Overview

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The term "grassroots" describes a distinctive "from the bottom up" approach to shaping public policy, launching a public affairs campaign, or drawing attention to an issue. The following is a brief overview of grassroots advocacy.

What is grassroots advocacy?

• Grassroots advocacy is a distinctive approach to public participation that engages everyday people—not policy or political professionals—in shaping public policy and perception, including policies that affect charter schools.
• The point of grassroots advocacy is to demonstrate to policy makers that charter schools have deep support in the communities they represent.
• The focus of grassroots advocacy is not on how well you know a particular policy-maker, or how much access you have, but rather on the quantity and quality of contact with the policy-maker.

Who is a grassroots advocate for charter schools?

• This may be obvious, but the answer is you and anyone else who has an interest in innovative public educational opportunities.

Where can I find more people like myself to become grassroots advocates for charter schools?

In addition to taking action yourself, you can help advance policy change by encouraging others you know to take action as well, including:

• Your family and friends
• Your neighbors
• Organizations that you are involved with, including civic organizations or the school parent group
• Your children’s friends, teachers, coaches, or classmate’s parents
• Other people in your social circle, such as your job, businesses and organizations in your community, or your place of worship

What else can I do as a grassroots advocate?

Please contact Carlos Pérez, Community Outreach Director at the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, at 312.235.0798 x15 or cperez@incschools.org for more information about how you can become involved promoting and advancing charter schools in your community and with your decision-makers.