In the fall of 2017, leaders of the Ohio Public School Advocacy Network initiated a year-long conversation in which Ohio’s superintendents held up a mirror and asked themselves what they believe should be the mission of the public schools in our state.  One of the fundamental beliefs in the 2017 report that emerged from their discussion is that “local community members (parents, students, educators, school board members and superintendents) must be involved in the development of educational policy for Ohio’s public schools.”  Their thoughtful self-reflection was a turning point for OPSAN.  In addition to reinforcing the importance of community ownership, it led to the creation of the current pilot initiative to turn OPSAN into a grass roots, community-based movement.