When Strong ran for the Seattle School Board in 1916, she won easily because she was helped by women's groups and organized labor and because she was known as an expert on child welfare. She was the only female board member. She argued that the public schools should offer social service programs for poor children and that these programs should be community centers. But there was little she could do: Other members chose to devote meetings to things that Strong felt were less important, such as plumbing in the schools. 