Charleston Coalition for Kids

In furtherance of its purpose to improve lives and the broader Charleston community, the Coalition builds broad public awareness about the importance of local school board elections. The Coalition works to ensure voters understand the role of the school board and generate interest in voting for these critical elected offices through educational programs and materials. The Coalition's public education program may also include voter registration efforts and other opportunities to increase civic engagement. The Coalition prepares and distributes public communication updates to build awareness about school board elections within the Charleston area. Across the community, there is a significant desire for information about what is going on in Charleston public education, but many parents and families are unsure how to access information and updates. As part of its public education efforts, the Coalition provides timely updates about key decisions, votes, or considerations from the school board and develops materials informing the community about the communication channels available between interested citizens and members of the school board.

The Coalition recruits, identifies, and supports qualified candidates in their evaluations of running for Charleston county school board. A critical component of the Coalition's support for such candidates is that the candidates share a commitment to improve educational outcomes, especially for schools and students who are not meeting objective measures of performance. This effort could also include a fellowship to develop future school board candidates with skills and mindsets to be successful in a board governance capacity. The Coalition's training may include resources and feedback to ensure that candidates understand how to lead as a school board member to improve student outcomes. To do so, the Coalition collaborates with nationally-recognized organizations and leaders to build competence for such candidates. The Coalition continues such educational programs for candidates as school board members, as applicable.the Coalition engages in training and support for school board candidates strategically by utilizing educational campaign strategy experts to understand how best to educate the public about the importance of school board elections and voter participation. Because one may serve as a member of the Charleston county school board by election only, the Coalition can provide a baseline understanding to interested candidates about the fundamentals of seeking office by engaging with experts who know how to do so.

The Coalition develops and distributes educational materials rooted in reliable research and expertise to inform current school board members on key policy issues related to educational outcomes of all children. The Coalition understands that service on the Charleston county school board brings a steep learning curve and requires that members are conversant on many policy issues. The Coalition works to improve social welfare for the Charleston community by building school board members' understanding about system-level policies and improvements that can impact student and school performance in measurable ways using information developed by experts in educational attainment and outcomes and leadership. The Coalition also provides resources, training, and feedback to ensure school board members understand how to lead toward desired outcomes. The Coalition connects with nationally-recognized organizations and leaders to build competence and credibility of school board members so that they are better able to serve the students, schools, and the broader community more effectively. This educational outreach may also include collaborative work to highlight strategies that are meaningfully improving education at the local, state, or national level.