach might help accomplish that goal. We are optimists. We’re not interested in the blame game or calling names or denigrating educators. We are interested in what can be done today to advance schooling in our states and communities. We understand that educating children is both hard and wonderful work. There are no easy solutions or silver bullets. iEdx is all about helping people to find their voices and get the schools they need. If you think we might be able to advance this shared goal, contact us.
How to Learn More About or Contact iEdx
Christopher Smith (csmith@iedx.org) is Executive Director of the Internet Education Exchange www.iEdx.com. iEdx is an Internet-based nonprofit organization working in all 50 states to improve schooling, teaching and learning.
