Take Action!
WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE SEARCH IS BEGINNING FOR THE 2020 SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD WINNERS FOR: Mary Alice Buchanan Memorial Scholarship Leota Brown Memorial Scholarship Parent of the Year Administrator of the Year Support Staff of the Year Teacher of the Year Applications with all required materials can be completed ONLINE or filled out and sent electronically by email to Michelle Iocca at miocca@ilheadstart.org no later than the close of business (5:00pm) on Friday, February 21, 2020. The application submission will close promptly at this time and no exceptions can be made.
As we make our way into the weekend for some rest and relaxation I wanted to provide an update on progress made this week with inviting state house members and state senators to our programs. Congratulations to El Valor who had several state representatives visit their program. This helped raise the thermometer to 4%. Visit the IHSA website, State Legislative Visit Tracker, to see pictures. Illinois is planning to grow a universal prekindergarten program and services to infants toddlers. How will Head Start/Early Head Start fit into this new environment? One thing we know for sure is that our state representatives don’t understand who we are and the work we do. We all have a role to play to help our state representatives know and understand the great work you are doing for children and families. Do you think 4% is a good number? Remember we have 118 House Representatives and 59 Senators. Over the last three weeks I know I have been pushy, trying to get these visits completed. I hope you are still thinking about this and making plans. Please know that I love Head Start/Early Head Start. I believe fully in the Head Start mission! I want to remind us that “a little progress each day adds up to BIG results”. We need to push ourselves because no one is going to do this for us. Please let me know if you need any help! I will drive to you and support you with this effort. Just ask me! We can do this! Thank You! Take care, Lauri Steps to Action: (resources can be found on the IHSA Website) Step 1. Invite your state house member and state senator member to visit your program. Not sure who they are? Go to the IHSA website, Find My State and Federal Representatives. Select find my “state and federal representative”. Enter your address, push “find my address”. Then push okay and then confirm. You will have the name of your state senator and state house member, their phone number and email address. You will need to send out two invites, one for your State Senator and one for your State House Member. Personalize the sample letter and send to their respective email address or by snail mail to the address provided. Don’t give up if they don’t reply, sometimes I need to contact them three times before they reply. Be persistent because it’s important! Step 2: Plan the program visit and activities that will leave a lasting, positive impression. Use the sample visit plan to get started! Wondering, what to do while they are onsite? While your elected official is on-site, you can take them on a tour of the facility, have them read to the children, and hear from community partners. Step 3: Use the press advisory template to invite your local newspaper and TV stations to cover this special occasion. Be sure to personalize the advisory. Step 4: Thank your member and all who accompanied him or her. Use the “two Ps” to say thank you: Post pictures from the visit on social media and tag your members to thank them. Personally thank them using this letter template. There YOU have it – everything you need! I would love to help you do any of these steps. Just reach out and let me know what else you need! We can do the leg work and support you. What’s important is that we do this! We are tracking visits so we can gauge how we are doing. So send me an email to let me know your progress. For the next three weeks I will send out, on Friday afternoons, an email to let you know the progress we are making across the state. Head Start depends upon increased AWARENESS! Schedule your State Legislators to come in and visit your programs as soon as possible.
October is Head Start Awareness Month!!! Help spread awareness of Head Start’s life-long, nationwide impact. Start by inviting YOUR representatives at the State House to visit one of your agency programs. First created in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan, Head Start Awareness Month is an opportunity to share at the local, state and national levels the power of Head Start. As President Reagan said in his proclamation, Head Start “has earned recognition and support for its success in early childhood education and development.” Continuing this awareness and creating new champions for Head Start’s mission is not only critical, but also fun. This October, join NHSA in building knowledge of and support for Head Start’s whole-child and whole-community approach to supporting families on their path to success. To help YOU and your agency spread awareness about the life-changing power of Head Start, NHSA is proud to share the new digital version of the Head Start Language Playbook. This new interactive, online version of the Language Playbook can be used by anyone, anywhere, and on any device. [The digital Language Playbook (for NHSA members) is available in both English and Spanish, and is designed to help the Head Start community have better, more effective conversations about our mission with the public.] For more resources and a video, click this link.
