What Can I Do? I’m Just One Person

Many in our community are feeling hopeless and lost in the wake of recent events, not only in this last week, but in the last several months. It would be easy to try to ignore how we’re feeling, to simply focus on pushing on and pushing through. It would be easy to give into despair. 

But there are things you can do HERE in your community that make a big difference for the people around you. Students all across Washington state need your voice, your presence, your action. They need you. 

Respect Public Schools - Washington volunteers have been speaking up at school board meetings, meeting with school district administrators, meeting with local and state PTA representatives, teacher unions, and parents, community members and clergy. We are making our voices heard, and are forcing those in positions to protect our children to listen. And they are listening. 

Here’s the statement given by Everett, WA School Board Director Charles Adkins, during the July 1, 2025 School Board Meeting: 

"My conscience demands that I speak about this… I also believe strongly that what we are allowing LifeWise to do is wrong and is harming our kids. The very kids I was elected to protect. LifeWise and its mission to bring white supremacy and Christian nationalism to our schools cannot be allowed to have access to our kids. LifeWise is explicitly supported by the Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025 effort to turn our nation into a fascist theocracy… And as someone who attended one of the last remaining boarding schools, still run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I'm all too familiar with the dark history that religious education has in this country with its treatment of kids of color, of native kids, of LGBT kids. I’m all too familiar with the attempts in the past and present by the white Christian majority to snuff out the cultures, religion, and language of native kids and other kids of color. We cannot allow this religious brainwashing and bullying of non-Christian and LGBT kids to take place when we can do something to stop it. We must do everything we possibly can to protect our kids.”

If you are feeling stymied or stuck, and not sure what you can do to help kids in public schools who are being subjected to Christian Nationalist proselytizing at the hands of groups like LifeWise and Kingdom Harvest, choose one thing: 

1. Talk to other parents, community members, and local clergy. Alert them to the issues of groups like LifeWise - too many people are simply unaware that these groups exist and the danger they pose. Not sure how to get the word out? Share our online brochure: https://simplebooklet.com/respectpublicschoolswa. 

2. Show up to a school board meeting, and speak your mind. Every public school district in Washington has a public comments section during every board meeting, which is open to anyone who lives, works, owns a business in the district, or has a child in the district’s public schools. School board meeting schedules must be published online at the district website. Need inspiration? Check out Everett School Board’s meetings from May 27, 2025 through to the most recent meeting. And, we’ll continue to show up at every school board meeting until they finally address our concerns: https://www.youtube.com/@everettpublicschoolsinwash2642 

3. Write a postcard, letter, or email to your district’s superintendent AND the school board. Remind them that the SCOTUS case Zorach vs. Clauson is not a mandate, and there is nothing forcing school districts in Washington to allow organizations to take kids out of public schools during public school hours. Recruit others! Respect Public Schools - WA showed up at recent community events armed with pre-printed postcards (with space for personal comments!), and then sent a couple hundred signed postcards, many with personal messages, to a district superintendent’s office. They were sent all in one day by our volunteers to make the greatest impact. 

4. Meet with your district’s teacher’s union and the PTA. Ask them how you can support them in saying no to Christian Nationalist indoctrination. 

5. Create an online petition for your district and share to your social media, family and friends. If Everett School District is your home district, please sign the petition here: https://chng.it/YgMV7JN2QR. 

6. JOIN Respect Public Schools - Washington volunteer group. We meet once a month online, to give updates about what’s happening in our respective districts and support one another’s work. To join, send us a message through our contact form
   

Alone, it’s harder to make an impact. Together, we can make a difference for the people we live and work with in our communities. We need each other. Join the good fight!