See Videos From
The 2011 Education Summit

MAKE A COMMITMENT
 TO IMPROVE OUR SCHOOLS  

• Volunteer at an underperforming middle or high school. Get a group together and spend a few hours each week with students. This can change a young person’s life.

• Organize a workplace career day or college day at a college or university. Help organize a tour of your workplace, create job shadowing or career guidance programs or chaperone a tour of your local college or university. Use this learning opportunity to help prepare students for college and the workplace.

• Organize a school supply drive at a school in a low-income community.  Our schools are now so under-funded that parents and teachers must supply their own materials. Help package supplies so students can have the essentials they need.

• Provide on-site services to students and their families. If your organization provides vital services such as medical or legal services, organize a group of colleagues to volunteer their time and expertise.

• Meet with school district officials or other school board members. Join a United Way representative to talk with our local school board members about how we can work together to improve our schools.
   
• Join a Public School Choice Oversight Board.  Make sure our Public School Choice schools are showing improvements and provide strategic guidance to those school leaders. 
   
• Endorse the L.A. Compact.  Signed by 18 major institutions, this collaboration focuses on boosting high school graduation rates, better preparing students for college, and providing students access to meaningful jobs and careers.

• Support an analysis of the California laws that affect teachers.  Advocate for the development of data we need to determine which policies are outdated, ineffective or hamstring local leaders.

• Support greater transparency and better use of data to inform policy and practice. Push to make school and district data easy to understand and available to parents, educators and policy makers in a timely manner.

• Advocate for change with our elected officials. Write letters to your state and federal representatives to increase funding for K-12 education.

• GIVE to the Creating Pathways Out of Poverty 
  Action Plan
  Help fund parent engagement, leadership training for principals in low-performing middle schools, academically enriching after school programs and key education reforms.