Live Blogging - Camp Educate - Sunday AM 13 Nov 2011

With the wireless off at the very start, I'm a bit behind. Here's what I have from my off line notes: Aaron's Radical idea 1– Invert tenure, give the tenure protections to people in their first seven years of employment, and then it evaporates as you should stand on your own record. Aaron's Radical idea 2 – Invert the budget process to go from the grassroots up and make it a law that the state fund all the schools first, and then the rest. We know what it takes to create great schools, and it’s not cheap, but the investment has a very, very high ROI that is immeasurable. You have to be comfortable with an incalculable ROI and trust that it will be priceless. Why now? California is at a tipping point We cannot afford to fall further behind on education What will it take? – we need 808,000 verified signatures (5% of the voting public in the last election), which translates to 1.2 million signatures to make this a reality. The organization will work with one petition coordinator, 14 county coordinators, 65+ regional leaders & 2500 Local leaders/signature gatherers. 2500 signature gatherers x 16 weeks x 32 signatures/week = 1,280,000 signatures. I volunteer to collect signatures because I believe in the cause, not because I’m paid to get you to sign. Signature gathering: training your team. House parties – get people involved Messaging – giving everyone consistent messaging about our goal We will provide a comprehensive “signature gathering kit” on line We are going volunteer – because we are a grass roots effort with a critical mass already on board. Peer to peer organizing is the most effective Volunteers are empowered and locally connected Builds a base for fundraising and voter outreach. Cushon Bell talks about her experience running for school board, gathering signatures to get her on the ballot. We will break into groups – half an hour We have to walk a line and not talk about politics, but talk about the concerns. The mantra is no new taxes, but that changes when you talk locally. It has to be translated into a local issue and the mindset changes.  Grass roots. Local. What we need is a complete bureaucratic tear down for education, and this initiative should help it along. Fun at the break - This school is your school Jennifer Fearing - Chief economist for the humane society "I care about animals the way you care about children."  The humane society is a prolific user of the proposition system of direct democracy.  We have some experience with it, but while we use it, we view it as a last resort, because building relationships with people in the legislature is easier.  But the reason why the system is in place is because you have to have some check on the system, when all else if failed Only 1/3 of all ballot initiatives have been approved, and a yes vote is always harder to get than a no vote.  Because if one is confused, their default vote is no.  So, we have to be very clear about our initiative, and not get convoluted or confusing otherwise people will vote no. Humane society exceeded the number of signatures required by using volunteers alone. Because volunteers are so committees to the issue, the number of valid signatures is much higher.  40% of the California voters live in the Los Angeles, so you could get all of them in LA County, and it's not required to gain signatures from a variety of counties. What counties are not represented by The advantage is that you are targeting people the same population that cared about chickens in small cages, people who care about children, which is every one. The good news is that when you win an initiative, your clout goes up and you have a chance to build out alliances with people who were on the other side of the issue. You are in for an incredibly awesome and rewarding long term ride. You should pursue everyone that you know first in all your circle of friends, and it gives you confidence and able to hone your pitch.  Be sure to track your signatures per hour, as a measure of if you are improving.  We have all been the person at the grocery story, pushing off the signature gatherer. The reality is you have to resist the urge to go talk to voters after you have gathered the signatures.  Don't talk to voters until after Labor Day, as you don't want to waste your energy. Hello, I'm .... with Educate our State, and I'm gathering signatures for a ballot measure to change how we run our schools.  If you have a complete volunteer signature drive will be an important piece of your strategic tool kit.  What do you do about the numerous counties not represented in your It takes a village to run a ballot measure campaign Lead with that you are a volunteer and a parent and you care about public schools Use shocking pictures so you can show the problem using images Be super nice and gracious to people who don't sign, as they are voters, and they might not sign, but Any person that takes longer than 20 seconds to hook, you are wasting time, so let them go Don't worry where about the counties where we don't have any volunteers as there is a correlation between where they are and where the voters are. The volunteers should be able to explain the initiative in a short, easy to understand way. Saying "I don't know," is a perfectly good answer, and if some one is probing you for answers, don't lose your cool or waste your time by creating answers you don't have at hand. Direct them to the web location, or offer to follow up. This is a big state, and the million signatures may seem daunting, but you can do it, as you chip away at it. Children cannot take the signatures. They can go with you and they can speak, but it has to be a person over 18 who can vote to collect the signatures. Back from the break, discussion of the initiative ensues. Go to the teachers first, as while the unions may be a problem, there may well be teachers who are fully supportive of the effort and not agree with the union.  Why endorsements matter. Coalition building, alliances, and favorable support moves the whole operation forward. There are pitfalls to getting endorsements, but we want to get around those concerns by using some positive messaging - Our initiative is Non Partisan, Pro-public school, Pro-teacher, pro parent, pro student, and parent led. Who do we want? State and local organizations Broad ideological support Diverse interest and affinity groups Groups and people that matter where you live (ed foundations, local paper, mayor, etc...) Donations are necessary to make the work happen, but you don't get funding unless you ask your friends, family and everyone you know. So, get to it. Be sure to contact local security before you table, as it's best to check in and let them know what you are doing rather than have them be surprised and usher you out. Back to the session - New Organizing Institute - Go out with your ironing board, and use lots of clipboards so that the crowds gather.  You want to have the ability to have more than one person sign at a time. Action is important as a leadership practice because you get to a place where people see you doing something more than talk.  Action creates a space for other people to join us.  The power comes from encouraging other people to join us.  People are power. Ask people to join, because people won't join if you don't ask.  I would like you to join me. The four Cs for recruitment - Connection - I joined because, and I think you should join as well because... Context - Set the context Commitments - The only way to get a commitment is to ask, and then sit in the silence Catapult - Sure, then we are going to do an appetizer potluck You want to be authentic, because we are not about to robo dial our constituents.  Role playing both good and bad phone call call to action. You may want to develop three different reminders for the different meetings, perhaps inclusive of a call an hour before the meeting to say that you are so excited that you are about to see them. Step 1 - Craft a script using the four Cs - there is a difference between telling people what to say and giving some one a set of talking points or tools to have a conversation. Keep track of number of calls, number of contacts, and number of commitments.  This is not to count maybe - maybe is a double or triple no. Most people can make about 30 calls an hours.  Going to meet in groups - returning to the room at 1:10 The numbers: Calls, Contacts, Commitments Made among about 20 people making San Diego - 17, 9, 8 Sac-to - 12, 5, 5 SF - 15, 3, 3 (+five on facebook RSVP for event) LA - 46, 22, 16 East Bay - 22, 6, 6 If you do the invite via email, and you follow up with a phone call, they are more likely to come to your invent.  People like to be asked, and almost all the people contacted made a commitment.  Recruitment Cycle - Recruit > confirm > confirm > confirm > Action > Evaluate > Celebrate > Thank You > Recruit. There are some really cool resources located here. This is just a fraction of the people involved in the leadership on the Educate our State folks.