How School Board Members Can Drive Change Through Advocacy

Advocacy is one of the most powerful ways school board members can make a difference — not just in their districts, but across the state and nation.In this episode of Leading the Way, host Scott Gerfen talks with Jocelyn Spencer Rhynard of Dayton City Schools and Bill Ferguson Jr. of Hamilton County ESC and Great Oaks Career Campuses. Fresh off their trip to Washington, D.C., for the Consortium of State School Boards Associations' Federal Advocacy Conference, they share:• Why telling your story is the heart of effective advocacy.• How to build relationships with lawmakers and their staff.• Tips for overcoming the fear of getting started and finding your voice.Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or a first-time school board member, this episode will inspire you to take action and make an impact for your students and community.📢 Key message: Strong schools need strong voices.Learn how you can be a champion for public education!Subscribe for more episodes of Leading the Way and stay connected to the voices shaping Ohio’s future.Thank you to our sponsor: Lincoln Learning Solutions -- https://www.lincolnlearningsolutions.org.

For more resources, training and advocacy updates from the Ohio School Boards Association, visit ohioschoolboards.org.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The following program is a presentation of the Ohio School Boards Association.

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Welcome to the Leading the Way podcast, where we bring you the voices shaping public education across Ohio. A big shout out to our sponsor, Lincoln Learning Solutions. They offer accredited K-12 digital curriculum and support schools with flexible content and expert training for educators in all learning environments. Hey everyone, it's OSBA Scott Gurfin, and today we're focusing on one of the most important ways school board members can make a difference, and that's advocacy. Advocacy is about ensuring the voices of our students, families, and communities are heard, not just locally, but at the state and national levels. It can seem overwhelming at first, but the truth is advocacy starts with simply sharing your story. We have two board members joining us today who are passionate about advocacy, Jocelyn Reinert and Bill Ferguson, who recently traveled to the nation's capital with other school board members from across the country to participate in the Consortium of State School Boards Association's Federal Advocacy Conference. They met with lawmakers, represented Ohio's public schools, and brought home lessons about how every board member can play a role in shaping policies that impact our classrooms. So, Bill and Jocelyn, thank you so much for being here. Let's start by uh introducing yourselves and tell us about you and the communities that you serve. Bill?

SPEAKER_01 1:25

All right, I'm Bill Ferguson. I'm a uh member of the Hamilton County Educational Service Center Governing Board and Great Oaks Career Campuses, which is our career tech system in Southwest Ohio, or one of them, I should say. We uh go from western Cincinnati up to Wilmington, four campuses. Uh my ESCA work and we have uh every school district in Hamilton County, which is in the Cincinnati area for those who might not realize that's where Hamilton County is. Um, and we have uh school districts even outside the county that we uh do work in. So uh if you're not familiar with an ESC, even as a board member, uh many aren't, uh basically we provide a lot of special education services, uh professional development for teachers. Right, right. Um, you know, it can be physical therapy for kids, it can be uh hearing impaired kids, it can be nurses for school districts. We just provide a range of services, and basically we try to say yes to anything a district needs. Um because if if one district needs something, there could be multiple districts that need the same service. And mental health is a big one, in fact, that comes to mind that we've gotten more into just in the last few years. And so when when you have districts who come together and use an ESC, often they can share costs and uh it's just a win-win for everybody.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

And and Jocelyn, uh well, I I did just realize you guys are both from the Southwest region. And Jocelyn's best. There you go. Jocelyn, you are in Dayton, and tell us a little bit about you and and your district.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Hi, Scott. Yes, thanks for having me. I'm Jocelyn Spencer Reinard. I am a board member on the Dayton Board of Education, Dayton City Schools. We are a district of about 13,000 students. Um, and I have been on the board for eight years. I'm at the tail end of my second term. I am a mom of four kids, which is what brought me into this in the beginning. I was an active parent volunteer uh and decided that I needed to be a part of more parent voice representation on the school board. Um, and so I've been working there for eight years, and I'm really, really proud of the work that we're doing up in Dayton. We're just a little bit north of where Bill is.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

So you both recently took part in the Federal Advocacy Conference in DC. Uh what motivated you to get involved in this kind of advocacy work and represent Ohio on a national level? And Bill, we'll start with you.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Well, that's a great question. Um, I think I've done it now for 12 years. I've been a board member for 16 years. And uh I was asked to do it, and at first it's you know, it's a little, it is a little nerve-wracking for some board members to, you know, go to Washington and you know, I've been to Washington before and everything, but to actually go to congressional offices and advocate is just kind of a whole new it was a whole new thing for me 12 years ago. I'm much more comfortable now. Uh Joshua and you might agree that after you do it a few years, you know, you you you do get more comfortable. You you feel like that these people who are representing us, they are representing us. And when we when you talk to them or their staff members, you know, they're they're pleasant for the most part, um, you know, and and they listen. And um, you know, of course we all have disagreement on some of the issues. But what we like to do is find issues we can agree on, and there are a number of them. Yeah. Contrary to what you might see in media and everything, there's a number of issues that we all agree on because it's in the end it's about the kids, and that and you know, it sometimes it sounds like a cliché, but it truly is about the future generation of America.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

And and Jocelyn, uh, I don't I don't think this was your first first go-around either in DC, right, with this group?

SPEAKER_00 5:06

I've been doing this for five years. And my advocacy work started back in 2019 when I was asked to testify at a subcommittee for a statehouse bill, House Bill 110. Um, and that's when I really, really learned how much work goes into the advocacy piece. This is all work that happens outside of our boardrooms, outside of our districts. And a lot of board members um have the uh the luck to have a little bit more time to put into this to traveling to the statehouse and then traveling to DC. Um, I've been going to DC for, I think this is my fifth year. Um, I will echo what Bill said. I was terrified the first time I had a meeting with my member of Congress. Um, I was sweaty. Um, luckily I was there with somebody who'd done this before. I think I stumbled over my words a whole bunch, but I really realized that the work that we're doing in DC is about relationship building. It's about starting a conversation. It's about bringing a story about what your district is and how it is an example of what we're advocating for, whether it's special education or child nutrition services. It's about telling a story and having a conversation. It's about more than just the time we go to DC. It's about touching base throughout the school year or throughout the academic year with the legislator locally as well. I've had meetings with the representative and their staffer locally. Um, you know, sometimes we meet with a member of Congress and sometimes we meet with a staffer. Uh sometimes it's uh really interesting to meet with the staffer. You know, legislators don't know everything and they never claim to be an expert in every field, but um it's the staffers. Sometimes if you get the education staffer, you can really dig into a lot of the granular details of education policy that we're advocating for. Um I find it to be one of the highlights of the work that I do outside of Dayton. I call up my Super Bowl. Um, and it's really I find a lot of uh I find a lot of fulfillment in building those relationships, telling the stories and advocating for public districts, not just Dayton, but districts all across the state.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

You know, Bill, uh, and you guys brought it up. I know this isn't your first go-around in DC, but but advocacy can sometimes feel intimidating for school board members. I've heard that from members uh who haven't done it before. Uh Bill, what would you say to someone who feels hesitant about taking that first step?

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Well, I I first of all, I think you have to have an interest in it. I think that, you know, if you can't go there with a point of view and expect uh to come out uh changing minds or anything. So uh I think you have to realize who you're meeting with. You have to um say, you know, I was interested in history and government politics and as far back as elementary school. I I just really enjoyed it. And I I think if you have that innate interest, then uh you you just keep up with the issues, you read a lot, uh you you um um consume a lot of news, you uh and then then you kind of know when you go to Washington what's going on. And usually you get paired with somebody who has been uh there before, possibly, or certainly uh of like mind uh as far as um you know being able to do the work and know the issues and things. And once you get in the office, I think is when you mostly get comfortable. I mean, uh if you're meeting with a staffer, you're meeting with uh someone who's usually like 20 or 30 some years old. And you know, in my case, I feel like I'm a grandfather too. So so but you know, I think you start off with just some uh just some small talks, some you know, where are you from kind of stuff? Are you from Ohio? Are you from Dayton? Are you from Hamilton County, you know, whatever, and and you know, just kind of make that connection in the beginning and then get more into the issues. And and COSBA, the Consortium of State School Boards Association, of which uh OSBA is a member, uh, they are the ones providing that like two-day conference, and they'll give you lots of great information. They'll tell you how to go to the the offices, uh, you know, what what to expect. And I I think the advocacy work just then comes naturally. It's it's just it's just good because you know what you're doing is good.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Jocelyn, you said something that that resonated with me about telling your story. And would you say that is really how a board member can really just get started is by telling their story to a lawmaker?

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Yeah, absolutely. So one of the things that we advocated for of the legislative platform of COSBA when we were out in DC last week was um fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which was passed in 1975. Um it was passed with the expectation that we would uh educate children with um special needs and disabilities, and the federal government would cover up to 40% of those costs. Um I can say all that, and it can be very clinical and dry, um, but then I can talk about listen, in Dayton Public Schools, we have 13,000 students, 20% of our students are on an IEP. These are some of the needs that they have. You know, we have high needs autism students, we have um some children who have hearing impairment, um, and to really dig into what that means in a classroom setting. And, you know, I'm I'm lucky that I'm a parent of a child who still attends Dayton Public Schools, so I have the parent perspective. It's the stories and it's the not just big picture, but telling the legislators what it's like small picture, giving them the opportunity to ask questions and opening up that conversation that really helps them understand the need for fully funding IDEA or other services that really um benefit our district. Um, it's just a really, really wonderful experience. And it gives board members an opportunity to dig into a lot of the details too that they might not have off the top of their head. I know more about special education than I would have otherwise. Um and it I I just it's it's about telling the stories. And, you know, we have it's like you're you have a coloring book. You've got the black and white picture in front of you, and it's our job as legislators to take the the crayons and color in the detail and make it a beautiful picture for the legislators to understand.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Scott, if I could add something, I've done a little bit of this work for the Career Tech, the Association for Career and Technical Um Education. Um when we take students, it's amazing the difference when you're you know, with COSBA, we're board members. We have two per congressional district in Ohio, and we go and we meet with our representative, we and usually our senators will come and meet us as a group. Um when I've been out there with Great Oaks, uh we have like our superintendent and a couple of board members, and we'll take a student from each campus, and we have four campuses. And when they get in those rooms and start telling their stories, right, you know, you you just get they just get a whole new perspective of what education is about in this country. And so uh I just want to throw that in that if you get a chance to take students, it's great too.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

And what were some of the issues that you were focused on when you were there, Bill?

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Well, uh career tech Perkins, we want we definitely we'd like to see an increase in that, and that that helps uh I know that Dayton is what's called a comprehensive school, and you have career tech within Dayton uh city schools. Uh a lot of school districts belong to a career tech uh camp uh career tech system, I should say. There's 49 in Ohio. And so we have tw we have 36 feeder districts at Great Oaks. And so that was one. You know, you want you want to increase Perkins IDEA that uh Jocelyn mentioned, that's another one. We've been advocating that for years, 40 percent. We're now instead of going up, going down. I think we're at like 10, 12 percent, depending on how it's counted, that Congress is allotting for special education, which you know that's unacceptable. It's an unfunded mandate. You know, you you you you you have to when you promise something, you have to fund it.

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Uh I want to ask you both. Uh and and Jocelyn, we can start with you. Uh, was there a particular moment during this trip that really stuck with you? Uh maybe it was a meaningful conversation, uh a surprising interaction.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

So I'm gonna share two things. Um The first thing that I learned through the advocacy work is that the elected officials who represent us in DC, in a lot I I have such high respect for the office, but they are regular people, just like you and me, too. Just like I'm just a mom who decided to run for school board. People stop me in the grocery line, people text me all the time. You know, people stop me all the time and talk to me about school board stuff and Dayton public schools. Um, and I and I don't have any high regard for myself. It's the work that I do, and I feel honored to do it. And, you know, when we're talking to the legislators, they are they are regular people just like you and I are, and they change, you know. I've met with um, you know, we we had different senators than when I when I started than we do now, and building those relationships. And um, if board members are nervous about starting this work, they can just remind themselves that, you know, it's interesting um to just see that this is a really important office that I have a high amount of respect and regard for. Um, but having these conversations is pretty easy if you realize that these are just regular people. And that was kind of one of the things that struck me this time. We had the opportunity to meet with uh Senator Housted. I've never met with him before.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Um, and I was really grateful for the time he gave us to talk about education and to answer some of the questions that OSBA had prepared. Um, it was a reminder to me that this is about long-term work. This is about building relationships with the offices, and then um people might change within the office, but our work continues. Uh, the second story that I want to share is from last year, and I will never forget this. I was so if you are, if you're ever in DC and you're in the um the House rep office buildings, there's tunnels between them and the Senate buildings. That way people can go in one building and then they can travel easily to another building. And I was in a tunnel, I was between meetings to the side, I was wearing my little name tag, and our name tags are very conveniently shaped like the state of Ohio. Um, I was standing to the side and I was sending some texts and getting ready for my next meeting, and somebody came up to me and he said, Hey, are you are you from Ohio? And I said, Yeah, I'm from Ohio. He said, I I have a I was a student in Cincinnati years ago, and I heard that my old school board member, Eve Bolton, was here. Do you know where she is? And I was like, I can find out where your old, she was sorry, she was his teacher from years and years back. Um, and he remembered her, he heard that she was in town, he saw me with my Ohio name tag, and he stopped and said, Can you help me find Eve Bolton? So I did, and I texted, texted her, and they were able to meet up and she got to see the student that she hadn't seen in 10 years. And it was just really incredible to see that connection that was made. Um, and you know, that that always helps when you're building the relationship with a member of Congress offices too, to say, hey, I I ran into this person, they're a staffer in a different office, and you know, building those connections, uh, making sure that, you know, they understand that we are real people with connections to their community. Um, and it made Eve Bolton really, really happy. I'll never forget how happy that made her.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Yeah, and I Eve is my partner in District One, and yeah I she was she was thrilled. She was absolutely thrilled. And I I believe it might have been around the same time that we were going to the the uh the congressman's office because I think he came up, you know, there as well, and they they were hugging each other and stuff. It was really a neat moment, yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

How about you, Bill?

SPEAKER_01 16:42

What anything that stood out for you uh similar to Jocelyn's You know, I was thinking about that. Uh it's less personal than than it is just being there. I mean, it's it's it's really just a cool experience. And as we both said, the first couple of years, you know, you're you're kind of nervous about and all, but that's where you just listen a lot. And you let your partner who's probably got some, you know, experience, kind of let them kind of lead some things. Um I pre I used to prepare notes all the time, but you know, then you start like like you said something about being clinical, you know, you you start reading your notes, it's like no, this doesn't work. So it's just having a conversation with somebody. Right. Um, but being in DC, um again, I I have great respect for the people who run for those offices. I mean, we sit back and listen to some of their sound bites and all and go, really, you know, I think that's more their sound bites. I think that the people that run for those offices do care about things. And, you know, they just sometimes you just need to make them a person like you. And when they talk to you like a person, they're different people. They really are. And like you, you know, that was the first time for Senator Houston for all of us because he just got appointed early this year. And I think he's drinking from a fire hose, you know. I mean, just like us on our first few years, Senator Houston, you know, at the time last year, Senator Vance. I mean, Senator Brown had, you know, a number of years of experience. But the guys who are coming in, or guys and gals, who are coming in that first year, I mean, it's tough, you know. And then they're going around meeting with school board members and you know, firefighters and you know, some other trade group, you know, maybe plumbers, you know, whoever whoever. They all want their attention, including us. And so it's great when we get it.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Before we wrap up, uh I I'd like to hear one thing from each of you. Uh what's the most important message you hope our listeners here will take away from your experience in the nation's capital last week? Bill.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

Uh you know, the old Nike, just do it. You know, if you if you feel like um you have a desire to uh interact with your congressional members or your senators, any at all, any inclination at all. Again, if you have a hist history, uh government, politics, interest, uh like I said, mine goes way back. My my dad was a member of our little village's Board of Public Affairs, so you know, uh it's just it's just neat to become a a public servant and and advocate for I again our next generation. I mean, that's what it's all about. And so I would say Yeah, understand you might be a little nervous at first, but but you have a whole group of people around you, including OSBA. Uh, you know, you're your your legislative folks are great in helping us, and we usually have a couple meetings during the year, either by Zoom or or maybe a Capitol Conference or something. But get involved, just do it because if you feel that inclination, you'll be fine. And Jocelyn, how about you?

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Well, I would encourage uh school board members to reach out and build relationships with legislators in the Ohio State House in DC, regardless of whether they are official delegates of the federal legislative advocacy group or not. I never realized until I became a school board eight years ago school board member eight years ago how much of our job is dictated by the by the laws, by the policy, by the mandates at the state and the federal level. Um, and once I really truly understood how much of that guides our work and how much, you know, how much I think things need to change in some areas. Um, and I, you know, became involved and I started talking with legislators. Um, I now, you know, talk regularly with uh my area legislators in the Ohio State House, and you know, they'll call me if you if they have questions. It's a really, really, really important and underrated part of the job that we do because it's not always in our cities. And, you know, the work that we do is not always in our boardrooms and in our cities or in our in our counties. It's making the relationships and having the conversations. There's so much that they don't know about education, and I believe it's my responsibility to be that resource for them, reach out to them if if there's an issue, or I would like to be the person that they call if they have a question. Um, it's really important. We know what the, we know what education is like in our district. We know our districts, we know our classrooms, we know our teachers, we know our staff. And uh a lot of our legislators, they just don't have that information. And so if we reach out and we build those relationships, we can help influence the way that legislation is shaped and we can hopefully make the state of public education a little bit better than when we came in.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Well, Jocelyn and Bill, thank you so much for uh being a part of this podcast. And and thank you again for what you do for your communities. To our listeners, remember that strong schools need strong voices. Whether you're attending a school board meeting, writing to a lawmaker, or traveling to DC, your voice matters, and together we can make a difference for every student in Ohio.