Mayor to Mayor: How to Use the Playbook

Welcome, Education Mayors!

Thank you for visiting the Online Playbook!

I believe that as city mayors, it is our responsibility to share our best work with one another. The best education initiatives are a result of collaboration, not from working in isolated silos.This playbook is dedicated to sharing information about the best practices, programs, and policies that mayors can initiate in order to eliminate the achievement gap.

Across our nation, there are many mayors working tirelessly to increase the educational opportunity of their cities’ children and youth. This playbook will serve as a way to connect mayors, regardless of their political affiliation or span of control, and provide them with game plans to eliminate the opportunity gap from cradle to career.

Our cities’ kids are our most precious resource. It’s time to take action and work together in ensuring that every child has access and opportunity to a successful and rewarding future.

Sincerely,

Mayor Michael Hancock

Former Chair, Educational Excellence Task Force

The Educational Excellence Task Force of the US Conference of Mayors focuses on increasing educational opportunity for all children and youth within our cities.

This includes sharing best practices and strategies and setting political agendas and resolutions.

The Online Playbook is the brain child of Mayor Michael B. Hancock, who wanted to create an accessible resource for city mayors and their staff to share their most successful education initiatives with one another.

While various resources existed for city staff, nothing had been developed to showcase education initiatives that specifically city mayors could lead.

The Online Playbook will serve as a library for education mayors, offering a diverse array of initiatives they can implement in order to eliminate the achievement gap within their city: From developing a universal preschool program, to supporting school finance policies, to hiring a city’s first education commissioner. This playbook will act as a bridge between Mayors from cities across the nation.

Issues and Solutions

The 2014-2016 Education Agenda is comprised of four pillars.

Use the fact sheets to learn more about why these pillars are important, and ways mayors can take action.

Welcome to the Education Mayors’ Online Playbook!

Below are a variety of policies, practices, and programs that mayors across the nation have successfully implemented in order to eliminate the educational achievement/opportunity gap within their own cities. Click on the initiative names to learn more.

Are you, as a mayor or city staff, interested in replicating one of these initiatives in your own city? Use the contact information provided to ask any questions and collaboratively learn from the leaders of that initiative!