The Learning Coalition
The Learning coalition encourages voters to do their homewok before voting for Board of Education members in Saturday’s crucial election (Clockwise from top) Elisa McDade, Luke Tobin, Eliana Reeves, Kiara Reeves, Laurel Hecker and Luana Sant’ Anna encourage you to vote wisely.
By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Archive | RSS |
Del.icio.us
|
The Learning Coalition Is Making It Easy For Voters To Learn Who Is On The Board Of Education Ballot Before Going Into The Booth So You Can Make An Informed Choice
The Learning Coalition (TLC) wants to keep the “public” in public education.
The new nonprofit, nonpartisan group is sponsoring a series of newspaper ads designed to increase the public’s participation in the 2008 election of the state Board of Education.
TLC knows from market research that many voters lack information or an active interest in the Board of Education (BOE) elections. It’s not a high-profile, highly charged race like U.S. president - or Honolulu mayor.
Come on. Admit it. You’ve sometimes gone into that voting booth dazed about the BOE slate. You have a ballot like a multiple choice test and, like that fearful state of classroom exams, you freeze on the answers.
Eeney, meeney, miney, moe ...
In those situations, voting can be based on superficial stuff. Name recognition, gender, possible knowledge of extended family (“Eh, is that Auntie Harriet’s hanai son?”).
Or just not voting, leaving the ballot blank.
In the 2006 election, there were 173,016 blank votes in the Board of Education race, according to Hawaii Reporter. That was approximately the same number of public school children in the state.
Thankfully, this year, voters are getting some TLC.
The Learning Coalition wants to enlighten voters so, like good students, they will do their homework and make educated choices. An information-rich website (thelearningcoalition.org) and public awareness campaign in local media are facilitating its communications efforts.
There’s not much time to cram. Primary election is Saturday, Sept. 20.
TLC wants you to pay special attention to the field of 12 Oahu and four Big Island BOE candidates.
You’ll be voting for one member to the Honolulu district seat and three to the Oahu-at-large posts. Big Islanders will vote for one to its board.
Will it be the math tutor, lawyer or children’s ministry director to the Honolulu seat? There’s a mixed plate of lawyers, educators and community leaders for the Oahu-at-large seats.
TLC co-founders William Reeves and Deborah Keiko Berger have long been interested in public-education issues. They currently run a philanthropic foundation called Unbound that focuses on aiding and educating immigrants.
A year ago, the husband-and-wife team was considering educational causes in Hawaii for a new philanthropic endeavor. The couple returned to its native Honolulu after 26 years in New York and London, where they had successful careers in international finance and investments with JP Morgan and other firms.
Now parents of two daughters, ages 4 and 7, they want to raise their children in an environment of cultural diversity. One child is in preschool, and the other is enrolled at Punahou, Berger’s alma mater.
Berger’s educational values were inspired by her parents, immigrants from Japan and Europe, who wanted to see their daughter go to college. She did, graduating from highly regarded Smith College.
Both of Reeves’ parents are educators. He attended public school in the rural South during the 1970s, and was one of only two non-African Americans in his class.
Even with the best intentions, TLC’s co-founders say fleshing out an educational endeavor in Hawaii is daunting. They point to complexities of Hawaii’s school system, its structure, decentralized programs and competition for resources.
So the pair did their homework.
They talked to Department of Education administrators, principals, teachers and BOE members. They wanted to understand how the system works and where there were opportunities for philanthropic support.
“This is always our approach,” Berger says. “Any impact that might be had has to be born organically. If there’s to be improvement or change, it has to come from within. Our hope was that by speaking to people at all levels in the system, we might come up with something that helps everyone in the state.”
The Learning Coalition was formed from this “strategic mapping.”
They also engaged Ward Research to do three focus group interviews among registered voters. The findings underscored the perceived lack of information about BOE candidates and the lack of active interest in the BOE elections.
Participants admitted almost no familiarity with the BOE role, its responsibilities, its relationship to the DOE and whether or not board members are paid. (They are paid for each meeting they attend.)
It is important to remember, according to TLC, that the BOE is a policy board, not an executive board. Hawaii has one of the largest single school districts in the country - and one of the most fragmented. TLC asserts strong management skills are extremely helpful in the job.
Page 1 of 2 pages for this story 1 2 >
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
