Effective Tools for Advocacy

Think about the moments you felt your worst, your best, your funniest, worriedest [yes, I said worriedest] or angriest; where does your mind go first? For me, it’s to a song or an experience I associate with music. The power of music cannot nor should not be underestimated. It helped my ancestors communicate through the Underground Railroad for freedom; it is a healing agent to the body, mind, and soul. The beauty of art is that it speaks to different people in different ways. Art—more specifically, music—intertwines with every part of my life.

I am a lifelong Oklahoman – a fifth generation one to be exact. In 2014, I moved away from the nest for the first time after I finished OU’s MPA program to spend two years in Arkansas as an education policy analyst. During my time in Arkansas, I searched for community and connection culturally, professionally, and demographically by age. The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) was one of the places where I found that professional connection among my peers in the nonprofit sphere. That year, the Little Rock chapter hosted the national YNPN convention. The conference was an AMAZING chance to meet professionals from across the country, attend relevant workshops that strengthened my knowledge base, and meet the leaders responsible for furthering YNPN’s mission of building a diverse and powerful social sector. I bought into the values of YNPN and served on the Little Rock board for one year.

Arkansas serves nearly 56,000 students through special education programs. The state constitution guarantees every child access to the advantages and opportunities of free, public education. It also charges the legislature with adopting all suitable means to make it happen. This means that the state and its school districts have a responsibility to meet the needs of every student — including those with an individual education plan (IEP) — and to set them on a path to success.

This November, elections are critical to the well-being of Arkansas’s children and families and to the future of this great state. Arkansas voters will help decide which candidates win a number of important public offices, including the U.S. Presidency, a U.S. Senate seat, and House and Senate seats in the Arkansas General Assembly. The winners of these elections will help set the course of future public policy at both the state and national levels.

Education has been called “the great equalizer,” because it is a key tool in lifting the working poor out of poverty, decreasing crime, and improving health. Arkansas has made education a priority since statehood. The state’s constitution says the intelligence and virtue gained from education are “the safeguards of liberty and the bulwark of a free and good government.” The General Assembly is tasked with maintaining “a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools and [adopting] all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.” The constitution clearly says the state’s goal is to “provide quality education and a fair system for the distribution of funds.” But existing wealth disparities throughout the state challenge the notion of equalizing opportunity.

Parents and Guardians: you are the most important person in your young child’s life. You are already doing great things to help your child succeed. You are your child’s most valuable asset when it comes to making sure their needs are met. We want to help you find the resources you need to prepare your child for life in and out of the classroom.

Where does it come from? Where does it go?This guide tells you: Why school funding matters, Where the money comes from, How school funds can be used to help low-income students, How parents can get involved

While there were a few bright spots, it was a tough year for racial equity and opportunity at the legislature. Lawmakers passed policies that will limit opportunities for many Arkansas families.