CCCS Mission: Protecting the right of Washington children and youth to a commercial-free education

CCCS works to eliminate commercial influences from public schools throughout Washington State, by:

• Eliminating 'Channel One' from public schools. Students should not have to spend time at school watching TV ads.

• Working against exclusive marketing contracts between corporations and the public school districts. The schools should not be put in the position of endorsing commercial products.

• Eliminating 'Sponsored Educational Materials' (SEMs). These commercially-designed curricular supplements generally have little real educational value.

• Working for school funding levels and mechanisms that are fair and don't compromise the goal of commercial-free schools.

CCCS goals for 2002 include:

• Enforcement of the new Seattle policy on commercialism

• Building statewide awareness and education on the issue of commercialism in schools, with a focus on the theme of food and nutrition.

• Building organizational capacity, as we move from a local to a statewide organization.

On November 6, 1996, the Seattle School Board passed (5-2) the 'Advertising and Corporate Sponsorship Policy', which would actively solicit corporate advertising and sponsorship in the public schools. The Seattle School District faced a $35 million budget shortfall over the next three years, and the school board hoped to generate 10 percent of the funds they needed with this policy. The decision to allow more commercial presence in schools was made in a void of public input. As a result of the disregard for public process, two public forums were held in December, 1996 and January, 1997, which were attended by parents, students, teachers and citizens outraged at the new policy. The outcome of these forums led to the formation of the Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools.

President Ted Lockery Ted is a high school health teacher, bicycle enthusiast, trumpet-player, and former columnist ('Teacher Ted'). He is active in the Seattle Education Association, and will be working this year to secure the endorsement of the Washington Education Association for commercial-free schools.

Secretary Sylvia Haven Sylvia is a semi-retired school librarian (Shoreline and Seattle), with two grown daughters who graduated from Seattle Public schools. Last year, Sylvia succeeded in getting an anti-commercialism plank in the platform of the Washington State Democratic Party.

Treasurer Karen Strickland Karen is an instructor at Seattle Central Community College and President of their faculty senate. She has two sons in the Seattle Public Schools. Karen was instrumental in getting the endorsement of the Seattle Community Colleges Federation of Teachers and the Washington Federation of Teachers.

In addition, the following core members have oversight of our major areas of activity, as follows:

Internal Sarah Luthens Sarah is a labor organizer and attorney, board member of the Community Alliance for Global Justice, and very active in the GLBTQ community. She has a godson in the Seattle Public Schools. Her area of oversight includes the newsletter, phone tree, email lists, fundraising, membership and volunteer program.

External Diane Morrison Diane is a research professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington, board member of Jobs with Justice, and former board member of the national Center for Commercial-Free Public Education. She has one daughter who is a recent graduate of Seattle Public Schools. Her area includes the website, tabling and other outreach, media, and organizational allies.

Legislative Dana Twight Dana is a financial analyst recently elected to the State Board of Education. She is the former president of the Seattle Chapter of the American Association of University Women, and a former school board candidate. She has one daughter in public middle school. Her area of oversight includes local policies, legislative bills, and school board elections.

Community Assistance Dave Wall Dave is a computer consultant/manager with computing support services at the University of Washington, and also manages our CCCS email lists. He has long been active in Ravenna neighborhood organizations . He has two daughters--a recent graduate and a middle schooler in Seattle Public schools. He is our CCCS liaison to our 12 community contacts, as well as overseeing events such as our conference.

Junkfood Theme Patricia Manuele Pat is a registered dietician on leave from Public Health--Seattle and King County. She has been active in connecting the public health and commercial-free communities. She has one son who recently graduated from Seattle Public schools. Pat serves as our lead advisor on our theme of 'Junkfood in schools'.

Executive Director Brita Butler-Wall Brita is our fulltime, volunteer executive director. She is a former teacher educator and parent. Her background is applied sociolinguistics and she is interested in the intersection of power, language and education -- in other words, commercialism in schools. She works to communicate our vision of commercial-free schools, coordinates the work of our leadership team, enhances our organizational capacity for reaching our program goals, and manages our day-to-day operations.