An Insight from the Heights Coalition

Nearly six years ago, a small group of citizens in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District formed a leadership team of 30 people and kicked off a grassroots initiative in support of their local public schools.  Today, the Heights Coalition for Public Education is not only alive and well, but it is thriving.  Why, you may ask, has the Heights Coalition been able to sustain itself while many, if not most efforts like this, ultimately lose energy and fade into the sunset?  The key to the Heights Coalition’s longevity is that this initiative is not relying upon one or two people for its lifeblood but, rather, it is being led by a team of citizens who are able to provide the energy needed to keep it going.  This is an important insight for the statewide initiative underway by the Ohio Public School Advocacy Network to give citizens a stronger voice in shaping statewide education policy.