Advocacy and External Relations

Internationals Network for Public Schools builds broad alliances on issues that affect our schools and student populations. We understand that (1) innovations and improvements to public schools, particularly support for small schools and enhancements to the post-secondary pipeline and institutions, as well as (2) specific improvements in the education and lives of immigrant students and English language learners (ELLs) and their families benefit our students and schools.

Our advocacy and external relations work therefore bridges two largely distinct communities and movements: the school reform/innovation/small schools community and the immigrant and English learner advocacy community. As an organization with deep and extensive practical experience educating recently arrived immigrant ELLs as well as knowledge of and experience creating partnerships with public educational systems, we provide practical input in crafting adoptable and implementable advocacy strategies and developing policies that serve immigrants well. Internationals role as a bridge in this work makes it unique.

When we begin to work in new regions, we rely on the local expertise, knowledge and relationships of like-minded community, immigrant advocacy and educational organizations to both understand the local context and to advocate within that local environment for our schools, students and their families, as well as the broader immigrant/ELL student population.

In addition to the alliances and relationships that Internationals Network itself builds, our individual schools build deep ties with organizations in their local communities. School communities and/or specific teams of teachers in our schools engage students in analyzing the issues in their own lives and those of their community as part of their academic education. They link these studies with support for students’ active civic involvement in addressing those issues in a variety of ways, often in conjunction with others in their communities.

Some examples of our advocacy and external relations at the national, regional and school level include:

On a national level:

  • Participation in national convenings and discussions on ELL policy, including:
    • Migration Policy Institute convening on implications of NCLB for ELLs
    • Education Commission on the States
    • ETS ELL Symposium
    • National Council of La Raza

On a local/regional level:

  • Participation in the NY ELL Costing out Study conducted by Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy, Inc.
  • Alliances such as the Coalition for Excellence and Equity for English Language Learners, the Education Task Force of the New York Immigration Coalition advocated successfully for:
    • improved interpretation and translation services for immigrant families in the NYC public schools increased funding for English language learners in New York State.
  • Supported Small Schools by Design and the San Francisco Organizing Project in San Francisco advocating for the Small School by Design policy, which guarantees specific autonomies to all small schools and ensured SFIHS can develop Internationals structures to support students effectively.

On a school level, in various cities, schools work with:

  • Asian American Families and Children to provide youth leadership opportunities for students who participate in city-wide advocacy on issues such as the Dream Act and equitable funding (International High School at Prospect Heights).
  • Make the Road – New York, our partner in PAIHS, in support of the Dream Act to permit affordable college choices for all immigrant students.
  • In both Oakland and San Francisco, our schools partner with Parent Leadership Action Network to train and develop parent leaders to empower our parents to participate in school decisions, and to advocate for their students in the broader community around education issues.

Internationals Network and our schools also build partnerships with institutions and individuals in higher education. Our schools develop direct relationships with higher education institutions in order to provide clear pathways to universities upon graduation as well as to develop partnerships that so that our students can take college courses while in high school. Internationals Network also builds relationships with leading academics, researchers and teacher educators as thought partners, resources and disseminators of best practices.