Lennie Jarratt is back on the podcast with me this week as we finish part two our two part series with him. This week we will be discussing being an education activist and school board candidate. Lennie has years of experience as an education activist, exposing the hard truths about the ugly side of public education.

I am excited to have Lennie share with you what he has learned over the years about education activism. If you know you want to make a difference in your local public education system, but are unsure if you want to be an activist or a school board candidate, then this podcast is especially for you!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why Common Core isn’t the biggest issue in education-learn why Common Core should not be the focus of your messaging
• How to talk to voters and parents about fiscal issues-learn what you need to say when talking to property owners and parents about education finances
• Why your school system should switch to being self-insured-learn what it means and how it can save you millions of dollars every year
• What Common Core is really about-learn what the big push really is behind Common Core and what the issue is with it
• How to start researching your school district-learn the different ways you can research your school district to find the truth
• Why being an activist and a candidate are different-learn how deciding which you are going to be will help you ask the right questions
• Where you can turn for help with education activism-learn what resources are available to help you make the most out of your school system.

Resources:

Lennie’s Champion News article on the Paradigm Shift: championnews.net/?p=14412

Heartland Institute Blog: Somewhat Reasonable

Heartland Institute on School Choice: heartland.org/school-choice

Heartland Institute on Common Core: heartland.org/common-core

Contact information: 

Lennie Jarratt

Twitter: @SchoolReform.

Email: ljarratt@heartland.org

John Tsarpalas

Email: john@commonwealthy.com

Biography:

Lennie Jarratt is the project manager for school reform at The Heartland Institute. Jarratt is the former managing editor (2013 – 2014) of Champion News, an Illinois based news website focused on reporting on Education and Illinois Politics. Jarratt was the managing editor (2004 – 2011) of Education Matters which researched education in local school districts across Illinois. 

Jarratt has presented analysis on Common Core and school choice on Fox News, Breitbart, ABC Chicago and multiple radio outlets and newspapers across Illinois. He has been a presenter on panels discussing school choice, common core, and Illinois Freedom of Information Laws with groups such as American Majority, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), and Illinois Tea Party groups.

Jarratt received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University where he studied mathematics and computer science.

Follow Jarratt on Twitter, and also follow @SchoolReform.

Transcript: Available here 

Feel free to send us your questions or leave a comment!