Family Leadership Institute
ORGANIZING FOR OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERY MILWAUKEE CHILD
The Family Leadership Institute is for parents and guardians interested in working with others to push for positive change in their child’s education.
This six-session learning experience from City Forward Collective is designed to guide participants through the key components of effective community organizing, while providing essential information about Milwaukee’s education ecosystem.
Participants will graduate from the Institute with a $250 stipend and a resource toolkit they can use to engage others in their own school communities and neighborhoods around shared goals for positive changes in education.
WHAT PAST PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING:
“The Family Leadership Institute training opened my eyes to the many opportunities us parents have to get involved in our community and children’s education.
…Now I know that my ideas and voice can be heard through different avenues and my involvement can help lead the way to assuring our children’s voices are heard and their needs are met.”
“I am taking away from this training the ability to address my local legislators. I now have the tools to address my issues in a format that is clear and concise.”
“I feel better prepared to do my own research and have a greater understanding of where decisions are made and who the key players are in those decisions.”
“A true leader has knowledge and facts about the topic that they are advocating. I now have many resources when trying to do research and better educate myself in how the system works.
In addition, I’ve also made new allies in the other parents involved and hope to help encourage and build one another up during our outreach.”
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Six, 2-hour training sessions hosted virtually on Zoom
Community organizing toolkit
Tools to host virtual meetings
Resources to kickstart leadership projects
Stipend of $250 for participants who complete the entire institute for use in planned future work for change
WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?
Parent or guardian of a student attending a Milwaukee school
Passionate about high-quality education for Milwaukee students
Desire to work with other parents to create transformational change in education
Already involved in efforts to achieve change or hoping to become more actively engaged
Curriculum
Week 1: Introductions, 1:1 conversations, and power & decision-making
Week 2: Organizing house meetings and defining high-quality schools
Week 3: The power of your story (preparing testimonials), REI (race, equity, and inclusion), and desegregation in Milwaukee
Week 4: Preparing research actions and understanding school governance in Milwaukee
Week 5: Conducting research actions with local experts (with topics such as school funding and school report cards)
Week 6: Alumni speakers, next-steps, and leadership commitments