Stand Up for Adult Education 1: The Grijalva Dear Colleague Letter

The MAE Independent Studies representative

Stands Up for Adult Education @ a recent School Board meeting.

President Obama will send his Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposal to Congress on April 21, 2009.

The Grijalva Dear Colleague Letter says that adult education must be a high priority for increased federal support. We urge students & teachers, citizen & non-citizens, and all those who use www.uscitizenpod.com to send letters to their US Representative and Senator, and ask them to support this bill.

The most powerful student letters focus on (see sample letter)

• The reason that the student enrolled in adult education
• Their plans after they graduate.
• The request for additional funding or an increase to $750 million.

Students can also make the contact over the telephone with the appropriate Washington office. Callers should identify themselves as a student, staff, or friend of adult education and make the request for additional funding.

Remember that all contacts for members of the House should only come from residents of that Congressional district.

To find contact information, go to:

• Write Your Representative (for the House members)
• Senators Home, (for members of the Senate).

Both of those websites will allow you to click onto the individual members pages, and then you will find a Contact your Member of Congress link in which you can type the message.

You can also access member’s websites through [ http://www.ncladvocacy.org/ ] which has an interactive map from TESOL and through Proliteracy’s [ http://capwiz.com/proliteracy ]

It is very important that we start this campaign now. Please contact your representatives before April 21, 2009. Thank you again for your continued commitment through advocacy to our students.

Thanks! Teacher Jennifer, US Citizenship Podcast
(The post has been modified from an original email from the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education).