Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Outline
I.
II.
Overview
Goal, history and challenges
V.
Next steps
Overview
Charter schools in New York have an impressive record of accomplishment helping tens of thousands of children from disadvantaged communities and tough circumstances get a superior education. However, New York was fast approaching the maximum number of charters allowed by law in the state (200).
This would leave more than 40,000 kids on waitlists without an opportunity to attend a charter school, and would prevent the creation of new charter schools. To change this, the cap on the number of charters allowed had to be lifted.
In January 2010, the New York State legislature rejected legislation that would lift the cap and they almost passed legislation that would have changed the way any future charters would be authorized to make it even more difficult to create new charter schools.
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Overview
The only silver lining in their anti-charter behavior was that their failure to lift the cap doomed New Yorks application for federal education funding through Race to the Top, a national competition that asks states to make meaningful educational reforms, including an emphasis on charter-friendly legislation, in return for significant new funding. New Yorks failure to lift the cap helped cost the state $700 million in federal funds. The federal government created a second round for states to fix their applications by June 1, 2010, and re-apply. This created an opportunity to build a cap-lift campaign around winning Race to the Top. To pass a bill and battle the special interests in Albany, a smart campaign on behalf of the charter movement had to be developed, supported, funded, and executed quickly.
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The Strategy
Figure A
Figure B
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The Campaign
We began talking to major charter school supporters who were willing to help fund the campaign and willing to ask their friends to do the same.
We quickly raised a substantial amount of money, allowing us to conduct a thorough campaign that would be taken seriously.
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The presence of these supporters also sent two powerful messages to the legislature:
The resources to drive the RTTT message and ultimately assign credit or blame would exist The charter movement was quickly becoming a lasting political force capable of taking on the teachers unions and the entrenched interests in Albany
This strong presence and clear commitment was critical to success the campaign would have gone nowhere without it.
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Through ERN, we put together a team to run and win the campaign.
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Joe Williams
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Grassroots Organizing
Even before NY was formally rejected during Round 1 of RTTT, we began the process of organizing charter school parents.
With 40,000 children already in charter schools and 40,000 more on the waitlist, a base of parents who could weigh in with legislators already existed. They just needed to be organized.
State legislators typically do not receive widespread communications from their constituents, therefore they often overvalue the loudest voices, even if they dont reflect the majority. The teachers unions do a good job of making themselves heard. The charter movement did not and we had to change that.
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Field Program
We built a full-fledged field operation just like any political campaign:
Hired a field director & staff Rented an office Developed a canvassing program Developed a phone program Created relationships with charter schools to enable access to parents we could then mobilize Set up an email/ fax program Created a visibility program
To make sure the field team was organized from the beginning, we created and maintained a very detailed field plan.
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RaceToTheTopNY.org
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The ads
At the same time we started organizing parents, we began launching hard hitting, pervasive ads on tv and radio across the state. The ads framed the issue of winning RTTT. They showed we were serious and we couldnt be ignored. The first ads were designed with 3 goals in mind:
1. Make it clear that New York needed the RTTT money 2. Explain that the teachers unions were blocking the funding 3. Urge Albany to do something about it
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However, despite the Governors support for charters, his lame duck status meant we had to win over both legislative leaders.
Paterson
Silver
Sampson
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We worked with the Senate to craft legislation that would lift the cap but address concerns from anti-charter advocates.
The Senate bill addressed issues like special education, English as Second Language (ESL) and transparency and accountability.
By doing this we were negotiating against ourselves, but we were also taking some objections against off the table.
This sent the message that we were willing to be reasonable
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We worked every Senator relentlessly and received broad support from both parties.
On May 3, the Senate version passed by a margin of 45-15.
A majority of these were Democratic Senators, support we have never seen before from that side of the aisle
This was a clear sign of Sampsons leadership and authority within his caucus. That support was an important base for 33 the charter movement.
Nearing a deal
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As a result, rather than targeting specific members in a negative way, we placed all the pressure on the unions.
We framed the issue as an effort by teachers unions to block New York from winning RTTT, and Albany couldnt let that happen.
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Assembly Senate
TOTAL
4,422 4,513
8,935
12,582 3,308
16,160
4,385 4,385
4,385
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We also shifted our media buy to focus almost exclusively on NYC and Albany.
The campaign essentially became an effort to convince one individual that there was so much pressure around winning RTTT that rejecting the bill was not a viable option.
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Important endorsements
While the ads, the editorials, the field organizing, and the passage of the Senate bill, all helped make the case, we knew we would need high profile supporters as well. Starting at the beginning of the campaign, we targeted several big name potential supporters to either endorse the legislation or campaign for it, including:
Bill Clinton Arne Duncan Andrew Cuomo Al Sharpton
Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein were already strongly on board and expressed their support in every appropriate venue.
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We quickly capitalized on the cascade of support, creating a tv ad, a radio ad, direct mail and flyer all touting the support of each.
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Cuomo endorsement
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Leveraging endorsements
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Leveraging endorsements
OPINION Radio ad
When it comes to improving New York schools whose opinion do you trust? Barack Obama. Bill Clinton. I trust Andrew Cuomo - hes independent. Reverend Sharpton cause hes always looking out for our community. Well Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Andrew Cuomo and Al Sharpton all agree that Albany needs to increase the number of public charter schools in New York so we can quality for $700 million in new education aid from Washington. President Obama says that charters unlock potential in students. Clinton says Albany should lift the lid on charters, and Reverend Sharpton says charters are a choice that parents and students should have. I trust the newspapers opinions on schools. The papers arent in the pockets of the union. While the Daily News, the Post, Newsday, Buffalo News, and papers across the state also agree, Albany should act now so we can get the $700 million and avoid deep cuts to our schools. Call Albany at 877-540-2717. Tell them to raise the charter cap. Give our kids a chance. 48 Paid for by Education Reform Now.
Roadblocks
The opposition did not take our campaign lying down.
They retaliated with their on tv and radio ads, as well as attacks in the media. They focused on for-profit schools and our hedge fund supporters.
While our buy was heavier and our ads were better, we also knew their efforts had to be counteracted.
We hit back with a tough tv spot making it clear that failure to lift the cap would mean losing RTTT, greater cuts to schools and potentially higher property taxes.
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Calendar
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Assembly negotiations
About two weeks before the deadline, the Speaker tasked Mike Mulgrew (the President of the UFT) to negotiate a bill on his behalf. We knew there were a couple of issues Mulgrew would want some we could compromise on, some not.
Assembly negotiations
Another contentious issue was the debate over which entities could have chartering authority.
Removing the State University of New York as an independent chartering authority was unacceptable.
Since the alternative was the Board of Regents, whose head is appointed by the Speaker, removing SUNY as a chartering authority would end up giving the unions far more control in the chartering process, slowing down the creation of new schools.
On the other hand, allowing the State Comptroller to audit charter schools was acceptable.
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Assembly negotiations
The debate went on for over a week, with negotiations starting and stopping over many of these provisions. As the opposition would insist on provisions like banning colocation, we would work with the editorial boards assiduously to ask them to speak out against the specific poison pills and help take them off the table. Finally the negotiations shifted directly to the Assembly, starting and stopping for several tense days.
It seemed like the Assembly was insisting on provisions they knew we would not accept, hoping we would walk away from the table, allowing the bill to fail but also giving them someone to blame.
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Negotiations, compromise
But as the RTTT deadline kept approaching, we kept the pressure on. One contentious area was for-profit charter schools:
Based on the union ads attacking for-profits, it became clear that the for-profits were our weak spot from a public and political standpoint. Explaining why some schools need to make money from educating children is a tough argument, even though less than 10% of current charter schools are for-profit, and many do an excellent job. Mulgrew decided that a ban on new for-profits was a must for him.
This was our final give in negotiations. With tensions mounting, an agreement was reached on the Thursday evening before the Tuesday (June 1) deadline.
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The result: 260 new charter schools and New York would 57 have what it needs to win Race to the Top.
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The State submitted its new and improved Race to the Top application to the US Department of Education the following Tuesday.
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Next Steps
Next Steps
While the legislations success represented a massive victory for the charter movement, more work remains this year, including:
Showing appreciation for the members who voted for the final legislation so they see the upside in supporting charter schools, even at the expense of the teachers unions. Supporting pro-charter candidates and opposing anti-charter candidates in the elections this fall. Fighting for restoration of cuts to funding for charter schools.
Next Steps
Being a true counterweight to the teachers union means fighting the good fight day in, day out, year in, year out, to ensure the charter movement has the support it needs in Albany going forward.
Forming better relationships with legislators Defining the issues properly in the media Organizing and activating parents Using these campaign tools daily to continue the momentum every year in Albany
If we let our guard down for one moment, we could quickly find ourselves on the short end of the legislative stick.
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Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
This campaign offers a template to two major challenges:
1. How to take on teachers unions and pursue education reform in state capitols across the nation. 2. In Albany, how to take on specials interests to achieve other types of reform.
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Not every issue or cause meets these criteria, but with the right leadership and the right campaign, many can succeed.
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While RTTT may not always exist to help propel a campaign, the tools needed to run a winning campaign are not exclusive to the teachers unions in any state education reformers can use the same tools just as effectively, if not better.
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We can learn from the campaign in New York to lift the charter cap to help make sure those efforts across the nation succeed.
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Contact information
For further information or resources, please contact:
Bradley Tusk btusk@tuskstrategies.com (646) 254-6718 Shelley Capito scapito@tuskstrategies.com (646) 435-2408 Joe Williams joewilliams@dfer.org (212) 614-3213 Stefan Friedman friedman@knickskd.com (212) 561-8730 x 223
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Joe Williams
Joe Williams is currently the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform and Education Reform Now (ERN). His focus as Executive Director is to reinforce DFERs goal on building a powerful national coalition in support of meaningful education reform. Williams previously worked as an award-winning education journalist for the New York Daily News. He also served as an education reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he won numerous local, state, and national awards for his coverage of the Milwaukee Public Schools and that city's groundbreaking school choice programs. In addition to studying reform efforts in Milwaukee, Williams has completed exhaustive research on the challenges of individual school districts in cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He has developed expertise on national education policy such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, and on state issues such as the growing Charter School movement. Williams has written in-depth pieces for the Hechinger Institute, the Thomas Fordham Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. He has contributed book chapters, articles and policy reports on numerous education-reform related topics, and for a variety of respected publications including: Education Next, Education Sector, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government 79 Press.
Bradley Tusk
Bradley Tusk is the founder of Tusk Strategies, a political and strategic consulting firm based in New York City. Tusk Strategies helps clients facing complex goals involving government and politics both develop and execute full scale campaigns, like lifting the cap on charter schools. In 2009, Bradley Tusk served as the campaign manager for New York City Mayor Michael Bloombergs successful re-election bid. The Bloomberg campaign was described by the New York Times as a "juggernaut. The New York City Mayor's race was considered to be among the nation's highest profile elections in 2009.
Prior to serving as campaign manager for Bloomberg 2009, Tusk served as Deputy Governor of the State of Illinois from 2003-2006, where he oversaw the state budget, policy, legislation, communications, and operations.
After serving as Deputy Governor, Tusk served as Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers, where he created the lottery monetization group and headed all of its efforts regarding U.S. based lotteries. Combining his backgrounds in finance and politics, Tusk developed a successful framework to help state's monetize their lotteries. Before his appointment as Deputy Governor, Tusk served as Special Assistant to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and prior to that served as Communications Director for New York Senator Charles Schumer.Tusk also served as Senior Advisor to New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, and was an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University. Tusk is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania 80 and the University of Chicago Law School.
Josh Isay
Josh Isay has spent fifteen years running and consulting for Senate, Gubernatorial, House and Mayoral campaigns and high profile corporate communications clients. Josh managed Chuck Schumer's 1998 upset of Al D'Amato and served as Schumer's first Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate. Since co-founding KnickerbockerSKD in 2002, Josh has helped elect or re-elect New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Manhattan District Attorney Bob Morgenthau and Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila of Puerto Rico. He has also run communications campaigns for the firm's many corporate, labor and nonprofit clients, including the New York State Transportation Bond Act, the Working Families Party, 1199 SEIU, the Communication Workers of America, National Public Radio and Procter & Gamble. In 2008, KnickerbockerSKD was one of the direct mail firms on Barack Obama's successful presidential campaign and produced all mail sent to North Carolina and New Hampshire along with national mail to seniors and GOTV/early vote. In 2006, the Washington Post wrote that Josh's work as lead consultant to Senator Joseph Lieberman's general reelection campaign "totally changed the dynamic of the contest," to effect a "remarkable political turnaround" that earned the campaign a spot on the Post's list of "Ten Best Incumbent Campaigns."
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Stefan Friedman
Stefan Friedman is President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations for KnickerbockerSKD. After spending eight years at the New York Post as a political columnist, campaign correspondent and editorial writer, he came to Knickerbocker in 2006. Since then, he has rapidly grown our PR business, servicing dozens of clients in the healthcare, education and real-estate sectors. At KnickerbockerSKD, Stefan puts his deep experience as a working journalist to work for corporate and non-profit clients including St. Vincent's Hospital, The New York City Charter Center, The New York State Health Foundation, the Primary Care Development Corporation, Tavern on the Green and the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He specializes in helping organizations manage complex public relations challenges, both short- and long-term. At the Post, in addition to serving as a member of the Editorial Board, Stefan broke numerous high-profile stories, from allegations of sexual harassment against New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's decision to investigate the New York's controversial Independence Party on charges of child abuse. He provided lead coverage of Ronald Reagan's death, terrorist threats made against Jewish areas of Brooklyn and Mayor Bloomberg's re-election campaign. He was the Post's lead reporter on Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential race before returning home to write a twice-weekly column on the 2005 citywide elections that was picked up across the country.
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