While I haven’t had time to recap all of the amazing panels and workshops I attended at Mom Congress, I thought I’d skip forward to my last day in DC where I was invited to go to the White House and meet with Education and policy officials along with a dozen other parent education advocates to talk about our schools and the issues surrounding them.
One of the most amazing parts of Mom Congress was meeting women from all 50 states – tiny rural school districts, segregated suburban districts, urban districts and everything in between. At the end of the day almost everyone’s problems came from one big source: lack of funding. At the roundtable this was again a theme. Whether it was trying to implement bullying programs or wellness initiatives, STEM and gifted curriculum, or down to the very basics of feeding and clothing homeless and foster school children so they could attend school every day – these parents are working their hardest to make things happen but constantly butt up against issues of money and engagement. Having the opportunity to discuss these issues with White House staff was truly amazing.
As part of Champions for Change we then made videos talking about how parents can get involved and make a difference in their schools. You can see everyone at the Whitehouse.gov site. Here I am shooting my mouth off about parental engagement and how parents should learn to be a thorn in the side of every politician. (Geez, I wish my grandma had been there to tell me to brush my hair!)
Here’s my full-page on the White House site: Rebecca Levey
If you want to tell your politicians to stop cutting the education budget start here:
If you want access to amazing education resources and all of the incredible Mom Congress delegate’s ideas “Like” Mom Congress on Facebook.
yay – you rock!
Thanks Melissa! I hate watching myself on video but this was such a great experience I couldn’t not share it!
You were fabulous in the video! It was like my first IRL moment with you…snif!!
Thank you! I can’t believe how intimidating video is. All of my film acting classes went out the window so long ago…
I am so proud of you – you are very eloquent and poised in this video and a great advocate for education.
How inspiring!
I’m so proud of you. Great tips on the video.
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