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July 2003 - Wendy Thompson, Bemidji

It was her son's large Kindergarten class of 26 students crammed into a small room that inspired Wendy Thompson to find out what had happened to the funding of Minnesota's public schools in the 8 years that she had lived out of the state.

Her concern led her to Bemidji Schools' district office, school board meetings, various Web sites and community leaders, and finally, to her involvement as a steering committee member for Parents United Network.

In July 2003, Wendy organized a Bemidji parents meeting to launch a local group of public school advocates called Support Our Schools of Bemidji. In the last year, Bemidji SOS members have lobbied their legislators, written editorials, addressed PTO's, testified to the House Education Committee, hosted legislator tours in their public schools, served on education-related committees, earned media coverage at events, and led a successful referendum campaign. One of their members is running for school board this fall and another is campaigning for her second 4-year term.

"I've discovered that it doesn't take a large group to make a difference. Bemidji SOS members are highly motivated parents. They each bring their unique and valuable skills to the table," notes Thompson.

While their efforts have yielded good results, members of Bemidji SOS strongly believe that effective public education policy and adequate funding will come only if they unite with other parents throughout Minnesota.

"Through Parents United Network we've found strength in numbers and comfort in knowing that there's a large group of parents who care about the quality of public schools for children across the state, including our children in Bemidji," remarks Thompson. "We've felt pride in working with the caliber of people who are connected through the Network, uniting for this important cause."