Lift Every Voice Philly (LEV) aims to test a new community organizing model for parents of school-age children in Philadelphia where parent-led chapters set agendas for collective action. In Philadelphia, where many schools are underfunded and community engagement is limited, parents often feel excluded from decision-making processes regarding their children’s education. Parents also face systemic barriers such as limited access to information, restricted communication with school staff, and racial stereotypes. Existing approaches fall short because they often overlook the critical role that parents play in advocating for their children’s needs. To combat these barriers, LEV will recruit and build relationships with parent members in schools with the highest rates of gun violence, that lack existing parent organizations and have poor school outcomes. They will train and coach parents, striving to cultivate their leadership abilities. Finally, LEV will work with parents to design and execute campaigns that seek resolution on the priority issues that parents have identified. In 2025, LEV will explore the viability of this new community organizing model as a way to drive education systems change from the grassroots level by building from initial experiments toward a citywide presence.
