Events & Announcements
August 28, 2024
No Comments
The IDEA Advocacy Team supports teachers, families, staff, and alumni to engage with their elected officials and the policy-making process.
The IDEA Advocacy Action Team was launched during the 18-19 school year and works with IDEA family members and educators to become more civically engaged, supporting and advocating for equitable access to a high-quality public education. The Advocacy Action Team now includes hundreds of trained, engaged IDEA Team and Family members at every campus committed to sharing their support for public charter schools with their community and elected officials.
Read more about the advocacy programs IDEA offers to support the work of our staff, teachers, and scholars.
Through our Advocacy Action Team, IDEA parents and family members connect at the state and regional level, gaining the skills necessary to advocate for high-quality public education for all students with federal, state, and local lawmakers.
The IDEA Teacher Policy Fellowship offers training and support for teachers who are interested in advocating for their schools and scholars through policy writing, running for elected office, or organizing their community around issue-based campaigns.
IDEA Public Schools aims to prepare 100% of our students for success in college and a life of active citizenship. To achieve this mission, the IDEA community must be role models for our students by showing up as voters. Our IDEA Votes campaigns provides our Team & Family with the information they need to be informed voters and citizens.
At IDEA, our staff, teachers, and parents advocate for high-quality public education for all students by sharing their voices and stories.
Our teachers and staff share their stories through a variety of publications.
“Our focus should be on our children” – Ernesto Cantu, El Paso Times
“Change vs. status quo: Which will Texas choose?” – Tom Torkelson, TribTalk
“Anti-Racist Educators in Texas are Building a Movement. It’s Time for Our Colleagues to Get on Board” – Joseph Frilot, The 74 Million
“Austin Teacher: Silence And Complicity Are ‘Just As Dangerous As Someone Who Is Racist'” – Jennifer Stayton, KUT 90.5 NPR Austin
Our parents and families advocate for high-quality education for all scholars by sharing their stories in op-eds and other media.
“Facing pushback, Biden administration clarifies charter school rules” – Laura Meckler, The Washington Post
IDEA Florida Advocates receive shoutout on House Floor [Video]
“Public education funds don’t belong to one type of school” – Annette De Jesus, El Paso Times
“Embrace good ideas – even from charter schools” – Renee Nieto, MySA
“What one parent is thankful for: her daughter’s return to an IDEA charter school” – Imelda Arevalo, The Dallas Morning News
“In Brownsville, Texas, a Pandemic Won’t Stop Students from Learning” – Scott Frank, Education Post
“Leos: In 2020, access to Internet should not determine one’s future” – Victor Leos, Rio Grande Guardian
“An Educator’s View: My 12th-Graders Are Mostly First-Generation, Low-Income Students Hit Hard by COVID-19. 3 Ways Colleges Can Help Them” – Carlene Huard, The 74 Million
“‘Black Students Matter’: Teachers In Austin March For Education Equality” – Claire McInerny, KUT 90.5 NPR Austin
2115 W. Pike Blvd.
Weslaco, TX 78596
Main: (956) 377-8000
Fax: (956) 447-3796
IDEA Public Schools National Board Members: Collin Sewell – Chair, Ed Rivera – Vice-Chair & Secretary, Erich Holmsten – Treasurer, Gary Lindgren, Theresa Barrera-Shaw, Dr. Nanette Cocero, Connie Miner.