Change in our world today has never occurred at a faster pace, including changes in education.  It has never been more important than it is now for all of us to focus on education!  Our students today will be those who shape tomorrow.  This is why we advocate.  What we do in education today has a direct impact on the future of everyone.

Iowa ASCD seeks to help our members and fellow educators have the tools and skills to communicate with lawmakers.  Through our knowledge and experiences, we can together  assure that our legislators have a clear understanding of the impact of their decisions on the lives of all students.

You can make a difference!  Please join us as we advocate for our students and their learning.

Check out this special edition of The Source for details on how you can be involved in advocacy and influence.  And be sure to join us on February 6 in Des Moines when ASCD's Public Policy Director will be updating us all on the issues in Washington (e.g., sequestration, NCLB) and how we can influence our legislators both at the state and national levels.

Susan and Pam
Co-Leads of Iowa ASCD Advocacy and Influence

Iowa ASCD is committed to advocating regularly with our state and national legislators, the State Board of Education, and the Iowa Department of Education for students' success based on key issues of Iowa ASCD's more than 850 members and the Iowa ASCD board of directors.  

  

The Iowa ASCD 2013 Legislative Agenda addresses perspectives and experiences of successful school leaders and effective educators.  We collaborate with other organizations to achieve our goals in support of healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged students and to assure their preparation in graduating ready for the demands of college, career, and citizenship.   

 

We endorse the nation's and the state's goals to ensure all students enter our schools ready to learn and graduate ready for college, career, and citizenship in our state, nation, and the world.  We advocate building the capacity of the learning system to support and assure . . .  

• A relentless focus on learning.   
• Great teachers and leaders of learning in every building.   
• A spirit of innovation that results in the success of each and every child.            

We believe the role of our representatives in the federal and state governments is indispensable in providing a bi-partisan broad vision for educational excellence, determining education reform priorities, and marshaling resources in support of these goals to develop the collective capacity of the system to assure all students are successful.    

 

We ask you to review the complete Iowa ASCD Legislative Agenda 2013 to see the focus and details of our advocacy. 

 

Learning is our work! Join us in building a culture and environment where we all work together purposefully and relentlessly for the success of each and every student in Iowa.    

On January 12th, the Marshalltown Community School District Education Association hosted a legislative forum at the Marshalltown Public Library.  Open to the public, this was an opportunity for constituents to share and discuss educational issues with Representative Mark Smith and Senator Steve Sodders. 

As members of Iowa ASCD, we encourage you to participate in legislative forums in your area.  Become involved by contacting your legislators and subscribing to their newsletters, which will notify you of future events.

With the legislative sessions just beginning, it is the optimal time to become involved and influence the direction of education in Iowa.

It is important for all of us to get to know our state and national legislators.  They depend on our contacts - formal and informal - to learn about us, our needs, our beliefs for kids and their learning.  The U.S. Congress began its session on January 3 and the state legislators are in session beginning today, January 14.

National Legislators:

• Senator Chuck Grassley serves on several committees and is the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary as well as the Committee on Finance, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the Committee on the Budget and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Senator Grassley can be reached at 135 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510.  His phone number is 202.224.3744. Check out  additional information on Senator Grassley.  Be sure to sign up for his newsletter and schedule of visits back home to his six offices in Iowa. 

• Senator Tom Harkin serves as the chair of  Health, Education, Labor, And Pensions and the Appropriations Committee for  Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. He is also on these committees:  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Small Business and Entrepreneurships; and Appropriations.  You can "Tell Tom What You Think" via e-mail  or write him at 731 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DE 20510.  He can be called at 202.224.3254.  Be sure to sign up for his newsletters and schedule of visits back home to his five offices in Iowa.  Check out additional information on Senator Tom Harkin.   

   

 

 

 

 

 

• Representative Bruce Braley represents the first district and serves on the  Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Check out additional information about Representative Braley. You can contact him at 2263 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515 or call him at 202.225.2911.  Be sure to sign up for his newsletters and schedule of visits back home to his two offices in Iowa - Dubuque and Davenport.    

• Representative Steve King represents the fourth district and serves on the Judiciary, the Small Business, and the Agriculture committees.  Access his biography to learn more about the representative. He has several offices in Iowa. He may be reached by mail at  1131 Longworth Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, or called at 202.225.4426.  Sign up for his weekly newsletter.

• Representative Tom Latham represents the third district and has offices in Creston, Council Bluffs, and Des Moines. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee.  You can reach him by mail at 2217 Rayburn, House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.  His phone number is 202.225.5476.  Be sure to sign up for his newsletter to learn about his work in Congress and his schedule for visits.   

• Representative David Loebsack represents the second district and serves on the following committees: Education and Workforce and  Armed Services. You may reach him by phone at 202.225.6576 and by mail at 1527 Longworth House Office Building, Washinton, DC 20515.  Be sure to sign up for his weekly newsletters and the schedule of his visits back in Iowa.  

Schedule visits and contacts now with your state legislators.  The Iowa Legislature is a great resource for finding your legislators, tracking bills, accessing the Iowa Code, and getting committee updates.  

 

And consider attending the February 6 training provided by Iowa ASCD, featuring ASCD Public Policy Director David Griffith, followed by visits on the hill in the afternoon.  (See information below.) 

Alyson Klein, co-editor of K-12 Politics for Education Week has shared the following answers to common questions on sequestration.

Sequestration? What's that? And how did it come about?

The sequestration trigger-cuts were put in place as part of a  

"deal" to raise the debt ceiling last summer. Lawmakers and the administration tried - and failed - to come up with some sort of long-term solution for the nation's debt problem.

Instead of coming up with a deal, they set the clock ticking on those automatic cuts - which virtually no one likes - essentially to force themselves to act.  And they gave it a wonky, budgety name: sequestration. (If you're curious about where that term comes from, here's a great explanation.)

With the election behind us, it might seem to be a very good time to relax and enjoy a time free of political ads.  In fact, the opposite is true.  It is time to become involved in the legislation that will impact public education.  Please join us in Des Moines with ASCD's Public Policy Director David Griffith and learn how to advocate politically and impact student learning in Iowa.  We look forward to your participation! 

On Tuesday, January 15th at 10:00 A.M. Governor Terry Brandstad will deliver the 2013 Condition of the State address from the Iowa Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.  This will be streamed live through Iowa Public Television.

We must each remember, "My voice counts!" and if we don't ask or advocate, someone else will.  Policy makers have limited time and states have limited resources.  Silence implies acceptance, so "be the squeaky wheel." 

There are four basic advocacy tips!

 

 

Do Your Homework! 

• Know your issue and be able to defend it.
• Know your legislators, including learning about the committees they are on and the positions they take.   
• Stay informed!  Get their weekly newsletter so you can "be in the know" about their votes, their positions, and any connections you can make.

Establish Relationships!

• Identify any connections you might have (e.g., went to same college, had a similar job when you both were younger, like the same football team).
• Learn how they like to communicate - "posts" back home where they can meet you face to face? letters?  e-mails? website entries? twitter?  Facebook?  They each have their own preference - learn what it is? 
• Be friendly!
• Be yourself!  
• Stay in touch!   
• Get to know their staffers
• Invite them to your school.
• Attend their town hall meetings - virtually or in person
• Schedule a visit with them!
• Never burn a bridge!
• Respectful, clear, and ongoing communication is key! 

Think Locally!

• You are a constituent.
• You know what's good for the kids - you have the expertise!
• Tell a story from your school or your district.  It's your anecdotes and your data that make the visit memorable and personal.   They will remember the stories! 
• And think about making that pitch in a very short time - like maybe the time it takes for a short elevator ride.  
• Share the impact their decision could have on you and your students.
• Make it relevant!   Make it personal! 

Start Now!

• Being proactive is the key to advocacy!
• Tackle this challenge today!  Iowa legislators go into session today!   

And join us February 6 to learn more "tricks of the trade" in advocating for students and their success. 

Check out the Iowa ASCD webpage, Advocacy and Influence, 

• Invitation and agenda to the February 6 workshop with David Griffith
• The Iowa ASCD Legislative Agenda - 2013
• Information on Sequestration
• ASCD resources - position statements, Educator Advocates, sequestration  
• Planning tools
• Legislative contacts
• Rubric to assess your own level of advocacy
• Sample meeting letters
• Sample thank you letters
• Summary of presentation to the Iowa House Education Committee in 2012 

A special thank you to Dr. Susan Pecinovsky (Marshalltown Community School District) and Dr. Pam Vogel (East Union Community School District) for sharing their expertise and passion in this special edition of The Source.  They serve as co-leads for Advocacy and Influence on the Iowa ASCD Board of Directors.