Thank you for joining the New Jersey Public Education Coalition (NJPEC). You are now a member of a nonpartisan group dedicated to ensuring that our Public Schools remain a place of diversity, tolerance and inclusivity. The Coalition has several elements, missions and goals. We hope that as a member you will take the extra step and agree to be a part of one or more of them.

1. Municipal Representatives (MRs)

MRs serve as our eyes and ears in their local communities and a conduit for information and education between the coalition and our individual school districts. An MR also helps the Coalition to create organized groups and a power base in their communities. 

2. Letter Writing

This group of people writes “letters to the editor” and opinion pieces on a regular basis for submission to local and regional newspapers and news websites. This helps the Coalition get its message out to the general public by way of written public advocacy. Do you have the ability to write analytical and persuasive articles? Then this group is perfect for you.

3. Mentoring Potential School Board Candidates.

A mentor, generally a current School Board member or former School Board member, provides one-on-one assistance to a person running in a school board election and provides practical information and knowledge to assist in running a successful campaign. Have you run your own campaign or helped run another candidate's campaign? Then this is the group for you.

4. “The Squadron”

In many instances, the barrier for people to stand up and speak at their local School Board meeting is a concern over intimidation and repercussions from the opposition. The Squadron is a group of people who attend school board meetings in adjacent local communities so that when our representatives speak, they will not feel outnumbered. A squadron member does not necessarily speak themselves, but does make that meeting space an inviting place for those who speak.

5. Legislative Advocates.

These are members of our Coalition whose job is to contact New Jersey legislators by email, phone and social media in order to promote the Coalition’s legislative agenda including but not limited to strengthening the New Jersey School Ethics Act in order to preserve the nonpartisan nature of School Board elections. These advocates also promote our goal of waking up our local, county, and state elected officials to the fact that the “ballot has been flipped” and local issues now push the vote “up the ballot” and no longer from the top down. 

6. Keyboard Warriors.

These are people who monitor the multitude of Facebook groups where discussions of school board and curriculum take place. They are the fact checkers and the fact keepers who challenge and discredit false information, lies and misinformation posted by the opposition on social media platforms. We do not attempt to change the minds of those who have already been indoctrinated, but we do want to make sure that those who have not yet formed an opinion are given the facts they need to make their decision when supporting candidates and voting.

7. Opposition Researchers.

These are the people who investigate opposition candidates in order to have accurate information about them and their credibility. If online research and analysis is your thing, this is the group for you.

8. Educational Roadshow Presenters.

If you have an area of expertise that you feel might be a valuable part of our Educational Roadshow presentations, reach out to us to discuss the possibility of your being part of the presentation.

9. Content Producers.

People skilled in TV & video production, Graphic arts, PowerPoint, PSAs and marketing. People
who can help us create and maintain Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube content.

10. Social Media Experts

People who can help us create and maintain a robust website, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,
Telegram, Mastodon, etc. presence as well as text messaging.

Please take your time to become familiar with our page and our group. Then please email or PM with an indication as to which of the nine elements of the Coalition is/are the one(s) you would like to choose as your focus in the fight. Thank you for your commitment to our fight to protect our Public Schools from right wing attacks and to prevent attempts by this vocal minority to gain control of our school boards and disrupting/defunding public education.