In 2023, many of us found ourselves deeply entrenched in "culture war" attacks against public education; safe, supportive, and inclusive schools; social-emotional learning; and equity and diversity, all under the guise of increasing "parental rights" in education. I will start by saying, we all support parental rights in education. I am a parent, many of you are parents, and we all know that students are more successful when families and educators work together. Public educators seek, receive, and celebrate parental involvement and the partnerships formed to help students thrive. The current "parental rights" movement is actually a movement to defund public education and thwart our ability to teach students to think critically. This movement shouts parental rights for all, but it is more akin to parental and student rights for the people who agree with our philosophy and political thinking. Like many of you, I thought this would never come to my district. But it did, and in November 2021, influential supporters of this movement gained majority control of our school board and quickly enacted policies that are harmful to students.

At the beginning of 2023, in my beloved "purple" community, I was living the continued effects of the prior school board election and subsequent policy decisions. Divisiveness was abundant, retaliation against advocates a reality, and fear mongering loudly spoken at the podiums. Staff held their breath trying to foster inclusivity, protect marginalized students, provide representative curriculum, and work within the confines of the policies implemented, which were often written by outside organizations with no connection to our district and were not based on research or best practice. 

So many times, I said to myself "Just when I thought it couldn't get worse," and felt depleted because even with my advocacy experience and expertise, nothing in my playbook was working to effect change. With all my research-led solutions, stories of student need and pain, and attempts at relationship building, I hit thick brick walls and faced some serious consequences. January 2023 was a low point for me. I questioned my abilities as an advocate, felt judged by others for not "just going in" and aggressively speaking truth to power because I feared that my advocacy would cost me my job and my retirement (which I could not risk as a single mom). For the first time, I felt hopeless as an advocate. My mental health was affected, my colleagues' stress levels were at an all-time high, and it felt like dark gray clouds were everywhere. My colleagues and I continued to show up for our students, families, and each other, but it was hard. However, the most heartbreaking part was listening to the students speak up at public meetings, pleading for change and protection, as their words fell on deaf ears. Or so we thought...

March brought a small but mighty spark of light. As I entered the month, I realized it was time to pivot. The advocacy playbook of old needed an update to tackle the ugly atmosphere we were living in if positive change was to occur. Attempts to be outspoken were useless and created targets on advocates in vulnerable positions. I realized the only way to bring change was going to be through a discreet, strategic approach. As Mr. Rogers said, "Look for the helpers; you will always find people who are helping." And that is exactly what happened.

A brave group of individuals, known as CB Neighbors United, joined together to run for our five open school board seats, facing one of the highest-profile, nastiest, and most well-funded school board races ever seen at the local level. I began brainstorming ways to support this group but then fate stepped in and opened a giant door—in a yoga class of all places!

Yoga had become an integral part of my self-care, ever since the culture wars ramped up in my school district back in November 2021, and I frequently attended classes at a yoga studio that provided a very safe, positive community. As a self-proclaimed teacher's pet, I always sit up front near the teachers and enjoy casual, light conversation away from the heaviness of my day-to-day world. On Thursday March 30, I made the connection that the Thursday night yoga teacher, Dana—who I had been sitting next to for months, bonding with over great playlists and all things yoga—was the Dana who was running for school board! We quietly celebrated making the connection, laughed that we spent months next to each other without putting it together, and then she told me youth mental health was her central to her policy platform and was at the heart of why she was running for the school board. We immediately forged a deeper connection on the mission to "save" the school district and, most importantly, "save" our students.

Building relationships has always been my number one advocacy strategy, and my updated playbook now included quiet, behind the scenes support. My advocacy over the next months included providing resources about school mental health, crafting talking points, and talking about the importance of electing pro-public education, pro-student candidates with whoever would listen. I also personally supported my friend who was facing the battle of her life, all for the purpose of supporting us, the educators, and our students. Being able to contribute knowledge, effort, and friendship toward the election restored my hope and healed my advocate heart. The doubts were gone, the resolve was strong, and the mission was clear: Get as many people as possible out to vote for pro-public education candidates. In addition, we needed to inoculate against the disinformation being spread that accused teachers of indoctrinating children, supported discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+ students, banned access to social-emotional learning, and attempted to whitewash our curriculum.

I am still completely overflowing with joy that our CB Neighbors United slate of candidates swept the election, not just in my district but in neighboring districts too! Public education, inclusivity, and our students won on November 7, 2023.

Over the last year, our community pulled together, organized, spoke up, showed up, and made our collective voices heard to get back to best educational practices that advance safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments for all students. Don't get me wrong, the level of attacks, vitriol, and lies that were thrown at CB Neighbors United were beyond what anyone should ever endure. The strength of the community, ability to lean on and care for each other, and the focus on what is best for our students is what kept us all going.

My bottom-line message: Don't ever give up hope! Let's lean into each other and practice grace on this journey, because advocacy is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Even when the times seem dark, you can pivot, find the helpers, and look for the sparks of light. As Bono said, "Wherever you see darkness, there is extraordinary opportunity for the light to burn brighter." Finally, continue to vote as if public education depends on it—because it does!