BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ADVOCACY PROGRAM

On Monday, October 4, 2015 MACC begins a new advocacy program to inform and engage our school board members and MN legislators.   All MACC members are invited!  Our state team is very excited!

This program will take very little time – perhaps 10 minutes each week!   MACC will take the responsibility for sending through templates each week that you may use.   Many members will be working, helping and encouraging each other through our MACC School District Groups.  Here you can discuss questions posed by school board/legislators.  You can always post questions that you receive to our state group and page.

For two years, MACC has sought to research the reforms surrounding the Common Core/Race to the Top/No Child Left Behind waiver grants and inform the public of their policies and that which has become our state law and school district regulatory policy.   As citizen lobbyists we’ve spent many hours discussing our concerns with legislators, particularly those in the Education Committees.

Fall signals new hope of legislation that would protect our children from over testing and undisclosed data dissemination, early career pathways and workforce tracking.   Curriculum concerns should also be addressed. It signals a moment for creative work to inform the public through proposed legislation regarding the many reforms of which they know little.

Please join our volunteer citizens as we correspond, inform and stand with our school board and legislators.  Here’s how it will work!

WEEK 1:  We’ll start with just 1 introductory email sending to our school board members the week of October 4th.   MACC will provide a first-time article or video to attach to your email.   Please choose any day that week to start the conversation.  MACC will have a template of an introductory sample that you can use and make your own.

WEEK 2: The following week we will send the SAME email to your two state legislators, your district representative and district senator.  MACC will link in a district finder to help locate your representative and senator.

WEEK 3 and moving forward:  MACC will weekly update a favorite article, video, podcast or meme that could be used with your email.  We will provide a simple summary w/concerns as a template.

Our advocacy plan will provide district school board members and legislators at least 11 weeks of information prior to the legislative session start.  This is information they most likely do not have or have had the time to research themselves.  Additionally, their constituents are speaking about a concern that they want addressed.    We, as constituents, have the power to vote them in or out of office.

Look for these documents on Sunday evening, October 3rd here on the MACC website and in our MACC state facebook group and page.

Thank you so much for standing to protect the children of our state, our next generation, as well as protecting the freedoms for which we all desire!