Sacramento Update a legislative newsletter from the California PTA.
Phone: 858.268.8077Fax: 858.268.8017
Hours:
M-Th 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Fri 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Find your legislator and form letters to send regarding our current budget crisis.
Legislation
Fight for children - join PTA.
California State PTA is proud to lead the fight to provide all children the education and opportunities they need to succeed.
As part of our "Add 10 in '10" membership campaign, we encourage you to do the one thing proven over and over to bring in new members: Ask
Ask people to join with us because:
1. Budget cuts threaten an entire generation of children.
2. Parents and families need access to great resources and information to help their children.
3. Boosting membership boosts our power to advocate for children.
Make the offer personal and click here to find a special invitation you can forward by e-mail. Para el correo electrónico, haga clic aquí.
To discover other ideas to succeed in the "Add 10 in '10" Midyear Membership Challenge, click here.
EdSource Forum Video Now Online!
If you missed the 2010 EdSource Forum--California at a Crossroads: Crisis and Opportunity--or want to revisit it, videos of the major segments are now available online.
• If you've wanted to learn more about EdSource's recent landmark study of middle grades policies and practices, don't miss the presentation by the study's lead authors, Trish Williams and Michael Kirst.
• Wondering about the status of California's budget? Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor provided a detailed update of the K-12 and higher education budgets.
• Where do California's community colleges go from here? This lively segment brought together the California and Federal perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing community colleges.
PTA joins in filing school finance lawsuit -- read more here
Legislative Advocacy: How You Can Participate
“Legislative advocacy” is a fancy-sounding term for getting laws passed and money allocated to promote education and protect children. The California State PTA will be engaging in advocacy on Feb. 8 with elected leaders in their Sacramento offices. Ninth District PTA also will be setting up monthly meetings with legislators in their home offices here in San Diego County. Interested? Here are three ways to participate in these advocacy efforts:
1.
Designate a member of your PTA to participate in advocacy meetings, which will most likely take place on Fridays during the work day. Have your advocacy representative email Bey-Ling Sha (beyling_sha@yahoo.com), who will be setting up these meetings starting in February.
Designate a member of your PTA to participate in advocacy meetings, which will most likely take place on Fridays during the work day. Have your advocacy representative email Bey-Ling Sha (beyling_sha@yahoo.com), who will be setting up these meetings starting in February. 2.Invite children at your school to write letters to elected leaders from your area. To find your state elected leaders, visit: http://www.assembly.ca.gov (click on Find My District link, then enter your school address) and http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/districtmaps.HTP (click on Your Senator, then enter your school address). See next page for some sample letters. Children who are too young to write letters can draw pictures.
Invite children at your school to write letters to elected leaders from your area. To find your state elected leaders, visit: http://www.assembly.ca.gov (click on Find My District link, then enter your school address) and http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/districtmaps.HTP (click on Your Senator, then enter your school address). See next page for some sample letters. Children who are too young to write letters can draw pictures. 3.Set up an Advocacy Correspondence Committee. These parents, teachers, and community members would be responsible for writing letters and emails to elected leaders to express the needs and concerns of your school community. They can also respond to online news articles regarding education issues. Anyone can participate, at their convenience. If your advocacy correspondents need help with message development, contact Ninth District PTA, who can provide some training in this regard.
Set up an Advocacy Correspondence Committee. These parents, teachers, and community members would be responsible for writing letters and emails to elected leaders to express the needs and concerns of your school community. They can also respond to online news articles regarding education issues. Anyone can participate, at their convenience. If your advocacy correspondents need help with message development, contact Ninth District PTA, who can provide some training in this regard. Questions? Contact Bey-Ling Sha, Chairman, Sacramento Safari
Email: beyling_sha@yahoo.com
Tips for Student Letter Writers
•Be polite and respectful
Be polite and respectful•Tell what grade you are in and what school you attend
Tell what grade you are in and what school you attend•Share your honest feelings
Share your honest feelings•Talk about good things and bad things
Talk about good things and bad things•Use your own words
Use your own words•Be clear about what you are asking for
Be clear about what you are asking forSample Letter from Young Student
Dear Sen. Anderson:
My name is Nicole, and I am in second grade at King Elementary School. I love my teacher, Miss Smith. My class has 32 students, so I have lots of friends. But sometimes I can’t hear my teacher because my friends are talking too much in class. And one time, Jimmy broke his chair because he was dorking around, so now he has to sit on the floor because our school has no extra chairs. (See the photo.) Can you please buy Jimmy a new chair? Thanks.Sincerely, Nicole Lee
Sample Letter from Older Student
Dear Assemblyman Block:
My name is Jack, and I go to King Elementary School. I am in the fifth grade, but my best friend Javier is in the fourth grade. So I never get to see him when we are at school, because fourth-graders and fifth-graders don’t have the same lunch time. The only time I get to see Javier is on the bus. But, my mom says that we won’t have buses next year because they are too expensive. I think that’s totally unfair! I need to ride the bus because I need to hang out with my friend. Please help us get money so that we can have buses next year.Sincerely, Jack Schweitzkowski
Sample Letter from Middle School Student
Dear Ms. Jackson:
Hi! I am in seventh grade at Roosevelt Middle School here in San Diego. I like my school because it’s an IB program. The coolest thing about my school is our fitness room, which has exercise machines donated by the Chargers!!! But the bad thing is that some of the machines are broken, and our principal said there is no money to fix them. I don’t get it. Our library just got new computers. My teacher said that there is money for computers, but no money for fixing exercise machines. I think the school should ask us kids what we want. Because we don’t want the computers (even though they are cool, too). We want our exercise machines fixed. Can the Board of Education make my principal fix the machines? That would be awesome. Sincerely, Terry McArdle
PTA Advocacy: A Legacy in Leadership
National PTA is proud to announce the release of the video, PTA Advocacy: A Legacy in Leadership. Each PTA state/congress will receive one DVD copy of PTA Advocacy: A Legacy in Leadership by November 2011. In addition, the video has been uploaded here for PTA members to view and share!
Click on image to view larger
PTA Advocacy: A Legacy in Leadership can be used by state, council, and local PTAs to educate and recruit potential PTA members, increase the advocacy capacity of current PTA members, and increase sponsorship dollars. For more information on this new PTA advocacy history DVD, please contact Elizabeth Rorick, director of government affairs, at erorick@pta.org.
Double click here to add text.
