2017 Advocacy Day Training and Overview

Advocacy Day schedule 8:30 a.m.: Breakfast in the Washington Room of the Pritchard Building (same location as in years past) 9 a.m.: Rep. Dent and Rep. Kagi stop by, plus quick primer on polling results 10 a.m.: Advocacy training 11 a.m.: Meetings begin 2 p.m.: Meeting with DEL Director Ross Hunter 3 p.m.: Wrap-up and evaluation ELAA, DEL, ELAC etc, - having a process by which coalition voices and on the ground experience are factored into advocacy and policy decisions made by statewide groups

Logistics At least one Thrive staff member will be stationed in the Washington Room all day. You can stop by to return forms, ask questions or put your feet up. A boxed lunch will be provided, and we’ll have snacks! Thrive staff members will be accompanying some teams on their visits to offer support. This is mainly for smaller teams and/or teams whose advocacy lead is not in attendance. Between meetings, drop postcards with legislators you’re not meeting. (Thrive will provide the blank postcards.) Thrive will collect cell phone numbers and contact you in case of any last-minute rescheduling by legislators.

Objectives for Advocacy Day Introduce/reinforce coalitions as regional resource Show gratitude for continued momentum on early learning Show local support for key early learning issues Build relationships ELAA, DEL, ELAC etc, - having a process by which coalition voices and on the ground experience are factored into advocacy and policy decisions made by statewide groups

Advocacy 101: Tips and advice Be friendly/nice Listen and ask questions Don’t make things up (seems obvious, but you’d be surprised …) Know your meeting target Arrive on time and call if you’re running late Plan roles ahead of time; know who’s saying what Don’t be offended if you’re meeting with staff Above all, be yourself and rep your region

Questions you might hear Are you a constituent? How should we pay for this? How will this affect small businesses? How do we know early learning works? How would you answer this question? Are you a constituent – if not, you can say so, but just be clear that you represent their district and people from their district sit at the coalition table. How should we pay for this? I leave that up to you – you’re the expert on that – but this is a drop in the bucket in terms of our state’s overall spending, and it has a huge return on investment. It is also connected to success in K12, which is a major focus of this session. How will this affect small business? It will support thousands of small businesses to improve their service quality, and will give them financial support and coaching to do so. How will this affect low income children? It will help ensure that the programs they attend are of a high quality and able to meet their needs. What other questions do you think might come up?

ECEAP messaging

Messaging on home visiting

Meeting with Ross Hunter Questions and topics Kindergarten readiness Department of Children, Youth and Families Role of coalitions and local voice Dan can help with this slide

Materials Folders – to leave with legislators and staff (2 per office) Fact sheets and polling summary Packets – for you and only you (1 per person) Your team’s schedule, info on your legislators, maps, meeting feedback forms 2015 packets: GREEN folders – to leave with legislators and staff (2 per office) Right pocket: EL fact sheet, voter poll summary, Early Achievers update, HVSA one sheet, ECEAP one sheet Left pocket: Coalition one pager, EL stories YELLOW folders – for you and only you (2 per team) Your team’s schedule, info on your legislators (including ESA votes), campus map, meeting feedback forms, state district map

Preparation Review your team’s schedule Identify tight transitions Determine who is going to which meetings Review documents in leave-behind packet Review bios/voting records of legislators, and think about how you might target messages With talking points as guide, determine who will say what in each meeting If time allows, fill out postcards