Minnesota Parents Alliance

IN 2023, MINNESOTA PARENTS ALLIANCE (MPA) BUILT ON THE SUCCESS THAT WE ACHIEVED IN OUR FIRST YEAR BY CONTINUING TO OFFER AND INCREASE THE NUMBER OF OUR ONLINE AND IN-PERSON EVENTS AND RESOURCES TO EMPOWER PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PLAY AN ACTIVE, INFORMED ROLE IN LOCAL K-12 EDUCATION. IN SPRING 2023, MPA OFFERED 5 EDUCATIONAL EVENTS ON KEY TOPICS IMPACTING K-12 EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA, SERVING OVER 300 ATTENDEES. WE EXPANDED OUR INTERACTIVE WEBSITE AND EDUCATIONAL VIDEO LIBRARY AND LEVERAGED OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO DELIVER TIMELY INFORMATION AND CALLS TO ACTION AND EQUIP MINNESOTANS WITH THE FACTS THEY NEED TO BE EFFECTIVE ADVOCATES FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO EDUCATION REFORM. THROUGHOUT 2023 MPA'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DELIVERED IN-PERSON AND ONLINE PRESENTATIONS TO DOZENS OF PARENT GROUPS ACROSS THE STATE ON CURRENT TOPICS IN K-12 EDUCATION, MPA'S MISSION, AND PARENT-CENTERED ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. IN 2023 MPA FACILITATED A COHORT OF OVER 100 ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS REPRESENTING OVER 40 DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE WHO ENGAGE REGULARLY TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND DEVELOP POLICY SOLUTIONS. MPA PROVIDED A WIDE RANGE OF SUPPORT, GUIDANCE AND MONTHLY OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS TO COLLABORATE AND IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE LOCAL LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE. IN 2023 WE HELD OVER 15 PRESENTATIONS FOR THE COHORT ON KEY ISSUES IMPACTING K-12 EDUCATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND PROVIDED ON-DEMAND, CUSTOMIZED SUPPORT IN NAVIGATING CHALLENGES AND LEADING CHANGE.IN MAY 2023 MPA HOSTED AN IN-PERSON CAMPAIGN SCHOOL ATTENDED BY OVER 40 POTENTIAL CANDIDATES AND INTERESTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS. IN AUGUST 2023, MPA PUBLISHED OUR SECOND-ANNUAL STATEWIDE SCHOOL BOARD VOTER GUIDE AND PROMOTED IT USING A DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY THAT RESULTED IN OVER 2.3 MILLION DIGITAL IMPRESSIONS, RESULTING IN A 311% INCREASE IN TRAFFIC TO THE VOTER GUIDE WEBSITE FROM 2022 ON ELECTION DAY. IN TWO OF THE THREE DISTRICTS THAT MPA TARGETED WITH ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES SUCH AS DIRECT MAIL, DIGITAL ADVERTISING AND DOOR KNOCKING, MPA-SUPPORTED CANDIDATES WON 5 OF 7 SEATS. IN BOTH DISTRICTS, FOLLOWING THE ELECTION, MPA-ALIGNED MEMBERS WERE ELECTED TO THE KEY LEADERSHIP ROLE OF BOARD CHAIR. IN NOVEMBER 2023, MPA HOSTED AN EVENT FOR 11 NEWLY-ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TO EQUIP THEM WITH PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE, MENTORSHIP AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES.AS A RESULT OF OUR EFFORTS, MINNESOTA PARENTS ALLIANCE CONTINUED TO BE FEATURED BY LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS IN 2023, HIGHLIGHTING OUR EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE WORK EDUCATING AND EMPOWERING PARENTS TO PLAY A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE FUTURE OF K-12 EDUCATION.