Advocacy Training for
Influence and Impact
Arkansas ASCD
January 6, 2011
ASCD Public Policy
 ASCD
– Founded in 1943
– Reputation for educational leadership dedicated to
best practices and policies for the success of each
learner.
 Public Policy
– Established 2003-04
– Advocating for educators and students
No Child Left Behind Act
 Dramatic alteration of federal role
– Direct involvement in schools
– Prescriptive policies
– “What happened?”
ASCD Public Policy
 Influence and advocacy
 Relatively new and growing
– 160,000 members
– 13,000 Educator Advocates
 Overcoming pushback
ASCD Public Policy
“The genteel age when school leaders need not
involve themselves with the politics and policies of
education are over…if it ever existed at all.”
ASCD Public Policy
 Policy Team
– David Griffith – Director of Public Policy,
dgriffith@ascd.org
– Tina Dove – Legislative Advocate, tdove@ascd.org
– Melissa Mellor – Advocacy Outreach Manager,
mmellor@ascd.org
– Sumi Vishnu – Program Coordinator,
svishnu@ascd.org
policy@ascd.org
ASCD Advocacy
 Annual Legislative Agenda
– Member developed
– Transparent
 Legislative Committee
– Mary Gunter
– Marsha Jones
 Special focus
– Whole Child
– Professional development
ASCD Advocacy
 Opportunities
– Legislation
 ESEA
 IDEA
– Regulations
– Budget/funding/appropriations
– Committee hearings
ASCD Advocacy
 Advocate on behalf of educators & students
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Teacher and Principal Improvement Act – Sen. Reed
Race to the Top grant criteria
Comprehensive, well-rounded curriculum
Whole child resolution
Whole child hearing testimony
ASCD Advocacy
 Resource to policymakers
– Schools’ fiscal status
 $10 billion EduJobs bill
– What works in PD
 Emerging state work
– Whole child state policy recommendations
 Work with affiliates
 Information to members
ASCD Advocacy
 Educator Advocates
– Weekly newsletter
 Tailored to educator leaders
 Legislative & Policy Updates
– Congress, Department, White House, national news,
reports
– ESEA
– Status of the Common Core
– Funding
– Children’s issues
– www.educatoradvocates.org
Leadership Institute for Legislative
Advocacy (LILA)
 Legislative Conference, January 22-24, 2012
– Policy briefings
 Secretary Arne Duncan
 ESEA reauthorization
 FY12 funding and fiscal outlook
– Advocacy training
– Take your message to federal policymakers
– Continue policy discussions & advocacy at the
state and local levels
ASCD Advocacy
 Action Center
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www.ascd.org/actioncenter
Action alerts
Legislative research
Priority bills
Talking points
Communication tools
 Email
 Facebook
 Twitter #ascdpolicy
Why Advocate?
“Lobbyist”
Why Advocate?
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NCLB
Share expertise
Support children
Direct effect on professional role/responsibilities
Exposure/visibility
Others are doing it
Member service (Arkansas ASCD)
– Empower members
 Politics of education
U.S. K-12 Education Funding
Federal, 7%
Local, 45%
State, 48%
Federal Role in Education
 Research, evaluation, information dissemination
– Best practices, Regional labs, What Works
Clearinghouse
 Data collection
– NCES & NAEP
 National priorities and solutions
– Closing the achievement gap, college access
 Equity and special populations
– Students with disabilities, LEP, socio-economically
disadvantaged students
2001-02
Federal, 7%
No Child Left Behind Act
 Expanded testing
 Grades 3-8 (once in high school)
 Reading and math
 Stricter accountability
 Set goals, timeline
 Specific interventions
No Child Left Behind Act
 Highly-qualified” teacher definition
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100% in all core subjects
Bachelor’s degree
State licensure
2005-06 deadline
No Child Left Behind Act
 Sweeping reforms
– Dramatic shift in federal role
– Huge change for advocacy
 Lessons from NCLB
– Input from educators needed
– Rank & file distrust of education committees
– National education groups minimized/maximized
Why Advocacy Matters
 Obligation
 Educational leader
 Altruism
 Children’s advocate
 Self-interest
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Teacher qualifications
School reforms
Accountability
Classroom impact
Why Not Advocate
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Not my job
Too busy
Don’t know how
Issues don’t matter/affect me
Won’t make a difference
Why Advocate
National Issues
 Need to be engaged and aware
 Expertise/experience to offer
 Ensure coordination with state/local/school
policies/practices
 Harbinger of state and local reforms
Why Advocate
 Members of Congress
– Want to hear from you
– Need to hear from you
 ASCD
– Wants you to speak
– Needs you to speak
“When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.”
- - Winston Churchill
Get Involved
 Get Involved
2010 Elections & the New
Political Landscape
House of Representatives
Before & After
111th Congress
112th Congress
 Democrats – 255
 Republicans – 178
 Democrats – 193
 Republicans – 242
218 = Majority
House of Representatives
Before & After
111th Congress
 House Speaker
 Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
 Majority Leader
 Steny Hoyer (D–MD)
 Majority Whip
 Jim Clyburn (D–SC)
 Education Committee
Chairman
 George Miller (D–CA)
112th Congress
 House Speaker
 John Boehner (R–OH)
 Majority Leader
 Eric Cantor (R–VA)
 Majority Whip
 Kevin McCarthy (R–CA)
 Education Committee
Chairman
 John Kline (R–MN)
House Republican Leaders
 Rep. John Boehner (OH)
 Speaker of the House
 Education Chair during NCLB
House Republican Leaders
 Rep. John Kline (MN)
 Education reform priorities for 112th
Congress
– restore local control
– empower parents
– let teachers teach
– protect taxpayers
 Advocate for IDEA full funding
House of Representatives
Before & After
 Republicans – More conservative
- Tea party candidates
 Democrats – More liberal
- Half of “Blue Dogs” lost
- Half of votes against health care lost
- Out – Hill (IN), Kanjorski, Murphy and Dahlkemper,(PA),
Etheridge (NC)
Senate Before & After
111th Congress
 Democrats – 59
 Republicans - 41
112th Congress
 Democrats – 53
 Republicans - 47
Senate Before & After
Majority
Minority
 Majority Leader
 Harry Reid (D–NV)
 Majority Whip
 Dick Durbin (D–IL)
 Education Committee
 Minority Leader
 Mitch McConnell (R–KY)
 Minority Whip
 Jon Kyl (R–AZ)
 Education Committee
Ranking Member
 Mike Enzi (R–WY)
Chairman
 Tom Harkin (D–IA)
Senate Majority Leaders
 Sen. Reid (NV)
 Majority Leader
 Recipient of ASCD’s Whole Child
Leadership Award
 Supporter of addressing the dropout
crisis, high school reform, STEM.
 Wants NCLB to address student
growth and include middle and high
school improvement.
Senate Majority Leaders
 Sen. Harkin (IA)
 Education Committee Chairman and
Education Appropriations Chairman
 Winner of ASCD’s first Whole Child
Leadership Award
 Supports increased funding for
NCLB and IDEA.
Senate Minority Leaders
 Sen. Mike Enzi (WY)
 Ranking Member on
HELP Committee
 Concerned about rural
schools
– Opposes idea of competitive
funding found in ESEA Blueprint.
Senate Minority Leaders
 Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN)
 Former Secretary of Education (Bush 41)
 Supportive of Teacher Incentive Fund
(TIF), charters, state-led common standards,
and RttT.
Senate Republican Wild Cards
 Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY)
 Legislative priority
- Make Obama 1-term president
 Sen. Jim DeMint (SC)
 “Self appointed” leader of Tea Party
 Could make it difficult for McConnell
to compromise with Democrats and
President on many issues.
Senate Before & After
 Republicans – More conservative
- Out - Specter (PA), Bennett (UT), LeMieux (FL)
- In - Paul (KY), Rubio (FL), Lee (UT), Toomey (PA)
 Democrats – More liberal
- Out - Bayh (IN), Lincoln (AR), Feingold (WI)
- In - Chris Coons (DE), Joe Manchin (WV)
Elections & Education
 Campaign Issues
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Economy
Obama
Health care
Big Government/Spending
Elections & Education
 Education was not a campaign issue
 Four Reform Priorities
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Higher standards
Effective teachers
Data management
School turnaround
 Main programs
 Race to the Top grants
 i3 grants
 Race to the Top assessment grants
 ARRA
 $100 billion for education
Governors
37 Elections:
• Republicans 23
• Democrats 13
• Independents 1
GOP gained
11 states
State Legislatures
• Republicans 25
• Democrats 16
• Split 7
GOP gained
control of
11 legislatures
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, 2010
Chief State School Officers
 Elections were held in seven states
 Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Wyoming
 All but Tom Torlakson (CA) are Republicans
 Meanwhile, six new governors will be appointing
new chiefs
 All of those governors are Republicans
What all this change means…
 Chiefs’ platforms:
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School choice
Local control
More $ into the classroom
School safety/classroom discipline
Career & technical education
Rethinking teacher tenure
 Potentially significant implications for efforts like
Race to the Top and the Common Core State
Standards Initiative.
Common Core State Standards Initiative
 38 states and DC have signed on to the common
core; nine of these states and DC will have entirely
new leadership implementing the standards
 New leadership opinion on the initiative is mixed:
 Georgia: New governor Nathan Deal has commended
common core for cost-saving and flexibility; new chief
John Barge has criticized it for leading to more federal
control.
Arkansas Election Results
Federal Results for Arkansas
 Senate – John Boozman (R) defeated incumbent
Blanche Lincoln (D)
 House – three Republican wins in four districts
State Results for Arkansas
 One of only 13 states to elect a Democratic
Governor this year (incumbent Mike Beebe)
 One of only 16 states with a Democratic state
legislature
 One of only 11 states with both a Democratic state
legislature and governor
Election Trends
 Parental involvement/empowerment
 Local control
 Frugality
 Vouchers/ “School Choice”
 Abolish Department of Education
2011 Education Issues & Policies
National Standards/Common Core
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Federal involvement/role versus local control
Adoption versus implementation
Assessments
Professional development
Accountability
 2013-14 deadline for 100% proficiency
 Growth model
 College and career readiness standards
– Reading and math
– Other core subjects
 Lowest 5%
Teacher Effectiveness
 Merit pay
 Race to the Top
 Highly qualified versus highly effective
School Choice
 Vouchers
 Opportunity scholarships
 Parental empowerment
Funding
 Return to FY08 levels
 Education cuts
 Competitive funding/incentive funding
ESEA Reauthorization
 ESEA Blueprint
– College & career-ready standards (i.e., Common
Core)
– Student growth accountability
– Teacher effectiveness
– Complete education
– Safe, healthy, successful students
ESEA Reauthorization
 Will it happen in 2011?
 If not, what happens?
 Deal or No Deal?
 Accomplishment
 Political talking points
ASCD’s Whole Child Recommendations
 Establish a state commission to ensure whole child
policies and practices.
 Align and coordinate services, resources, and data
across state agencies that serve children.
 Publish an annual state report card that measures
the health, safety, and education of children and
families.
Arkansas Policy Issues
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Common core
Adequate and equitable funding for public schools
School consolidation/busing
Middle and high school improvement/reducing
college remediation rates
 Teacher and principal evaluation
What state policy issues
are you most concerned
about and want Arkansas
ASCD to influence this
year?
Advocacy 101
Advocacy Tools & Strategies
 Letters/emails/calls
 Meetings
– In Washington
– In the District
 School visits
 Templates/alerts for others
 Media
Advocacy Do’s & Don’ts
 Do’s
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Your homework
Take the first step
Share your expertise
Focus on your elected officials
Keep it simple
 Who, what, when, where, how, why
 The “Ask”
 Be mindful of space and time
Advocacy Do’s & Don’ts
 Do’s
– Be specific
 Provide examples
 Use data
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Communicate early and often
Establish relationships
Follow up
Be persistent
Become a resource
Advocacy Do’s & Don’ts
 Don’ts
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Go one and done
Be pushy
Be rude
Negative
Burn bridges
Give up
Lie
Advocacy Do’s & Don’ts
 Don’ts
– Be vague with your message/ask
– Be unfocused
Mr. Cohen Goes to Washington
 Part 1
Advanced Advocacy
Framing & Refining Your Message
 Words matter
 Accentuate the positive
 Eliminate the negative
– Politically
– Public
 Establish rapport
 Use shorthand
 Make it memorable
Framing & Refining Your Message
 Spin Doctor Frank Luntz:
It’s not what you say,
it’s what people hear.
Framing & Refining Your Message
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Estate tax
Campaign promise
Spending
Abortion
End of life counseling
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Death tax
Contract with America
Investments
Pro-life/Pro-choice
Death panels
Framing & Refining Your Message
 Elementary and
Secondary Education
Act
 No Child Left
Behind Act
 Vouchers
 School choice or
Opportunity
scholarships
Framing & Refining Your Message
 National standards
 Common core
 Schools in need of
improvement
 Failing schools
Framing & Refining Your Message
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Highlight results over process
Use action words
Avoid acronyms
Avoid jargon
Don’t try too hard
Make it believable
Anticipate Tough Questions
What tough questions might be
asked related to your policy issue?
Organizational Advocacy
 Education
– Explain the “why”
– Highlight successes
 Model it/live it
– Make it a regular agenda item
– Cultivate advocacy ambassadors
 Communication
– Internal and external
 Collaboration
– Develop partnerships/coalitions
Organizational Advocacy
 Engagement strategies
– Action alerts
– Events
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State Capitol Days
Rallies
Policy briefings
Meet and greets
– Newsletters
– Social networking
– Media
What is your POLICY New Year’s Resolution?
ESEA Reauthorization
Mr. Cohen Goes to Washington
 Part 2
Advocacy Training for
Influence and Impact
Arkansas ASCD Conference
January 6, 2011
David Griffith, dgriffith@ascd.org
Melissa Mellor, mmellor@ascd.org