001The following program is a presentation of the Ohio School Boards Association. Welcome to the Leading the Way podcast where we bring you the voices shaping public education across Ohio. A big shout out to our sponsor, Lincoln Learning Solutions. They offer accredited K12 digital curriculum and support schools with flexible content and expert training for educators in all learning environments. Hey everyone, it's OSBA Scott Griffin and today we're focusing on one of the most important ways schoolboard members can make a difference and that's advocacy. Advocacy is about ensuring the voices of our students, families, and communities are heard, not just locally, but at the state and national levels. It can seem overwhelming at first, but the truth is advocacy starts with simply sharing your story. We have two board members joining us today who are passionate about
002advocacy. Jocelyn Reiner and Bill Ferguson, who recently traveled to the nation's capital with other schoolboard members from across the country to participate in the consortium of state school boards association's federal advocacy conference. They met with lawmakers, represented Ohio's public schools, and brought home lessons about how every board member can play a role in shaping policies that impact our classrooms. So, Bill and Joselyn, thank you so much for being here. Let's start by uh introducing yourselves and tell us about you and the communities that you serve. Bill. >> All right. I'm Bill Ferguson. I'm a member of the Hamilton County Educational Service Center Governing Board and Great Oaks Career Campuses, which is our career tech system in Southwest Ohio, or one of them, I should say. We uh go from Western Cincinnati up to Wilmington. Four
003campuses. uh my ESC work and we have uh every school district in Hamilton County which is in the Cincinnati area for those who might not realize that's where Hamilton County is. Um and we have uh school districts even outside the county that we uh do work in. So, uh, if you're not familiar with an ESC even as a board member, uh, and many aren't, um, uh, basically we provide a lot of special education services, uh, professional development for teachers, right? >> U, you know, it can be physical therapy for kids, it can be, uh, hearing impaired kids, it can be nurses for school districts. We just provide a range of services and basically we try to say yes to anything a district needs. Um because if if one district needs something, there could be multiple
004districts that need the same service. And mental health's a big one, in fact, that comes to mind that we've gotten more into just in the last few years. And so when when you have districts who come together and use an ESC, often they can share costs and uh it's just a win-win for everybody. And Jocelyn, uh, well, I I did just realize you guys are both from the southwest region and and >> there you go. Joselyn, you are in Dayton and tell us a little bit about you and and your district. >> Hi, Scott. Yes, thanks for having me. I am Jocelyn Spencer Reinard. I am a board member on the Dayton Board of Education, Dayton City Schools. We are a district of about 13,000 students. Um, and I have been on the board for
005eight years. I'm at the tail end of my second term. I am a mom of four kids which is what brought me into this. Um in the beginning I was a active parent volunteer uh and decided that I needed to be a part of more parent voice representation on the school board. Um and so I've been working there for eight years and and I'm really really proud of the work that we're doing up in Dayton. We're just a little bit north of where Bill is. >> So you both recently took part in the Federal Advocacy Conference in DC. uh what motivated you to get involved in this kind of adv advocacy work and represent Ohio on a national level? And Bill, we'll start with you. >> Wow, that's a great question. U I think I've
006done it now for 12 years. I've been a board member for 16 years and uh I was asked to do it and at first it you know it's a little it is a little nerve-wracking for some board members to you know go to Washington and you know I've been to Washington before and everything but to actually go to congressional offices and advocate is just kind of a whole new >> it was a whole new thing for me 12 years ago. I'm much more comfortable now. Joshelyn, you might agree that after you do it a few years you know you you do get more comfortable. you you feel like that these people who are representing us, they are representing us and when when you talk to them or their staff members, you know, they're they're pleasant
007for the most part. Um, you know, and and they listen and um, you know, of course we all have disagreement on some of the issues, but what we like to do is find issues we can agree on. And there are a number of them. Yeah. contrary to what you might see in media and everything. There's a number of issues that we all agree on because it's in the end it's about the kids and and you know sometimes it sounds like a cliche but it truly is about the future generation of America >> and and Jocelyn uh I don't I don't think this was your first first goound either in DC right with this group. not I've been doing this for 5 years and my advocacy work started back in 2019 when I was asked to
008testify at a subcommittee for a state house bill, House Bill 110. Um, and that's when I really really learned how much work goes into the advocacy piece. This is all work that happens outside of our boardrooms, outside of our districts. and a lot of board members um have the uh the luck to have a little bit more time to put into this to traveling to the state house and then traveling to DC. Um I've been going to DC for I think this is my fifth year. Um I will echo what Bill said. I was terrified the first time I had a meeting with my member of Congress. Um I was sweaty. Uh luckily I was there with somebody who had done this before. I I think I stumbled over my words a whole bunch. But
009I really realized that the work that we're doing in DC is about relationship building. It's about starting a conversation. It's about bringing a story about what your district is and how it is an example of what we're advocating for, whether it's special education or child nutrition services. It's about telling a story and having a conversation. It's about more than just the time we go to DC. It's about touching base throughout the school year uh or throughout the academic year. um uh with the legislature locally as well too. I've had meetings with the representative um and their staffer locally. Um you know, sometimes we meet with a member of Congress and sometimes we meet with the staffer. Uh sometimes it's uh really interesting to meet with the staffer. You know, legislators don't know everything and they
010never claim to be an expert in every field, but um it's the staffers. Sometimes if you get the education staffer, you can really dig into a lot of the granular details of education policy that we're advocating for. Um I find it to be one of the highlights of the work that I do outside of Dayton. I call it my Super Bowl. Um and it's really find a lot of uh I find a lot of fulfillment in building those relationships, telling the stories and advocating for public districts, not just Dayton, but districts all across the state. You >> you know, Bill, uh and you guys brought it up. I know this isn't your first goaround in DC, but but advocacy can sometimes feel intimidating for schoolboard members. I've heard that from members uh who haven't done
011it before. Uh Bill, what would you say to someone who feels hesitant about taking that first step? >> Well, I I first of all, I think you have have an interest in it. >> I think that you know if >> you can't go there with a point of view and expect to to come out uh changing minds or anything. So, I think you have to realize who you're meeting with. You have to um say, you know, I was interested in history and government politics in as far back as elementary school. I I just really enjoyed it. And I I think if you have that innate interest then um you just keep up with the issues. You read a lot uh you you uh um consume a lot of news. you um and then then you
012kind of know when you go to Washington what's going on >> and usually you get paired with somebody who has been uh there before possibly or certainly of like mind as far as um you know being able to do the work and know the issues and things and once you get in the office I think is when you mostly get comfortable. I mean, uh, if you're meeting with a staffer, you're meeting with someone who's usually like 20 or 30 some years old. And, you know, in my case, I feel like I'm a grandfather to him. So, so, but you know, I think you start off with just some uh just some small talk, some, you know, where you from kind of stuff. Are you from Ohio? Are you from Dayton? Are you from Hamilton County?
013You know, whatever. And, and, you know, just kind of make that connection in the beginning and then get more into the issues. and and COSVA, the Consortium of State School Boards Association, of which OSBA is a member. Yeah. Um they are the ones providing that like two-day conference and they'll give you lots of great information. They'll tell you how to go to the the offices, uh you know, what what to expect and I think the advocacy work just then comes naturally. It's it's just it's just good because you know what you're doing is good. Jocelyn, you said something that that resonated with me about telling your story and would you say that is really how a board member can really just get started is by telling their story to a lawmaker? >> Yeah, absolutely. So,
014one of the things that we advocated for of the legislative platform of Cosba when we were at DC last week was um fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which was passed in 1975. Um it was passed with the expectation that we would uh educate children with um special needs and disabilities and the federal government would cover up to 40% of those costs. Um now I can say all that and it can be very clinical and dry. Um but then I can talk about listen in Dayton public schools we have 13,000 students. 20% of our students are on an IEP. These are some of the needs that they have. You know we have high needs autis autism students. We have um some children who have hearing impairment. Um and to really dig into what
015that means in a classroom setting and you know I'm I'm lucky that I'm a parent of a child who still attends Dayton public schools. So I have the parent perspective. It's the stories and it's the not just big picture but telling the legislators what it's like small picture. giving them the opportunity to ask questions and opening up that conversation that really helps them understand the need for fully funding IDEIDA or other services that really um benefit our district. Um it's just a really really wonderful experience and it it gives board members an opportunity to dig into a lot of the the details too that they might not have off the top of their head. I know more about special education than I would have otherwise. Um, and it I I just it's it's about telling
016the stories and you know, we have it's like you're you have a coloring book. You've got the black and white picture in front of you and it's our job as legislators to take the the crayons and color in the detail and make it a beautiful picture for the legislators to understand. >> Scott, if I could add something, I've done a little bit of this work for the Career Tech uh the Association for Career and Technical um education. Um when we take students it's amazing the difference when you're you know with Cosville we're board members we have two per congressional district in Ohio and we go and we meet with our representative we and usually our senators will come and meet us as a group um when I've been out there with Great Oaks uh we
017have like our superintendent and a couple board members and we'll take a student from each campus and we have four campuses and when they get in those rooms and start telling their stories, >> right? >> You know, you you just get they just get a whole new perspective of what education's about in this country. And so, uh, I just wanted to throw that in that if you get a chance to take students, that's great, too. >> And what were some of the issues that you were focused on when you were there, Bill? >> Well, career tech Perkins, we want we definitely we'd like to see increase in that. And that that helps. I know that Dayton is what's called a comprehensive school and you have career tech within Dayton uh city schools. Uh a lot
018of school districts belong to a career tech uh camp um career tech system I should say. There's 49 in Ohio. And so we have we have 36 feeder districts at Great Oaks. And so that was one. You know, you want you want to increase Perkins idea that Jocelyn mentioned, that's another one. We've been advocating that for years. 40%. We're now instead of going up going down. I think we're at like 10 12% depending on how it's counted that Congress is allotting for special education, which you know that's unacceptable. It's an unfunded mandate. you know, you you you you have to when you promise something, you have to fund it. >> Uh I want to ask you both. Uh and and Jos, we can start with you. Uh was there a particular moment during this trip
019that really stuck with you? Uh maybe it was a a meaningful conversation, a surprising interaction. >> So, I'm going to share two things. Um, the first thing that I learned through the advocacy work is that the elected officials who represent us in DC and a lot I I have such high respect for the office, but they are regular people just like you and me too. Just like I am just a mom who decided to run for school board. People stop me in the grocery line. People text me all the time. You know, people stop me all the time and talk to me about schoolboard stuff and and Dayton public schools. Um, and I and I don't have any high regard for myself. It's the work that I do and I feel honored to do it.
020And you know, when we're talking to the legislators, they are they are regular people just like you and I are and they change. You know, I've met with um you know, we we had different senators than when I when I started than we do now. and building those relationships. And um if board members are nervous about starting this work, they can just remind themselves that, you know, it's interesting um to just see that this is a really important office that I have a high amount of respect and regard for um but having these conversations is pretty easy if you realize that these are just regular people. And that was kind of one of the things that struck me this time. We had the opportunity to meet with uh Senator Houston. I've never met with him
021before, >> right? Um and I was really grateful for the time he gave us to talk about education and to answer some of the questions that OSBA had prepared. Um it was a reminder to me that this is about long-term work. This is about building relationships with the offices and then um people might change within the office but our work continues. Uh the second story that I want to share is from last year and I will never forget this. I was. So, if you were if you're ever in DC and you're in the um the House Repuings, there's tunnels between them and the Senate buildings. That way, people can go in one building and they can travel easily to another building. And I was in a tunnel. I was between meetings to the side. I
022was wearing my little name tag and our name tags are very conveniently shaped like the state of Ohio. Um I was standing to the side and I was sending some texts and getting ready for my next meeting and somebody came up to me and he said, "Hey, are are you from Ohio?" And I said, "Yeah, I'm from Ohio." He said, "I I have a I was a student in Cincinnati years ago, and I heard that my old school board member, Eve Bolton, was here. Do you know where she is?" And I was like, "I can find out where your old she was." Sorry. She was his teacher from years years and years back. Um, and he remembered her. He heard that she was in town. He saw me with my Ohio name tag and he
023stopped and said, "Can you help me find Eve Bolton?" So, I did and I texted texted her and they were able to meet up and she got to see the student that she hadn't seen in 10 years. And it was just really incredible to see that connection that was made. Um, and you know that that always helps when you're building the relationship with uh member of Congress offices too to say, "Hey, I I ran into this person. They're a staffer in a different office and you know building those connections uh making sure that you know they understand that we are real people with connections to their community." Um, and it made Eve Bolton really really happy. I'll never forget how happy that made her. >> Yeah. And Eve was my partner in District 1. And
024and I she was she was thrilled. She was absolutely thrilled. And I I believe it might have been around the same time that we were going to the the uh the congressman's office because I think he came up, you know, there as well and they they were hugging each other and stuff. It was really a neat moment. Yeah. Yep. >> How about you, Bill? What anything that stood out for you? Uh similar to Jocelyn's, >> you know, I was thinking about that. It's it's less personal than than it is just just being there. I mean, it's it's it's really just a cool experience. And as we both said, the first couple of years, you know, you're you're kind of nervous about and all, but that's where you just listen a lot and you let your
025partner who's probably got some, you know, experience kind of let them kind of lead some things. Yeah. Um, I pre I used to prepare notes all the time, but you know, then you start like like you said something about being clinical, you know, you start reading your notes, it's like, no, this doesn't work. So, it's just having a conversation with somebody, right? Um, but being in DC, um, again, I I have great respect for the people who run for those offices. I mean, we sit back and listen to some of their sound bites and all and go, really? You know, I think that's more of their sound bites. I think that the people that run for those offices do care about things and you know they just sometimes you just need to make them a
026person like you and when they talk to you like a person they're different people they really are and like you you know that was the first time for Senator Houston for all of us because he just got appointed early this year and I think he's drinking from a fire hose you know I mean just like us on our first few years Senator Houston you know at the time last year Senator Vance I mean Senator Brown had, you know, a number of years of experience, but the guys who are coming in or guys and gals are coming in that first year. I mean, it's tough, you know, and then they're going around meeting with schoolboard members and, you know, firefighters and, you know, some other trade group, you know, maybe plumbers, you know, who whoever. They
027all want their attention, including us. And so, it's great when we get it. >> Before we wrap up, uh, I I'd like to hear one thing from each of you. Uh what's the most important message you hope our listeners here will take away from your experience in the nation's capital last week? Bill >> u you know the old Nike just do it. You know if you if you feel like um you have a desire to uh interact with your congressional members or your senators any at all any inclination at all. Again, if you have a his history, uh, government, politics, interest, um, like I said, mine goes way back. My my dad was a member of our little villages board of public affairs. So, you know, it it's just it's just neat to become a
028a public servant and and advocate for again our next generation. I mean, that's what it's all about. And so I would say, yeah, understand you might be a little nervous at first, but but you have a whole group of people around you, including OSBA. Uh, you know, your your your legislative folks are great in helping us. And we usually have a couple meetings during the year either by Zoom or or maybe a capital conference or something. But get involved. Just do it because if you feel that inclination, you'll be fine. >> And Joselyn, how about you? Well, I would encourage uh schoolboard members to reach out and build relationships with legislators in the Ohio State House in DC, regardless of whether they are official delegates of the federal legislative advocacy group or not. I never
029realized until I became a school board eight years school board member eight years ago how much of our job is dictated by the by the laws, by the policy, by the mandates at the state and the federal level. Um, and once I really truly understood how much of that guides our work and how much, you know, how much I think things need to change in some areas, um, and I, you know, became involved and I started talking with legislators. Um, I now, you know, talk regularly with, uh, my area legislators and the Ohio State House and, you know, they'll call me if you if they have questions. It's a really really really important and underrated part of the job that we do because it's not always in our cities and you know the work that
030we do is not always in our boardrooms and in our cities or in our in our counties. It's making the relationships and having the conversations. There's so much that they don't know about education and I believe it's my responsibility to be that resource for them. Reach out to them if if there's an issue or I would like to be the person that they call if they have a question. Um it's really important. We know what the we know what education is like in our district. We know our districts. We know our classrooms. We know our teachers. We know our staff. And uh a lot of our legislators, they just don't have that information. And so if we reach out and we build those relationships, we can help influence the way that legislation is shaped. And
031we can hopefully make the state of public education a little bit better than when we came in. Well, Joselyn and Bill, thank you so much for uh being a part of this podcast and and thank you again for what you do for your communities. To our listeners, remember that strong schools need strong voices. Whether you're attending a schoolboard meeting, writing to a lawmaker, or traveling to DC, your voice matters. And together, we can make a difference for every student in Ohio.