The educational reform movement in America is diverse and growing. Several constituencies form the heart of this movement but all are working to restructure public and private institutions and to influence the public policies that affect those institutions.

Some groups propose reform through free market measures. Other centers for reform work to build the managerial effectiveness of school districts.

Notwithstanding this diversity, all such educational organizations share one key commonality. The success of each is contingent on developing professional skills that encapsulate best managerial practices. This article reviews several recommendations designed to enhance operational effectiveness within the educational arena.

1. Use technology strategically

Some education advocacy groups have far flung leadership teams, and it is difficult to expect in person meetings. Conference calling services can only go so far. One solution is to use an application to allow desktop sharing.

Whether it’s sharing a PowerPoint presentation showing the fundraising initiatives or a spreadsheet showing the tracking of volunteer participation, desktop sharing can be extremely useful for many education advocacy groups.

2. Leverage academic experts

With no small measure of irony, some believe that campus practioners are too closely connected to be effective in influencing education public policies. However, these very practioners train young campus leaders for careers as advocates and grassroots organizers.

The students of these practioners are excellent candidates to be inspired as members in the movements to support your education lobbying cause. And though such students may lack the funds to travel and interact personally with your organization, the ubiquitous availability of free conference calling solutions means that effective modes of staying in touch through conference calling are available.

3. Stay tightly focused

The most effective education reform organizations are ones that stay tightly focused on their mission and do not get sidetracked by peripheral goals. Virtually all education lobbying organizations operate under substantial time limitations. Focusing on four goals with total effort will generally yield superior results compared to going after four goals at one fourth effort.

4. Increase your networking

The most successful education lobbying organizations create networks of supporters who share their values and mission. While the term “networking” frequently gets a negative connotation, the simple fact is that these networks can provide substantial assistance and can extend across campuses, secondary schools and elementary schools as well as non academic related communities. Indeed, these networks provide the psychological support which is so critical to sustaining energy amongst group officers and members.

5. Collaborate with other environmental lobbying organizations

The Charter School movement in The State of California alone has tens of thousands of committed volunteers who are inspiring others to seek change.

And in the next few years, there will be increasing levels of coordination between geographically diverse environmental lobbying groups.

One resource is the free conference call services that provide effective ways to leverage a phone conference and to transform that very same conference into a communication utility. These conferencing services range in complexity but all of them do facilitate group communication quite nicely.

The silver lining is that these suggestions are not costly. Whether it be conferencing services or networking suggestions, educational reform groups can scale up their performance through these tips.

Author Bio: Bob Letterman, an early contributor to Rondee’s free conference call service, has been a pioneer in the field of telecommunication design and communication networks. His writings on the use of technology in the educational arena and phone conference industry have been published in over 100 periodicals throughout North America and Europe.

Category: Education
Keywords: rondee, free conference call, phone conference,