Monday, October 3, 2011

A spotlight on state advocacy efforts.

A spotlight on state advocacy efforts. Connecting with policymakers is an important aspect of raisingawareness Raising awareness is a common phrase advocacy groups use to justify a particular event, brochure or even the entire organization. Raising awareness refers to alerting the general public that a certain issue exists and should be approached the way the group desires. about the value of career and technical education (CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) The difference between the way two materials expand when heat is applied. This is very critical when chips are mounted to printed circuit boards, because the silicon chip expands at a different rate than the plastic board. ). Eachstate faces unique challenges when advocating to promote their programs.South Carolina South Carolina,state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW).Facts and FiguresArea, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. , Georgia and Nebraska have successfully taken on thesechallenges and continue to advocate for CTE within their states. South Carolina Building relationships with Members of Congress is essential toraising awareness about CTE and to secure its future. Becoming aneffective advocate takes time and instruction. South Carolina'sACTE ACTE Association for Career and Technical Education (formerly American Vocational Association)ACTE Association of Corporate Travel ExecutivesACTE Approvals Committee for Terminal EquipmentACTE Anodal Closure Tetanus believes that the best way to build an effective grassroots base isto train and mentor Mentor, in Greek mythologyMentor(mĕn`tər, –tôr'), in Greek mythology, friend of Odysseus and tutor of Telemachus. new advocates. Here is what Nick Milasnovich, chairof South Carolina's ACTE Federal Legislative Committee, has to sayabout his state's advocacy activities: "For over 25 years, the Years, Thethe seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109]See : Time South Carolina ACTE has appointed afederal legislative committee to monitor legislative proceedings andattend the National Policy Seminar (NPS NPS National Park ServiceNPS Naval Postgraduate SchoolNPS Net Promoter Score (customer management)NPS Non-Point Source pollutionNPS Native Plant SocietyNPS Norfolk Public Schools (Virginia)), sponsored by ACTE, inWashington, D.C. It is vitally important for all committee members tolearn how to conduct Hill visits and advocate for CTE programs andpositions. The South Carolina ACTE encourages experienced federallegislative committee members to remain on the committee for severalyears and to 'show the ropes' to new committee members. "If committee members have visited an office [on Capitol Capitol, seat of the U.S. CongressCapitol,seat of the U.S. government at Washington, D.C. It is the city's dominating monument, built on an elevated site that was chosen by George Washington in consultation with Major Pierre L'Enfant. Hill]the previous year, they are asked to revisit re��vis��it?tr.v. re��vis��it��ed, re��vis��it��ing, re��vis��itsTo visit again.n.A second or repeated visit.re the same office thefollowing year. This system lends itself to relationship building withHouse and Senate staffers. Occasionally, the Member of Congress will beavailable for the Hill visit, but contact and communication is usuallywith staffers who are responsible for education. "Hill packets, containing a position statement and fact sheetson state and local CTE programs, are developed in conjunction with theSouth Carolina Department of Education, Office of Career and TechnologyEducation, and are distributed to the education staff person and theMember of Congress. For a greater advocacy impact, it is essential forthe state association and the state educational agency to be inagreement on all positions and to speak with one voice prior to the Hillvisits. "After NPS Hill visits, the real work begins. Thank youletters and e-mails are sent to Members of Congress and their staffs.The lead committee members maintain contact with the education staffersyear round and provide information and positions on hearings or votesthat affect the future of CTE. South Carolina ACTE stresses theimportance of relationship building with Members of Congress and theirstaffs to the point where we know their first names and what theyrepresent." Georgia Cuts in funding to state programs are a constant threat to CTE inmany states. Georgia ACTE knows this all too well and has found thatjoining advocacy forces with other interested parties is key todeveloping relationships with the necessary legislators to securefunding and policy improvements for CTE programs. Here is what MatthewGambill, executive director of Georgia ACTE has to say about hisstate's advocacy efforts: "For the past several years, Georgia's CTE programs havehad funding threats. Each year we closely watch the budget proposals toprotect against hits to our programs. Last year there was a huge cut forvocational lab supervisors in the 2005 budget. Teaming up witheducators, business people and the Georgia Department of Education The Georgia Department of Education is an American agency that governs public education in the state of Georgia. They manage funding and testing for local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. staff, we campaigned against these cuts. Several of our CTE businesspartners, such as the construction industry and the automobile industry automobile industry,the business of producing and selling self-powered vehicles, including passenger cars, trucks, farm equipment, and other commercial vehicles. ,wrote letters on our behalf, and CTE educators called their statelegislators. "Establishing relationships with your legislators is criticalin this process. Legislators need to understand the importance of CTEand what budget cuts mean for educators and the people in theircommunity. After starting a statewide e-mail and phone campaign, we wereable to get the message back to Atlanta, and the legislature onlyproposed half of the original cuts. This was a great victory for GeorgiaACTE. We knew how little 'play' there was in the budget, andthrough our advocacy efforts, we were able to secure more funding thanoriginally proposed. Other education groups did not fair as well as wedid." Nebraska Articulate articulate/ar��tic��u��late/ (ahr-tik��u-lat)1. to pronounce clearly and distinctly.2. to make speech sounds by manipulation of the vocal organs.3. to express in coherent verbal form.4. , knowledgeable students are an advocacy asset to CTE.Legislators tend to respond to students when discussing educationissues. Kathy Gifford, president-elect of ACTE of Nebraska, believes intapping into this valuable resource and in creating a new generation ofCTE advocates and further explains: "Every February, the Family and Consumer Science Teachers ofNebraska organize a legislative workshop. Teachers and students fromacross the state come to listen to a guest state Senator Noun 1. state senator - a member of a state senatesenator - a member of a senate who discussesthe legislative process in Nebraska. Students have the opportunity toask questions concerning bills of interest to them and join otherSenators for our luncheon at the Governor's Mansion MANSION. This term is synonymous with house. (q.v.) 1 Chit. Pr. 167; 2 T. R. 502; 1 Tho. Co. Litt. 215, n. 35; 9 B. & C. 681; S. C. 17 E. C. L. R. 472, and the cases there cited; Com. Dig. Justices, P 5; 3 Serg. & Rawle, 199. . During lunch,each Senator is 'assigned' to a student or group of studentsfrom his or her district, and the students have the opportunity toexplain what they do and how family and consumer science programs intheir state contribute to education in their schools. A large number ofSenators attend because they enjoy visiting and hearing from students.To get a better understanding of the legislative process, after lunchstudents attend committee hearings at the state capitol. "The legislative workshop and luncheon is a great way to placeour organization in a positive and professional light and to build a newbase of CTE student advocates."

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