1. How to Have Successful Capitol Hill Meetings 2014 Principal of the Year Program

2. Agenda Setting up your Meetings Hill Meeting Myths How to Maximize Your Influence Additional Advocacy Resources

3. Setting Up Your Meetings You should have received an email from NASSP staff with information on the Hill Day with a link to the POY materials page NASSP staff has also made initial contact with each of your congressional offices

4. Setting Up Your Meetings Coordinate with your fellow state POY on Senate meetings Email scheduler with request, then follow up with another email or phone call Persistency & patience are necessary!

5. Setting Up Your Meetings Offer to meet with the Education Legislative Assistant (LA), if Member of Congress is not available –Make sure you get the name of the Education Legislative Assistant so you can email them directly –House emails: firstname.lastname@mail.house.govfirstname.lastname@mail.house.gov –Senate emails: firstname_lastname@MOClastname.senate.gov firstname_lastname@MOClastname.senate.gov

6. Setting Up Your Meetings Plan approximately 30 minutes per meeting You should also plan approximately 15 minutes of travel time in between each meeting –Especially if you are traveling from the House to the Senate and vice versa

7. Setting Up Your Meetings House side Office Buildings -Rayburn -Longworth -Cannon Senate side Office Buildings -Russell -Dirksen -Hart http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/plan-visit/us-capitol-map

8. Setting Up Your Meeting Please complete the online appointment form no later than Friday, August 29online appointment form Please contact Jacki Ball at ballj@nassp.org or at 703.860.7338 if you need assistance. ballj@nassp.org

9. Hill Meeting Myths Myth #1: o Practitioners' voices like mine don’t really matter in crafting federal policy Myth #2: o Meeting with a staff member is not nearly as important as meeting with my legislator

10. Hill Meeting Myths Myth #3: o My meeting won’t mean much since I’m only on the Hill for a day

11. HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR INFLUENCE

12. Before Your Meeting Do some “homework” o Review NASSP materials on the POY Materials page o Prepare examples, personal stories and data/statistics Prioritize your top three to four issues

13. Before Your Meeting Practice your “pitch” o Talking points for each issue -Don’t assume the legislator or staffer knows the issue well o Know your “asks” -What are you asking the member to do? -Cosponsor or support a bill? Oppose a bill? Or support funding for a specific program?

14. At Your Meeting Arrive a few minutes early Introduce yourself to the front desk staff & tell them who you are meeting with

15. At Your Meeting During your meeting o Introductions & exchange cards o Make a connection o Thank them for meeting with you, then go into your first “pitch” and “ask”

16. At Your Meeting During your meeting o Have a conversation -Allow them to ask questions & ask them questions too o Share your stories o Don’t forget about your “ask”

17. At Your Meeting During your meeting o Monitor your time and adjust accordingly to cover all your issues o Leave the NASSP folder of materials with the Member of Congress or staff member o Thank them for their time

18. After Your Meeting Immediately after: o Post photos & info about your meeting on Twitter and Facebook As soon as possible: o Send a thank you email -Reiterate your key points and “asks” -Tell them you are happy to be a resource whenever they need you

19. After Your Meeting In the next few days: o Share your pictures and experience with your local media and school community o Reach out to your Members’ local offices (the state and/or district offices) -Invite your Member of Congress to visit your school -Set up a meeting with the local staff

20. Advocacy Resources Check out all of NASSP’s advocacy resources at www.nassp.org/legislative-advocacy POY Materials Page www.nassp.org/poymaterials www.nassp.org/poymaterials Principal’s Policy Blog www.nasspblogs.org/principalspolicy

21. Advocacy Resources Principal’s Legislative Action Center www.nassp.org/PLAC Twitter @NASSP, @akarhuse, @balljacki House & Senate webpages www.house.gov and www.senate.gov www.house.govwww.senate.gov

22. Get & Stay Involved! Join the Federal Grassroots Network, if not already a member! o Receive Weekly Advocacy Updates o Commit to regularly communicating with your Members of Congress and staff (including state & district offices) o To join, visit the “Get Involved” pageGet Involved

23. Contact Us Amanda Karhuse Director of Advocacy Phone: 703-860-7241 Email: karhusea@nassp.org karhusea@nassp.org Twitter: @akarhuse Jacki Ball Associate Director of Advocacy Phone: 703-860-7338 Email: ballj@nassp.org ballj@nassp.org Twitter: @balljacki