New Year, New Goals!

New year, new goals—and a BIG election year ahead! 🎉 In this episode of Capitol to the Classroom, we’re breaking down how educators and community members can get plugged in without feeling overwhelmed. From why state and local elections matter just as much (if not more!) than federal races, to practical ways to advocate using your own story, this episode is all about turning “I care, but I don’t know where to start” into confident action. We talk funding, property taxes, trusted resources, and how to connect with candidates in a positive, productive way. If you’ve been waiting for the right year to get involved… this is it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome. Happy New Year, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Happy New Year.

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Happy New Year.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hi.

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Wow. We are so excited to be back here on Capital to the Classroom, just doing a little check-in, pulse check, because we've been a little MIA the last couple of weeks have been very busy.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Busy.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Teachers in December.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

And November.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

And October.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Just basically the first semester.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Whole second.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

I don't know why, but this year has definitely felt just like go, go, go. Not in a bad way. But I am like, wow, there is never, there was no like cool down ever. So it was really good to have a break.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

One of my favorite quotes from I don't remember who I heard it from, but the the days are long, but the years are short. And I don't know what it is. Somebody told me a long time ago that it's because you're getting older that it's just every year seems to go faster than the previous. And I feel like that's the same now.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Just flying through.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

It is. I can't believe we're in the second semester.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

No. Well, with January, every January, a lot of people talk about new goals personally, professionally. And so we want to dive right in and just kind of talk about how you can set some advocacy goals as we are going into a very important year.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Yeah, it's 2026. It's a huge election year. I feel like everyone has been talking about 2026 since 2024. And so it's time to kind of start thinking about those things. If you're looking to get plugged in, this is a great year to do that. In March, we have the primaries. And then in November we have another big election coming up. So we're going to talk about that. Just like give you some specific tips and pointers on how to get plugged in and where to start. We just talked about this, but we're headed into a big election year and we have so many teachers on all of our campuses and just who we're connected with who often approach us and just say, I know it's important, but I just don't know where to start, or I don't know what I can do. Um, or it's just really hard to stay plugged in because it's so much at one time. It's a lot to digest. But I just want to submit to you that this is the perfect year to get plugged in because you can just really focus on what your priorities are. Hopefully, if you're listening to this, one of your priorities is public education. But the federal level is going to get a lot of attention. But you need to, I feel like in the last year we've learned too, our state and local government has so much impact on our day-to-day in the classroom. And so there's a ton of state and local races happening in the primaries, but also in November. So absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

And I wanted to highlight something you said about priorities. When you're thinking about what are my priorities, is that lowering class sizes? Is that more funding for me personally? Do I want to make more money? Is that more funding for different populations in my classroom, the special education students, the emergent bilingual students? And so when you think about priorities, think about what would make me a more successful educator in the classroom, or if you're not in the classroom within your building, how could you make a bigger impact? And that's what we need to be advocating for.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Yeah, we've had another issue, not I say issue in the political sense of one thing that we've experienced in Argyll last year and this year is the adoption of new curriculum. And there's been lots of big opinions on that. Curriculum is tied to funding. And a lot of people don't understand that. They think like, oh, we're just adopting this. But there's always, we say it all the time, look at where the money is going. You know, follow the money. And so those are really good things to start communicating with your representatives now and seeing where they stand on them and just getting a figuring out who is running in your area and just asking them, reaching out via email, calling and saying, like, where do you stand on these issues? And then letting that guide your future decisions in March and November.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

And you know, if you don't know where to start, other than just doing a simple Google search for any of those things, which is, you know, probably what any of us do, you know, Raise Your Hand Texas is a very good resource if you're, you know, teaching or you're involved with education or you're just passionate. And especially funding, if funding for students is your number one priority, they have so many good resources and pages and things that are pretty simple that you can look at. One interesting thing they're getting ready to roll out, and I think I saw in November they briefed lawmakers on this, is the Legacy Education Fund, which is an education endowment. So it's obviously going to be money that is invested that will hopefully help supplement state funding. So the goal is not to replace state funding. I mean, that can't happen, but here's a way long-term to take money from, I believe it's the rainy day fund and invest that to be used to also bridge short gaps that are there for funding. So I encourage somebody or anybody to look at that if funding and for whatever reason is your number one priority.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Razor Hand Texas is also a great resource because once you get into your system, they will send out call to actions for you. And they've made it so simple and easy for you to get in touch with your local lawmakers by just putting in your information, it will generate a letter to them about whatever the issue is that they're issuing a call to action for, and they will send it to them. But you can also edit it and add your story, which I feel like we all can agree that sharing your story with them, like truly, how are the current legislation in place? How are how is that impacting my day-to-day life? And what do we need from them to make our lives better and make teaching a more sustainable career? Um, you can add that. There's a place for you to add that. So if you're if you're a toddler mom like me and you only have 30 seconds someday, you can just send it as is. But then during nap time or whatever, you can add your story and send it their way. And actually, this last round was the first time I'd ever gotten a response from someone who was running. So I thought that was pretty cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

And sometimes you get responses and sometimes you don't. Yeah. And that's okay. But them seeing your name and including your district, that starts to build that relationship. Cause sometimes they'll come back and say, Oh, yeah, I've I've seen stuff from your district. I've seen people reach out. They want, they do really want to connect, lawmakers do. And so we have to make the effort just as much as they do.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Yeah. And while I was in Austin last month, which I'm not going to get carried away on that, but with Raise Your Hand, Texas, at their advocacy seminar, we had the pleasure of listening to many people across so many domains and spectrums regarding education, whether it was in education, the business world, and politics. And so one of the people we had the pleasure, and I mean pleasure, of hearing from was outgoing Representative Gary Van Dever, who, for those that don't know or remember, was one of two Republicans in the House who voted against vouchers. And hearing his message was, I don't know if I can put words in it. It was just a big feel-good moment to hear him share his story. And one of the things that he I remember he mentioned. So here's where why reaching out, I think, is also super critical. And if you don't hear from the representative, he made the comment, and I'm going to paraphrase, but he said, My staffers are not the JV squad. My staffers for me are top-level varsity-minded people. So if you can't make contact with the elected representative, the staffers is a good place to follow up as well. And so that was one of many lines that stuck with me was even if you're not talking to the actual representative, if you're getting in and you're talking with the staffer, it's just as good as if you were talking with them.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

And we learned that in Austin too, when we had the opportunity, we didn't get to meet with all the representatives, but we did talk to a lot of their staffers. Or when we would be sitting and waiting to talk with the representative, we would talk with their staffers. And I felt very heard from the staffers just as I did the representatives. They were very knowledgeable. They knew where the person they were working for stood. And so if you're more intimidated by the representative, I think a staffer would be a good bridge to that as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

I just also think that it's important to like going back to our experience in Austin, we had so many lawmakers and staffers just tell us, like, oh, we've never heard that perspective before, or I've never heard special education explained so eloquently, or anything like that. And Steven and I have both had opportunities in the fall to be around people who are very pro-public education, who are talking to our lawmakers on our behalfs, but a lot of them are business owners, or they're, you know, most of them are business owners, or they're superintendents, or they're just people who have more direct access. And so I think I learned walking away from that is they're not really hearing from a ton of teachers. And I think, or just people on the front lines every day, because if they were, they wouldn't be so shocked when we share what we're going through. And so I think that just emphasizes how important your voice really is, and that they're not really hearing it. And I think it just all goes back to we are so busy. And a lot of times it can get a lot discouraging to be like, well, I just don't feel heard. And we can see with some of the choices that were made in the 89th that it feels that way. But the more that we keep building those relationships with them, I feel like we're going to eventually be on the same level as those business owners and superintendents and people who are, you know, connected closely with them. It's just going to take a little bit more work on our part.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

And the biggest thing too is if we don't share our story, we don't share our needs, somebody is going to share for us that may not know exactly what that is.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

And they may share a perspective that doesn't align with yours, which might be almost like a double-edged sword, that another teacher in another situation could say something. And yes, it's important, but your story and your situation and things you need might get lost in translation if you don't do that. So I I wanted to quote Dr. Libby Cohen, who's the executive director for Raise Your Hand, Texas, one of many quotes again that I wrote down while I was there. But it doesn't take much to do your part. And the in the line that she said was if you're reaching out and you're reaching up, then you're in it when it comes to advocacy. And that one stuck with me. It's good. And again, just not hearing something back and just getting silence, I promise you, and we've talked about this on previous episodes. I think Maddie got into it that somebody's keeping track of what you're saying and your attitudes on things. And they know the temperature of the room. Now, what they do with that is, you know, up to them, but they know and they're listening.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

I have a funny story about that actually. At the Friends of Texas Public Schools banquet, I got to attend in November. I ran into a staffer that we met in Austin. And after we went to Austin, I emailed everyone. I sent pictures of like what the kids were doing in my classroom. I was so proud of my email. And then I was so bummed when I didn't hear anything back. And I went up and I was like, Hi, like, do you remember me? And he was like, Oh my gosh, yes. You're a Maddie Fairchild. We were, you know, and he was like, You they they said that you were gonna help them with social media. And I was thinking about this one teacher who sent me pictures, and I was like, But you didn't even respond. But he remembered, and so it was cool. Like they do read them. And I feel like we can have some grace there of sometimes you miss an email, but I thought that was cool too. Like they they do, they are being read and kept track of. So that was a funny story.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Yeah, that's awesome. I love that. Thank you for sharing.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

And we're also gonna start something where we're gonna call share our story for each of us. Because the more we talked about it, we realized that we've told our story, but I don't think we've really told our story of how we've got here. So we're gonna work that in starting with this episode.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

And that we've like, we've been to Austin together, we we've done all the things, but kind of want to even go further back and just explain how this issue became our heart and kind of where we're coming from for that.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

So circling back to your wish list of priorities, whether it's school funding, curriculum, ESAs, special education funding, whatever, you know, whatever is your cup of tea. I think one thing that we've seen already and is going to continue to get bigger as we move on to the next cycle is property tax relief. I know there was the reduction in the homestead exemption this last time, but you know, Governor Abbott has come out and said that he wants the school funding portion of property taxes to be abolished. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has said he wants to put his double nickel plan forward, which is to lower the homestead exemption from age 65 to 55. And it's just not realistic and it's alarming because think about how catastrophic and unrealistic that is for public school funding. And I mean, we're all homeowners here, and we would love to not have to pay property taxes, but that school funding component is so massive, and that proposal of the governor would be catastrophic. And so I know you might be listening and, you know, or the general public might be like, yeah, sure, I want my property taxes to be lower, but you don't understand the impact that could have on, you know, your family, your friends' families, the community, the local ISDs. It's all connected. And if that money goes away from those areas, it's gotta be made up somewhere. So people are gonna, I think, feel the burden if that happens. And we're already talking about a time period where there's affordability issues and and high cost of living and price of goods, like it's not realistic and it's very concerning. So I had heard somebody mention that if the governor's proposal was to go into effect, you would be looking at potentially a 20% at least sales tax to bridge the gap from the funding that was lost. If you look at the double nickel from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, that's probably, you know, we're we're either at, you know, six something or eight and a quarter percent in the state, but you know, would it have to be at least 10 to bridge the gap from there? So somebody's gonna pay for it, and communities are gonna be the ones that get hit and suffer. And just think about the effectiveness and quality of schooling. So I think that's why it's important, if that's your issue, to stay educated and informed and look to reach out to the right people. How can I support Texas schools? How can I connect? How can I share my story? How can I fight for public education? So those are things I think that people need to be aware of and keep in mind.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Obviously, like everyone here cares about school funding if you're listening to this. But I've had a lot of friends in the corporate world and a lot of them don't have kids yet, or they're not married, they're not homeowners. And when they go to buy a house, their perspective is well, I don't have kids in the school system. And something that we've talked about and doing a future episode on too is your school system is a huge part of your local economy. And when you have strong, thriving public schools, your local businesses are gonna thrive. Your town is going to be so much better off. And so I get that mentality, but at the same time, you want to live somewhere that is valuable. Yeah. And I just think that when I hear that, it kind of frustrates me. One, as a teacher, but two, you know, I never felt that way before I had my son. It's it's an important part of our social infrastructure. And so I think that that's important to note too. If you, if you have people in your life who say things like that, I always just fall back on people don't know what would we do if we didn't have educated people.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

People don't come to places, I feel like, especially those that have children, as you mentioned. We we come here for the schools and for the education. And that should be, of course, as a parent, and it wit's mine, and I know it's everybody else's here, but you know, that should be your priority. So yeah, I think you said it perfectly that that's something that you just have to, you know, look at and focus on. And you have it now an incentive to pay attention to that issue because education is certainly tied to it.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

For sure. Well, we are kind of wrapping up this portion of our episode. The one thing I did just wanted to mention before we see you again in March with the primaries coming up. One of the things that I have learned over the last few years is your vote is like the best way to use your voice. And something that really touched me after meeting with Kelly over from Raise Your Hand, Texas, is there were a few races in the November 2024 election where I was undecided between two people because I just didn't, neither one of them really were, you know, speaking my language, make me want to vote for them. And I just want to encourage you to show up. And even if there's races that you're either uninformed in or the candidates just don't meet your, you know, your standard, you don't have to vote in those specific races. And that actually is still a way to use your voice because let's say 100 people show up and Katie and Steven are on the ballot and I don't vote for either one of them. They're gonna see that only 99 people voted in that election. And so that is sending a message to those people of I did show up to vote, but I did not vote for either one of either one of you because either I wasn't informed on what was going on in that race or I didn't agree with either one of you. And so you don't have to know every single race. You don't have to be super educated on every single one, or do be educated and use your voice to say, like, actually, no, neither one of you have shown up the way I need you to. So I just wanted to throw that in there before the next election in March. But we are gonna go into our new segment, Share Your Story. I'm gonna send it over to Steven because this was really his idea. So obviously we're starting with him because it was his idea. And he has such a powerful story.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

All right. So we'll start the share your story segment again. Like, yeah, you know our why. We Maddie mentioned that, I think, at the beginning. You know our why and why we're here, but what's the why to our why? How did we get to this situation? So I'm gonna try to make this you know quick, hopefully six, seven minutes. Six, seven. Oh boy. Someone people told me it's on the way out and going to die soon. Let's let's see how that holds out. Okay, so what's my why and why am I here? Spoiler alert, I'm gonna read something that I wrote from my time in Austin. We did an exercise and they asked us to write. So I'll read part of that here in a minute. But I'd like to go on a trip through time with you to when I was a little youngster. And I'm sorry, full disclosure before I begin, I am a big baby at heart. I'm gonna try not to cry, and it may happen. I don't know. But you know, when I was a youngster, it probably like both of you as well. I I just, especially in high school, I always had an interest in politics. And I don't know what it was, but maybe the fact that when I was 18 years old happened to be 2000, a presidential election year, and I could vote, I could vote early because my birthday was on election day. So I actually got to vote. Early as a 17-year-old because election day was my birthday. And I remember there was a gentleman in line who was completely like floored at how I was there and able to do that. But whatever. So that's maybe how I got started. And I'll tell you, there's something I learned, a valuable lesson when that election was over. The power of what we've all talked about of your voice is I was so inspired by one of those candidates that ran. And it I think if two, it was the first time that maybe I felt like I was, you know, I was part of this system and in this country that I was part of it. And I just attached on to one of those candidates, and it was Al Gore at the time. And of course, he ended up losing. And I was just so sad. I don't know what the right phrase is, but I was just so invested in that campaign. And I felt real sad when it was over. And I wrote him a letter. And I sent that letter off and thinking I'll never hear anything back. And I don't remember how long exactly it was, but I think it was a couple months. And I got a letter in the mail from Al Gore. And that letter is still in my classroom on my bookshelf to this day. And I learned at that moment that people listen and people care, even when they lose and they don't know what's coming next. And I think that was valuable and that always stuck with me. So I think that plays a part of why I'm here, obviously.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

So powerful.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yeah, I don't know. I just kind of thought about that. So I'm going to read. We had to do this excerpt on, you know, kind of your why. So I'm going to read part of this. So bear with me. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but we basically were asked to like, why are we here? What's our story? And I felt this was appropriate. So education has defined and made me the person I am today. It started when I was young and was immersed in history and learning with my dad. Oh, here we go. A longtime educator himself. I saw how magical his classroom was, and it was always just enjoyed being with him. In high school, I met Fred Plockey when I took world geography. Oh my gosh. Sorry. World Geography, my freshman year. Mr. Plockey was everything I wanted in a teacher. He was passionate, he had standards, and most of all, he was kind. He was one of many teachers who helped me grow, learn, and model what a person and a teacher should be. Today I model and example all of these values. I had teachers who cared about me, made learning fun and memorable, and were just good people who were respected by all. And I teach and live through them. Kids need education. It's the most powerful tool they will ever earn. It shapes their future and who they will become. Teachers are the key to all of this. Students won't remember everything or anything I taught them, maybe, but they'll remember who I was and how I treated them. We have value. Every single one of us has value. Katie is a principal. You have value. Whether it's students or teachers, you have value. And that value has to be protected and prioritized. And our kids are the future and we are the key. And so maybe that's good enough at this point for me to share my story. Y'all, we just care. We just care. And it's in us. You can't, you can't fake it. You know what I mean? It's there and it's this. And I believe it's part of my job and a calling to do what I'm doing right now. And I promise I will not stop. So I don't know if anybody has a question or whatnot, but that kind of it is.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

That encapsulates like what it feels like to be a teacher. And you, you know, I feel like all of us can speak for each other when we say that when you are with those kids, oftentimes more than you're with your own kids. It's you know, I think about what would I do for my son, Nash, if he needed me. And our students need us to advocate for them right now. And I feel like you just hit the nail on the head of why are we doing this? That was so good, Stephen.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

I agree. And I, and you know, I think you can tie all that back to this is why this is so important for us to educate others. It just bring you guys information that you may not be able to go get by yourself. We want to help you so that we can help our students. And Steven, that was just so powerful. Your story is amazing, and you are making a difference. You're doing an amazing job. You're an amazing educator, and you have taught me so much through this process of learning how to advocate and continuing on in connection.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

I learned just as much from you all. I have a couple challenges for people too. And I said this in Austin, and I talked about Mr. Fred Plockey, who I met at Marcus High School. He's no longer with us. Yeah, he's no longer with us. He passed away several years ago. And I was so thankful I had the opportunity to tell him before he passed when he was dealing with some illness of the difference he made on my life. And I'm so glad I was able to do that. So, anybody that's listening, if there's a teacher or somebody, a principal, a counselor, the lunch lady who made you smile when they gave you an extra helping of pudding or something like that, take a moment, if you can, and just reach out to them. It'll make such a difference at a time when people maybe don't feel valued and we deal with constant challenges. I promise you something like that will help. I didn't say this earlier, but to kind of finish, when did I really get the itch at the state and local politics level? Well, one, when I became a teacher and I was thrown into it. You know, again, shout out to both of you and everybody else when we went to Austin in February, almost a year ago. Seems crazy to think that was like a year ago. A lot's happened since then, but that's where I just I got the itch and I knew like the hook hook was set. And I don't know what I'll, you know, what the future holds and whatnot, but I promise I'm not gonna stop and keep fighting for what I think is right.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

Steven, thank you so much for sharing your story. And I love the new segment that we're bringing, and I can't wait to share my story. And I know Maddie can't wait to share hers as well. And you set the bar really high though.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Well, as I uh told you, I'm either gonna set the standard or it's gonna be all uphill from here for you two.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Um we're gonna be back with a new episode in March. Yep. Whereabouts?

SPEAKER_00 26:30

And so yeah, a little teaser about that. It's gonna be just an interesting time already because I think when we're planning, the primaries will be over and at least we'll know who's, you know, gonna set the scorecard for, you know, a lot of these races. And so we we potentially have a guest in line to come join us and we're kind of waiting just to hear final confirmation, but I don't really want to say much else because I don't want to throw it out there and manifest.

SPEAKER_02 26:56

Leave you on a teaser. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Yeah, leave you on a teaser. I just don't want that to, you know, throw that out there and then oh, something happens. But I'm super excited and have a lot of respect for this person, and they're certainly going to add a lot of value. So stay tuned. Stay tuned for March.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Thank you guys for tuning in today. This was Katie, Maddie, and Steven from Capital to the Classroom. Yeah. Hi, guys.