February 11th, 2016

Colleagues:


The MTA has put together a legislative action plan and your help is need to put it into action immediately! Please review the materials, take action, and pass them along to the members in your building and ASK EVERYONE to get involved!



1. Flyer with key talking points that you can use in conversation with other colleagues, family, neighbors and friends concerning the problem of lifting the cap on Charter Schools in the Commonwealth.


2. A template for letters to the editor of local newspapers on the testing moratorium. You can simply insert your name and send or, better, customize it so that it sounds like you. If the newspaper receives several emails with the same words, they usually put multiple names and print it once. Variations of the same letter likely will get printed. If you have time, customize. If not, take the couple of minutes it would take to put your name on the template copy and send it. But please do it!


3. A template for letters to the editor on charter schools. Again custom better but at least send template with your name on it.


4. Template for op-Ed piece on Charter Schools. If you can get your president to send this in or a member of the school committee, selectman, State Representative or anyone whom you think can get it printed as an op-Ed.


5. Script for Charter School call night. We are asking educators to call into their legislators offices after 5:30 PM and leave a voicemail stating their opposition to raising the cap on charter schools. Charter School call night is February 23rd. This shouldn't take more than a minute or two and can be a powerful tool.


6. For members who are social media savvy, sample tweets that can be used to get the word out.


You can begin this campaign as soon as you want. We have the green light. Print flyers and hang them in your school faculty areas. Send letters to the editors of local newspapers on both the testing moratorium and charter schools. Find someone with cache` to author and op-ed. You may be surprised who they will allow to do an op-Ed. Finally, those of you who use social media please start using it to promote our agenda.


Over the years many teachers have complained that all we do is play defense. After a difficult campaign, all we are left with, at best, is the way it was before the campaign. This is different! Here we are taking the offense. Please engage! Do it for yourself, your colleagues but most of all, for your students who need you to advocate for them. NOW is the time to act.


Okay, my friends, the ball is in your court! Please come through!


Lynn Howard

Weymouth PAL

781-901-9120