One Call Is a Complaint. One Thousand Calls Is a Movement.
The truth is often uncomfortable.
Every year around budget season, I watch the same thing happen.
Parents get frustrated.
Families get worried.
Social media fills with comments about what lawmakers should do.
Then the budget passes.
And everyone asks what happened.
The truth is often uncomfortable.
Many parents never contacted the people making the decisions.
They never called.
Never emailed.
Never asked for a meeting.
Never told their story.
Meanwhile, lobbyists did.
Organizations did.
Special interests did.
Every single day.
That is why relationships matter.
If school choice matters to your family, your first call should not be made after a vote. It should happen before lawmakers ever walk into the room.
Call your Pennsylvania State Senator.
Not to yell.
Not to demand.
To introduce yourself.
Tell them who you are.
Tell them where you live.
Tell them about your child.
Ask for a meeting.
Ask for a Zoom call.
Ask for ten minutes of their time.
Make yourself a real person instead of a number on a spreadsheet.
Then follow up.
Send an email thanking them for listening.
Share your family’s story.
Maybe your child was bullied.
Maybe your child struggled with anxiety.
Maybe a public cyber charter school gave your family flexibility during a medical crisis.
Maybe a scholarship program opened doors that otherwise would have stayed closed.
Whatever your story is, tell it.
Lawmakers hear statistics all day.
They remember stories.
Then take one more step.
Tell your friends and family what you did.
Write a social media post.
Explain that you contacted your Senator.
Explain why.
Ask others to do the same.
Not because you want attention.
Because you need momentum.
This is where movements are built.
One parent calls.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon an office starts noticing.
Soon staff members start talking.
Soon lawmakers realize that families are paying attention.
That is how influence works.
Not through one viral post.
Not through one angry comment.
Through consistent engagement.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Until the budget is signed.
School choice supporters often make one critical mistake.
They assume someone else is handling it.
Someone else is making the calls.
Someone else is writing the emails.
Someone else is fighting the fight.
There is no someone else.
There is only us.
Parents.
Families.
Grandparents.
Students.
Citizens.
People who believe every child deserves an educational setting that works for them.
If school choice matters to your family, don’t wait for someone else to defend it.
Pick up the phone.
Send the email.
Tell your story.
Then ask one more parent to do the same.
Because one call is a complaint.
One thousand calls is a movement.