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IEL/Coalition for Community Schools

2026 March for Children & Youth Month Playbook

Since 1997, the Institute for Educational Leadership has mobilized the Coalition for Community Schools to lead advocacy efforts to promote Community Schools as a vehicle to ensure all young people have the conditions they need to succeed and thrive. March for Children and Youth Month was launched by our partners at First Focus for Children in 2017 as an annual campaign to concentrate our advocacy efforts among our national, state and local partners. Our collective advocacy as a Coalition is important to build champions among our policymakers for policies and funding that support children and youth. We can no longer sit on the sidelines and hope others advocate for more equitable conditions in schools - it must be us, it must be now, and we must speak with one voice. During this campaign, reach out to your policymakers and share your stories and the impact of Community Schools. Join us during this month to raise our voices together to create opportunities we want for all children and youth across the country to experience every day.