Advocacy Now!  What You Can Do...

DECEMBER 2009/JANUARY 2010

Please send either this letter or a letter of your own to each member of the Joint Committee on Education.  We need to keep our legislators aware that House Bill 486 is urgently needed and must be passed this legislative session. 

To send the already written letters by snail mail:

• Print this document with 19 letters already addressed and written.
• Sign each letter with your name, title, and contact information.
• Print these labels with the 19 labels you need for each letter.
• Put each letter in an envelope and add label (pay attention to match the name on the label with the name on each letter), return address, and stamp. 
• Drop them in the mail!

To send the already written letters by email:

• Use the text from this document to send an email to each member of the Joint Committee on Education.
• Use the email addresses listed below.

If you would like to write your own letter, or modify the letter we have written for you to use, please do!  The most important thing is to write the Education Committee to ensure House Bill 486 remains a priority for this legislative session. 

Here are the names, addresses, and emails for every member of the Joint Committee on Education as well as the two staff offices.  If you only send a couple of letters, please send them to Representative Walz and Senator O’Leary as they are the chairs of the committee.

Ongoing Opportunities for Advocacy:

1. Join the MATSOL Advocacy Committee by signing up on this online form. You will receive updates and other communications about our advocacy activities.
2. Communicate with your legislators either in person or in writing ASAP in order to ask them to attend a briefing for legislators on October 1st (to learn about issues, concerns, and solutions regarding the education of ELLs in MA) and to share your personal ideas and stories about teaching ELLs in MA.  More...

Communicate with your legislators either in person or in writing.

Our advocacy work over the past several months has proven the power of the constituent.  We need everyone who is concerned about the education of ELLs in MA to have conversations with their representatives and senators.  These conversations should be the first step to build regular lines of communication as the need to continue advocacy on these issues will not quickly subside.  Here are some simple steps to follow in order to communicate with your legislators.  Please also contact the appropriate legislators for both your place of residence as well as the school in which you teach. 

For an in person meeting:

1. Call the office of the person you would like to meet with.
   1. You can find who your legislators are (you should have one senator and one representative) and their contact information by quickly searching here: http://www.mass.gov/legis/ (If you are having any trouble with this, please contact Kara Mitchell at advocacy@matsol.org.  She will find the information for you.  Do not let this step slow you down!)
   2. You will NOT have to go to Boston to meet with your legislator.  They should all have methods of meeting with constituents within the geographical areas they represent. 
   3. You can go to the State House if you would like to meet with several offices in one day. 
2. When they answer the phone say, “Hello.  My name is _________________ and I am a constituent (or a teacher in the area so-and-so represents).  I’m very concerned about the education of English language learners in MA and would like to make an appointment to either speak with ______________ (name of person’s office you are calling) or a staff member knowledgeable about education issues in the state.”
   1. It is possible to meet with your actual representative, but they have very crazy schedules, especially when the legislature is in session.  It is just as effective to meet with staff members in the legislator’s offices.  These people are the eyes and ears of their bosses and always relate the information you bring to the legislator directly.  It is best to be willing to meet with staffers as well as legislators.
3. Prepare for your conversation with the legislator or staffer.
   1. Take a copy of the English Language Learners in Massachusetts Factsheet to leave with the person you meet with.
   2. Take anything you have that will add to the conversation (think about school data from your school or classroom, student work, stories about students you’ve worked with, etc.)
   3. Take any person you can that will help add to the conversation (think about inviting students, parents, co-workers, etc.)
   4. Use the Preparing for a Conversation with Legislators guide sheet to help you think-out your message.
4. Report to MATSOL about your work.
   1. After your meeting, please email Kara Mitchell at advocacy@matsol.org with the following information:

                i.     Your name, school district, place of residence

                ii.     Name of legislative office you visited

                iii.     Overall impressions of the visit

                iv.     Ways you plan to keep communicating with the office.

For written communication:

Though in-person meetings are preferred, writing letters or emails to your legislator is also an effective way to communicate with them about your concerns. Here are some simple steps to follow.

1. Follow the steps on the Preparing for a Conversation with Legislators guide sheet to help you think about what you would like to write in your letter or email and pin down your message.
2. Write your email or letter.  If you would like feedback on it, please send it to Kara Mitchell at advocacy@matsol.org or share it with other concerned colleagues and educators.  Here’s a short message you could use in an email: “Hello, my name is __________ and I’m a teacher at _______________.  I’m very concerned about the education of English language learners in our state and ask you to please support House Bill 486.  This bill, if passed, will provide schools with much needed programmatic flexibility while also holding schools accountable to do high quality work.  This bill also provides valuable structures to ensure parental involvement.  It is time for the legislature to act in support of our students.  Please feel free to contact me for more information.”  Be sure to include your name and contact information.
3. Send it to your legislator’s office (find the address here: http://www.mass.gov/legis/).  Be sure to include the ELLs in MA Factsheet.
4. Also request an opportunity for further communication around these issues (either an in-person meeting or continued written communications).

If you have any questions, concerns, ideas, etc. please contact Kara Mitchell, the MATSOL Advocacy Coordinator at advocacy@matsol.org.