The unique skill set educators hold making them capable elected officials. 

Izzy Gogarty is a full-time Middle School Health Educator in Middlebury, Vermont, and at night, Izzy heads to Town Hall to serve on her seven-person Selectboard. At twenty-three years old, Izzy was elected to her seat following a successful political campaign supported by her former students and district families. Her campaign centered on her role as a teacher, coach, and established wellness advocate within her community.

Refine the skills. The most necessary skills for elected officials are consensus-building, listening, and connection-making. As an early career educator, Izzy often tapped into those skills as she led an honest, factual, and shame-free middle-school Health class and most definitely when advocating for Comprehensive Sex Education with community stakeholders. After successful Open Houses/Back to School nights, educating the families of her community on her programming, Izzy solidified high credibility as an expert on adolescent health, missing expertise on the town’s legislative and executive board.

Connect deeply with your current elected officials. In 2020, Izzy observed her State Senator, Ruth Hardy, subbing as a special educator. From there, Izzy and Ruth, a former educator herself, would eat packed lunches together, discussing local and state policy. Ruth recommended Izzy to EMERGE, a comprehensive political campaigning training for Democratic Women. This program has a 75% campaign win rate record and influential alums.

If you’re not yet ready to run yourself, consider supporting the campaign of a fellow educator. In Summer 2022, Izzy volunteered phone banking and door-knocking for Becca Balint, a former Vermont educator, making her run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Becca went on to win and become the first woman and LGBTQ+ person from Vermont to hold that seat. 

Keep up with relevant policy and legislation. Choose one or two bills related to Health and Physical Education to follow through the state legislative process. This could look like advocating for the passage of School Meals for All, CPR training equipment for school districts, or a ban on flavored tobacco. Organizations like SIECUS also track state legislation annually for trends related to Sex Education, a hot topic in state legislatures.  If a bill is close to you, you may be inclined to testify on the legislation. Attending local school board meetings where health and physical education are on the agenda allows you to build a connection with the local policymakers and assert yourself as a specialist in your field. 

Running for office is one of the most powerful ways to advocate for a healthier community, a common goal of many Health and Physical Educators. It’s time more educators have a seat at the table when funding, programming, and policies are discussed. 

This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media (including Izzy Gogarty, the author of this post) and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com

Pair this blog post with the following:

My Why by Charlie Rizzuto

Teaching With Passion by Nate Cline

Best Job in the World by Nick Russo

Connecting Healthcare Careers to Our Health Education Classroom by Stephen Chapin

Have you read the latest Book of the Month recommendation?