ADVOCACY NEXT STEP: WRITE LETTERS
 

  DEAR PARTICIPANTS IN THE "PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE OUR CHILDREN BEHIND"EVENT
    You made the Springfield Event a day to remember. Your excitement and enthusiasm created a wonderful momentum that we want to keep going. The best way to do so is through contacts from the children to the Governor and your Illinois legislators. We are suggesting that everyone considers encouraging their child to send a card or letter to the governor or their legislator.
     
    In the card or letter your child may want to:
     

Thank your legislator if in fact your legislator has been a supporter of funding for gifted education or your legislator took time to meet with you at

Ask if the $5 million dollars that was promised for gifted education but was never released can be included in a budget for gifted education for next

Ask if there is a plan to include $10 million dollars in next year's budget, the $5 million that was not released and an additional $5 million for next year.

Ask when they might actually see funding for gifted education reach the classrooms where the children sit waiting and hoping for a change for children who are and have been left behind in Illinois.
       
    Your child may want to tell the legislator or governor what he or she hopes can happen when the funding is placed in the budget and actually is released.
      I hope my teachers will have training again and will know what to do in the classroom so
I can learn every day when I go to school.

I hope my teachers will have appropriate resources to use--materials that are advanced so I'm not reading things during class time that I read at home two and three years ago.

I hope my school districts will have people in charge of gifted programs who know and understand gifted children, gifted education and gifted standards, and who will make sure that teachers who are working with gifted children are properly trained.
       
    The words can be simple:
      Dear Governor,
Thank you for meeting with my group in Springfield on April 17, during the Please Don't Leave our Children Behind event. Are you planning to put $10 million in the state budget next year for gifted education? We are counting on you.
       
    If you are part of a parent organization, you may want to sponsor a letter-writing and card-making event where the children and parents get together and work on cards and letters together. Bring your scrap booking supplies and have fun with this! The important thing is for each card or letter to look and sound unique and for each card and letter to be mailed individually.
       
    Please, do not copy anything directly from this advisory message. Have the children use their words with some help from you. Make sure the children include their address on the letter or envelope, as this is important to legislators and the governor's office.
       
    Don't be afraid to have your child invite your legislator to your school for a visit. Make sure if you do so, that you check with the building administrator.
       
    While the children are working on their letters and cards, it should give you time to write a letter of your own. Your letter does not need to be lengthy. The best letters tell a story. The best stories are about your children and your hopes for them. At the end of the letter, request the $10 million dollars in the state budget, the $5 million from this year that was not released and $5 million for next year. Then ask for a response.
       
    Please keep IAGC informed of your progress. We would love to know how many letters you sent, whom you contacted and if you received a response.
       
    We've made real progress this year. Let's keep the momentum going.
       
    If you have any questions, if you wish a response, please contact Your IAGC Advocacy Committee Chairs:
      Cathy Greene greeneca@myway.com
Susan Rhodes srhodes@springfield.k12.il.us
       
       
     
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