Advocacy
COVID-19 Education Coalition Members Provide Guidance for District Leaders
The effects of COVID-19 on students and families require district leaders to collaborate with local stakeholders — including administrators, classroom teachers, school support staff, parents, and students — to plan strategic actions that allow digital learning to effectively and equitably continue into the summer and beyond.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Turnaround for Children, the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), and the New Hampshire Society for Technology in Education (NHSTE) — who are members of the broader COVID-19 Education Coalition— provide three key considerations that districts must keep in mind as they build immediate and long-term plans:equitable infrastructure, active digital learning content, and educator capacity building. See the new resource here.
A National Day of Action - November 6, 2019
Please join us and the Title IV-A Coalition on November 6, 2019 for a National Day of Action to advocate for full funding of the Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant program under Title IV-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Title IV-A flexible block grant allows districts to invest in well-rounded programs, safe and healthy schools, and the effective use of technology.
Congress has recognized the importance of this block grant and provided $1.1 billion in FY18 and $1.17 billion in FY19 for Title IV-A. At this funding level, many districts are receiving substantial funds and finally have the flexibility to make meaningful investments in the program areas they need most based off of their needs assessments.
This year, it is particularly important that we demonstrate to Congress the wide range of opportunities that this program provides for students. We need to show our ongoing support for Title IV-A, share stories about why these funds are so meaningful, and ask Congress to continue to invest in this program.
What You Can Do on November 6th
Our new resources and toolkit make it easy to take action! On November 6th, we ask that you please join educators and advocates all across the nation by taking one (or all) of the following actions by using the Day of Action Toolkit:
1. SEND A PREWRITTEN LETTER TO CONGRESS
Use our easy advocacy tool to send thispre-written letter to Congress about the need to adequately invest in the Title IV-A block grant.
2. TWEET YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
See sample tweets below and use our easy advocacy tool to automatically send tweets to your elected officials! Please feel free to add additional activities re Title IV-A programs your organization supports in your individual tweets.
3. CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES
4. SHARE YOUR STORY – HOW DO THESE FUNDS IMPACT YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS? Share Your Story Here
Kathleen McClaskey, NHSTE's Advocacy Chair
NHSTE Advocacy Plan
Broadband Access & Network Connectivity
- Short Term Goal - Increase the involvement of NHSTE’s technical membership in broadband efforts across the state.
- Medium Term Goal - Encourage the collaborative development of architecture standards, policies, and protocols resulting in reliable networks that remove “network down/slow” issues from learning environments.
- Long Term Goal - Initiate a NH ConnectEd collaborative effort to address broadband needs/solutions.
Professional Learning
- Short Term Goal - Define emerging professional learning paradigms through multiple partner collaborations (NHSTE, NHDoE, IHE).
- Medium Term Goal - Continue to work with institutes of higher education through Bob McLaughlin’s effort to support the development of 21st century teachers emerging from NH teacher preparation programs.
Meta-discipline of STEM
- Short Term Goal - Provide the Governor’s STEM Task force with existing federal, regional, state, and local initiatives and resources that are aligned with their final recommendations.
- Short Term Goal - Emphasize and promote the STEM focus at CMTC.
- Medium Term Goal - Collaborate with NH ConnectED and other organizations (e.g. SERESC) on professional learning opportunities that would support STEM efforts across the state.
- Long Term Goal - Conduct a review of inclusive STEM efforts to help ensure that students with learning challenges have access to STEM experiences.
Digital Learning Environments & Strategies
- Short Term Goal - Monitor state and federal legislation around data security and privacy issues as they impact cloud-based and web-based services, tools, and digital resources.
- Medium Term Goal - Inform and support schools about new learning environments that include access to digital resources, instructional models. and learner needs/preferences.
NHConnected
This is a collaborative group of state-wide organizations focusing on education and communicating with one another. For more information, please contact Kathleen McClaskey (NHSTE's Advocacy Chair).Calendar - New Hampshire Educational Events
5 Ways to Advocate Today! (from ISTE)
Do you have . . .
One minute? Tweet! Enter your zip code at tweetcongress.org to find the Twitter handle of your U.S. representative and send him/her a tweet. Be sure to include your city and state and use the hashtag: #edtech
Two minutes? Spread the word. Send a customizable letter or email through the ISTE Take Action webpage and share this website with 5 friends:
www.Iste.org/TakeAction
Five minutes? Develop an effective elevator speech. Imagine yourself in a situation where you unexpectedly are in contact with someone who could be very effective in raising support for educational technology. You have less than a minute to make a positive impression on this person. Learn how to make a compelling case.
Fifteen minutes? Educate yourself and join the conversation. Read the latest advocacy news and articles about detect from ISTE. https://www.iste.org/advocacy/news
Sixty minutes or more? Get involved with the advocacy activities for your state’s ISTE Affiliate. Join their Advocacy Committee. If they don’t have one, start one. Set up a meeting with a policy maker or their staff locally. Can’t get to D.C.? That’s okay. Policy makers have offices throughout the state and they or their staff will meet with you. It’s a great way to share your expertise and become the go-to person for advice.
Anyone interested in working on any of the NHSTE Advocacy goals or joining the NHSTE Advocacy Committee, please contact Kathleen McClaskey at khmcclaskey@gmail.com.