Parents are more (politically) powerful than teachers. We need your help.

[Anonymous]

Wow, two posts (back to back, even) that are spot on (13:06 and 14:12). Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you contact the press you can't control your story and the direction it could go in. We have seen dozens of stories in WaPo about the heat/cold in schools - has anything been done? Apparently not because these conditions still exist.

But I would suggest you take a step back and really dig deep to assess your parents. Are there 2 or 3 who are really active? Is there a core group that can be organized first and then reach out to other parents? How tech-savvy are your parents? Are you certain that this is a top priority issue for your parents?

If you can identify 2 or 3 parent champions and have those parents write a letter to Rhee, Fenty and Lew and appropriate council person that might be effective. Adding kids to the mix always gets attention. I would also approach any Ballou alums who work for the city or outside - at the highest level you can find. I would recommend drafting sample language for parents to use for a letter/email and let the parents take it from there.

Use this issue of hot classrooms as a starting point for organizing your parents. But I can't emphasize enough the importance of really understanding what is a priority for your parents and determing the ways they feel most comfortable communicating with "higher ups"

Spot on! The kids at Shaw-Patterson seem to have been driving force at keeping their school structure for next year. And didn't kids at Wilson do much of the fixing after the violence issues last year?

Parent and Student champions sound like a strong mix.

Good luck at Ballou. Improvements there improve the whole city.