Ann Davison is the Managing Director with VOXGLOBAL, a communications firm in Washington D.C. that is working with CHN on our Education and Health Initiative.  In this guest-post, she provides insight into the factors that influence today’s classroom and how that can impact the future of public health.

Decades ago as I sat in my grade school classroom, I had no idea that there were so many people occupying their time with how I occupied mine.  I understood that my teacher, my principal and my parents were engaged in my education, but I had no clue how many others were consumed with shaping my academic experience.

By high school I became familiar with the School Superintendent and School Board.  I could see they were making decisions that had an immediate impact on my daily life such as our school dress code, the cafeteria menu and the number of physical education and foreign language credits I needed to graduate.  I even lobbied the Leon County School Board myself on a proposal to raise property taxes to support local schools. (We desperately wanted air conditioning in my Florida high school!)

From my current vantage point as the Education Practice Group Leader for a public affairs and communications firm in Washington, D.C., I know now that this small group of local players was but a fraction of the force plotting and planning my educational experience – and with good intentions.  Research shows that a solid educational experience is a factor in determining our long-term health and well-being.

Given the well-documented impact of education on our health and welfare, more and more players are getting in the act to shape education policy.  Beyond the local players, what goes on in our nations’ schools is shaped by an enormous and diverse set of decision-makers and influencers including politicians, philanthropists, academicians, unions, professional associations, judges, CEOs, and salesmen.

The Common Core Standards movement is a great example of this force.

Several years ago, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), which represents the secretaries of education from each state, and the National Governors Association (NGA) joined forces to develop and advocate for a consistent set of expectations for what K-12 students would achieve, with the goal of increasing career and college readiness and achieving some parity in educational experience as a child moved from one community to another.

While the CCSSO and NGA were the major forces driving the train, many other individuals and organizations invested their time, political clout and in some case financial resources in this ongoing endeavor.  For example:

• Numerous foundations have provided supportive grants for standards development and implementation including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the GE Foundation and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

• The Obama Administration crafted federal grant programs like Race to the Top  to reward those states that embraced the Common Core.

• Dozens of associations issued supportive statements including the teachers’ unions (NEA and AFT), the National PTA, the College Board, the Council of the Great City Schools, the American Council on Education, and the National School Boards Association.

• More than 70 CEOs signed an open letter supporting the Common Core.

This broad spectrum of supporters succeeded in securing adoption of the Common Core in 45 states and the Distract of Columbia.  While several states are rethinking their original enthusiasm for the standards, the train has generally left the station at full speed.

Whether you are for or against the concept of common achievement standards, or the specifics of implementation, you cannot underestimate the impact of this policy effort on every American child’s education. There is not a principal, teacher or School Board member who isn’t thinking about how instruction will be delivered in this new paradigm, especially since their personal evaluations are increasingly tied to student achievement.

And that’s just one aspect of what’s going on in education policy today.  From campus safety to online learning, immigration reform to funding for disadvantaged school districts and at-risk students, the volume of conversation about what happens when the child steps off the bus and onto the school grounds is deafening.

This is not meant to discourage advocates for other well-intentioned school based policies and programs.  But to have an effective voice, it is critical to understand the complex landscape of today’s education policy and the myriad outside influencers involved. Casting a wide net for allies and helping them see the benefits for their own organizations, as the backers of the Common Core did, is a good place to start.

Ann Davison

Managing Director, VOX Global