Messaging Guide

Public schools

Begin in agreement, for example: The public schools serving our families and our communities need to provide each and every child the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential in life.
Use values, for example: Opportunity, equal opportunity, fairness, fair share, level playing field, opportunity for each and every child
Show how they benefit, for example: That’s why we need to provide your children and grandchildren, your nieces and nephews, and all the kids in our communities, the very best schools.

Public education is under attack from conservatives who are, in essence, promoting a corporate takeover of public schools. To push back, you need to understand what Americans think about K-12 education issues.

On standardized testing: Most Americans believe there is too much emphasis on standardized testing in schools. On charter schools and vouchers: The public is pretty equally divided over charters and vouchers, but Americans overwhelmingly believe “the focus should be on reforming the existing public school system rather than finding an alternative.” On trust in teachers: Teachers are among the most trusted of all professionals, substantially more trusted than police, judges and clergy, and three times more trusted than lawyers, business executives and stockbrokers. On the quality of schools: When asked to grade schools “A, B, C, D or Fail,” few say that public schools nationally deserve an A or B, but more than two-thirds of parents would give their local public schools an A or B.

Because Americans like and trust their local schools and teachers, and because voters generally care more about how policies affect their own communities, you should lean heavily on arguments based on how an education policy will impact local schoolchildren.

Say… Public schools serving our families and our communities must provide each and every child the opportunity to reach their fullest potential in life. There are no standardized children; every child has different strengths and weaknesses. That’s why we need to offer a complete curriculum provided by professional teachers who have the training to give the individualized attention that every child needs.

The narrative above uses four strategies: (1) Focus on the listener’s own children and neighborhood schools rather than education in the abstract. (2) Indirectly push back against the overuse of standardized tests and teaching-to-the-test by explicitly pointing out something that every parent knows: every child is different and requires individualized attention. (3) Change the narrative about school quality measured by average test scores to a narrative about how well our schools provide each and every student the opportunity to learn and excel. (4) Insist that only professional teachers, rather than amateurs or computer programs, have the knowledge and skills to do the job right.

Don’t say… The nation’s schools, high-poverty schools, failing schools, failing teachers, soft bigotry of low expectations, student achievement
Say… Our children, local schools, schools in our community, opportunity to learn, to succeed, teaching-to-the-test, one-size-fits-all, each and every child is different, unique, an individual, professional teacher, teaching profession

The right wing appeals to Americans’ belief in the market system and urges that parents be treated as consumers and schools be run like corporations. But schools are not businesses, teachers are not factory workers, and students are most certainly not products for sale. After two decades of right-wing education policy, there is still no evidence that any of their proposals actually benefit schoolchildren.

Whatever your progressive solution—whether it’s smaller class sizes, programs to attract and retain excellent teachers, or a broader and richer curriculum—emphasize the underlying value of equal opportunity and focus on what’s best for each and every child, which our listeners visualize as their own child or grandchild. If your solution is more resources, specify how you’d use the money: for art, music, science labs, technology…what every child needs to succeed. For example, if you are arguing against larger class sizes:

Say… Each and every child in our community deserves the opportunity to grow up to live a successful life. So every child needs excellent schools and professional teachers. Smaller class sizes help children learn because they allow teachers to spend more one-on-one time with each student, providing the individualized instruction they need.

Similarly, if you are opposing legislation that would drain resources from local public schools, emphasize that. For example, if you are speaking against spending taxpayer dollars for private school vouchers.

Say… Each and every child in our community deserves access to an excellent neighborhood public school so that child has the opportunity to grow up and be successful in life. There is a proposal to spend your tax dollars on vouchers for private schools, which would mean less money spent on public schools. There is no credible study that shows vouchers improve student performance. So vouchers are neither wise nor fair.

Finally, don’t repeat the anti-teacher and anti-child message frames. They do not support progressive arguments.

Don’t say… School reform, education reform, run schools like businesses, achievement gap
Say… Each child deserves an excellent education, personalized instruction, opportunity gap