Day on the Square

1. Day on the Square Presented by: Dr. Ann Shelly, Ashland University Dr. Philip Ginnetti, Youngstown State University

2. AACTE Day on the Hill • Key advocacy event for the association and educator preparation programs. • Attendees’ presence signals to Congressional leaders that educator preparation faculty are a committed constituency. • Use our collective efforts to demonstrate our improvements and successes in preparing high-quality educators. • Influence education legislation to support our vision for a comprehensive, high quality educator preparation profession. • Allows the Association to be more effective in securing federal funding for education programs. • Influence federal education legislation

3. Advocacy Efforts at the National Level • Regularly visit website at www.aacte.org for information and updates on advocacy efforts. • Contacts: Jane West, Vice-President for Governmental and External Relations or Mary Harrill-McClellan, Director of Governmental Relations.

4. Purposes at the National Level • Be a resource. • Educate staff and members about how the federal government is an important partner in preparing teachers and providing professional development opportunities, with an end result of high quality in student learning.

5. OCTEO Event • Date (Spring 2009) • One day event with a reception • Need to speak in one voice – consistent message • Present the issues the organization will address and can provide information about.

6. Learn about your State Legislators • Who are your Senators? • Who represents your district in the House of Representatives? • What is their party affiliation? • What are their Committee assignments? • What are the issues they have a special interest in or commitment to?

7. Talking Points • Introduce yourself and your institution – This is your opportunity to brag about your program. • Common voice of the organization – What do we want our legislators to know about teacher preparation in Ohio. • Be aware of emerging issues!

8. Tips for Successful Meeting Do’s • Say thank you! • Do your homework: know what committees the legislator sits on, etc. • Respect their time: be on time, prepared and flexible • Stay on message: be clear and concise • Secure support for your issue: make it clear that you are asking for support for strong teacher quality provisions in legislation. • Include a local story: provide facts, figures and anecdotes • Build a relationship with staff: become a resource • Leave information behind • Follow up: send a thank you letter immediately after the meeting

9. Tips (continued) Don’ts • Be late • Show disappointment if your meeting turns out to be with a staff person instead of a Member • Assume staffers know all about the role of Colleges of Education and how federal programs affect you and the students you serve • Get off message – it’s easy to “play the name game” or discuss the weather and lose valuable meeting time • Use threats • Forget to leave information behind • Forget to follow up or write a thank you letter

10. Discussion Questions: • What are the on-going issues in educator preparation? • What are the emerging issues where we could or should be involved? • Where do higher education and P-12 education have common ground in educator preparation?

11. Contact: Philip Ginnetti – pginnetti@ysu.edu