How To Make an Impact

1
How To Make an Impact

• Working With Your Local Government and
• State Legislators

2
You Can Make A Difference

• Broad range of voices
• Not combined and well-rehearsed
• Saying one message in your own way

3
Most Important

• Put Kids and Families in the Center
• How can we promote their academic and social
  capital?

4
One Goal One Issue

• To Provide Increased Funding Statewide For
  Information Literacy and Technology Initiatives
  that Improve Quality Of Life For All Minnesotans
  

5
Who Do You Talk To?

• Local Government
• School Boards
• City Councils
• PTA/PTO
• Unions
• Associations

• State
• Government
• State Representative
• Senator
• Governor
• Board of Teaching

6
Maybe More Important-Key People

• Identify Individuals That Are Interested and
  Court Them
• Governor to Mandate it
• Commissioner of Education to Create it
• Legislator to bring it forward
• Celebrity to Connect with Groups

7
Craft Your Message

• Your Message For Policy Makers
• Create an ASK that matches with who you are
  talking to
• Speak their language/What do they care about?
• Who do they care about?

8
They Will Ask You

• What do you want me to do about this? so be
  ready with

9
The ASK- Two Parts

• What you want them to do for you
• 1. This is what I want
• 2. This is what it looks like exactly

10
Want

• I want permanent and adequate funding for a
  basic level of telecommunications and internet
  connectivity across the State.

11
Looks Like

• An increase of an additional 5 million dollars
  for a total of 8.75 million for high, equitable,
  and adequate telecommunication connectivity and
  service throughout Minnesota.

12
Or

• Want Legislation that will allow school
  districts to levy their community for money to
  adequately deliver school media programs and
  technology.
• Looks Like Some districts may need up to 200
  per student to accommodate online testing,
  reporting, and mandated technology literacy
  skills required for 21st Century citizens

13
Or

• Want All MN K-12 students have regular services
  of a fully certified school librarian/media
  specialist to implement and assess the newly
  mandated information and literacy standards.
• Looks Like All districts conforming to our MN
  2005 legislative mandate by creating legislation
  that places a school librarian (LMS) at the
  center of every childs education K-12, to prepare
  them for our workforce and their future
  education.

14
Remember-Our Goal

• We Are Promoting Academic and Social Capital For
  Kids and FamiliesIs This Goal Time-Sensitive?
  Urgent?

15
Meeting and Talking

• Meeting and Making Friends
• You Are The Expert,
• You Know More, So Dont Be Intimidated!

16
Talking Tight

• One Page Total for the Platform
• White space
• Bullets
• Large typeface
• Charts and graphs

17
Time Is Tight

• No more than 5 sentences as talking points this
  is your way to personalize your wants and
  looks like
• Tell them what it says on the paperfeed it to
  them
• Does it look different for suburban, rural, or
  urban? What does it mean to you?

18
How To Find the People

• Contact your schools, your chamber, your city
  government and for State Government go to
• http//www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/Districtfinder.asp

19
Some Last Thoughts

• Use Research
• Dont be rehearsed
• Make it simple with no jargon
• Compare MN to other States
• Remind them about adequate
• How is it hurting our State, our businesses, and
  community

20
Be Ready

• Bring in Parents, Teachers and Students - Have
  Everything Ready For Your Stakeholders

21
Thank You

• Thomas Harnisch, Graduate Student at the Hubert
  Humphrey Institute
• Michael Ryan, Law Student William Mitchell
• Literacy Coalition of Minnesota
• Anoka Hennepin School District
• Donna Ewigleben, IRA Government Relations
  Associate
• Richard Wassen, Senior Fellow Legislative
  Policy Affairs COE University of Minnesota
• All the hard-working MEMO and MLA members who
  care about Minnesota citizens