"Rather than standing or speaking for children we need to stand with children speaking for themselves. We don't need a political movement for children…that very paradigm underestimates the tremendous energy, boldness and creativity in solving problems that young people can bring to the effort.”
Sandra Meucci – Children & The Environment

Though Our Education is building a national student movement, there are still plenty of opportunities for adults to get involved in the effort to improve the quality of education in this country.  More than anything, parents, adults, and teachers can provide moral and technical support for students participating in Our Education’s student movement.  In many cases you can provide expertise, guidance, and capacity to students working to make their voices heard in communities around the country.

Our Education encourages parents, teachers, and interested adults to consider the following ways (as well as any others you can think of!) to get involved in our national campaign and provide support and cover for students trying to make education a priority in this country :

Help students run a petition campaign:
The main form of participation for students (and adults) centers on Our Education's National Youth Petition Campaign.  Petition drives, run by "petition drive directors," will be conducted online and in schools around the country.  These petition drives are a perfect opportunity for adults to team up with students to lend their support, their know-how, and their energy!

• If you’re a parent, talk to your student about signing the petition—students are always happy to know their parents support them.
  
  
• Download the petition drive director materials and share them with a student who might be interested in becoming a petition drive director.
  
  
• If you’re a teacher and have a computer in your classroom, think about ways you could inform students about the campaign:
  - Make www.oured.org your homepage, or bookmark it as a favorite
  - Make an announcement about the campaign to your classes
  - Spread the word to other students who might be interested in the petition campaign but who aren't in your classes (perhaps students who are involved in student government or other extracurriculars).

Bring attention to a local petition campaign:

• Tell your adult colleagues and friends about the petition campaign and see if they would like to spread word about it to the youth, civic organizations, and other groups that they know.  Use our Tell-A-Friend feature here, or send an email to your friends about it!
  
  
• Can you help local students get a letter/resolution of support from the local school board? PTA? city council?  (Check out our downloads page for a sample letter/resolution of support and other materials.)
  
  
• Are you a member of a local civic organization or local chapter of a national organization (key club, rotary club, etc) that might be interested in signing a letter of support?

Financial Support:

• Click here to learn more about how you can make a tax-deductible donation to support Our Education
  
  
• Do you own or work for a business that might be interested in making a cash or in-kind donation (such as supporting a local petition drive)? Email us at info(@)oured.org!

Inform your elected officials:

• Write a letter to your Representative or Senator telling them that you believe every American child should have the right to receive a high quality education.

Increase student participation and access in your district:
In addition to our National Youth Petition Campaign, Our Education also seeks to increase student access and participation in education policy at all levels.  The Student Voice Project (currently being piloted in Connecticut) represents our initial efforts on this front.

• Is there a way you can help get students more involved in decisions made by the PTA? School Board? Principal?
  
  
• Teachers: Check out our resources for student participation here.