School board members, candidates and leaders from 28 counties attend CPC's third annual summit
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
**
Parent advocates convene in Sacramento for CPC's Parents Not Partisans Summit
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear John,
More than 150 parent advocates, school board members and school board candidates from 28 counties across California attended CPC’s Parents, Not Partisans Summit in Sacramento this week for two days of training, networking and advocacy at the State Capitol with our allies at Protection for the Educational Rights of Kids (PERK). The third annual summit has nearly tripled in size since its launch in 2022. The demand for the summit was so high that California Policy Center expects to double attendance next year.
“We heard over and over again this week that there is simply nothing comparable in California that provides this type of support and resources to parent advocates,” said CPC’s Lance Christensen, who moderated the 2-day event.
“The opportunity for pro-parent leaders, school board members and candidates to build relationships with like-minded advocates and elected officials is incredibly important,” Christensen added. “When advocates know that they're not alone but there are hundreds if not thousands of friends waiting to be found, good things happen for our children. The momentum coming out of the summit was phenomenal.”
One of the highlights of the summit happened early Tuesday morning when Mari Barke, director of CPC’s California Local Elected Officials (CLEO), asked candidates running for office and local elected officials in the audience to stand.
“When dozens of school board trustees and candidates stood up, you could really feel the excitement in the room,” said Barke, an Orange County Board of Education Trustee. “It’s empowering for the advocates and candidates to know that the pro-parent community is coming together across the state to stand up for families and education excellence.”
On Tuesday, Connor Boyack, president of Utah-based Libertas Institute and author of the popular Tuttle Twins children’s book series focused on liberty, kicked off the morning sessions. Boyack was followed by panel discussions on effective grassroots advocacy at your local school board and during an election year.
Afternoon sessions focused on media relations and pushing back against teachers unions and special interests. A star-studded panel on parental notification policies featured Assemblyman Bill Essayli, parental rights champion Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School Board, and firebrand Erin Friday, who is co-leading Protect Kids California's high-profile statewide ballot initiative.
On Wednesday, summit participants attended morning sessions on advocating effectively at the State Capitol, then headed to legislative offices to put their new skills to work. Parent advocates met with legislators in their home districts and education committee members, including Senate Education Committee Vice Chair Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and Assemblyman Josh Hoover, who serves on the Assembly Education Committee.
The feedback from attendees shows just how important the summit has become to education reform and parental rights leaders.
“This conference gave me insights which aren’t accessible to me during my usual board work,” wrote one school board member. “It encouraged me to speak up during board meetings even if my opinion isn’t reflected in the majority opinion.”
A parent advocate from Los Angeles called the summit a “powerful meeting,” and an El Dorado County participant said it was “so amazing to encourage and engage. Don’t quit!"
“So much excellent information,” wrote a former city council member in Los Angeles County, adding that it was “great to be in person with so many people doing important work.”
An attendee from San Bernardino County wrote: “Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this great educational workshop and for giving us the correct information to inform others.”
Which brings home one of the most impactful outcomes of the summit: 150 advocates left feeling inspired, prepared and supported — and ready to go back to their school districts to inform and lead others in their communities.
The summit kicks off the next eight months of work that CPC is launching across all of its projects to educate and empower Californians before the November election to push back against a political system that’s been dominated by government unions and other special interests for too long.
“We’re building the deep bench of citizens, candidates and local elected officials who are in it for the long haul,” said Christensen. “California’s problems weren’t created overnight and they’re not going to be resolved overnight. But people are coming together and doing the hard work to save our education system and strengthen our communities for the next generation of Californians.”
The Parents, Not Partisans Summit would not have been possible without the support of generous CPC donors and our sponsors: PERK, California Parents for Public Virtual Education, and Californians for Equal Rights Foundation.
SUPPORT CPC ([link removed])
============================================================
ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER
The California Policy Center promotes prosperity for all Californians through limited government and individual liberty.
Learn more at ** CaliforniaPolicyCenter.org ([link removed])
.
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2024 California Policy Center, All rights reserved.
We send periodic updates to those who opted in on californiapolicycenter.org
Our mailing address is:
California Policy Center
18002 Irvine Blvd Ste 108
Tustin, CA 92780-3321
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
