Resources
“Out-of-school time (OST) programs operate ten hours or more per week on an on-going basis serving school-age (K-12) children. OST programs provide regularly scheduled, structured and supervised activities where learning opportunities take place outside the typical school day. OST programs may occur before school, after school, weekends, or during seasonal and track breaks.”
Advocacy Tools
Administrative
Is active support of an idea or cause by speaking on behalf of an issues of concern to the public or special audiences. The aim is to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions with political, economic and social systems and institutions. Examples include communicating with government officials, presenting your information and facts, testifying at a hearing, and writing a letter to the editor.
Legislative
Administrative
Influencing current policy of the chief executive or an administrative agency by: Click here to read more.
Legislative
Influencing policy change through the legislative branch of government by: Click here to read more.
Electoral
Influencing candidates' and voter's opinions on issues of importance by: Click here to read more.
Why Should the Network Engage in Advocacy?
- Federal and state governments' impact on out-of-school time (OST) programs range from funding (appropriations to special state and federal programs) to program standards.
- Legislators and government officials respond to constituents.
- Nevada Afterschool Network (NAN) members are an important source of information on out-of-school and youth development issues for government officials and the media.
How Can Network Members Get Involved?
- Become familiar with your program, local, Nevada and National Facts
- Respond to NAN action alerts to write or meet with legislators and administrators on issues of importance.
- Write opinion editorials (op-eds) and letters to the editor of local newspapers on issues of importance.
- Engage local legislators, arrange site visits, meet with your legislator's district officials and involve legislators in key events
- Encourage parents and staff involvement in advocacy efforts.
Beginning Your Efforts - Legislative Advocacy
So Where Do Your Advocacy Efforts Begin?
The best place to begin is with your local legislator. Determine which legislators or policymakers are in key leadership and/or committee positions. Remain bi-partisan in order to achieve your goal.
Engaging Lawmakers
Outreach to lawmakers is crucial to influencing legislative outcomes. Outreach is anything you do to help influence a change — for instance writing to your legislator, writing a letter to the editor and attending events and meetings. Although contacting your district's legislators personally by hand-written letter or a phone call is preferred the Share your opinion with the legislature is another option to let your voice be heard.)
Key reasons to engage lawmakers
- Lawmakers respond to their constituents because their voice matters. Before they support an issue, they need to find support in their own districts.
- Silence from constituents creates indifference in the capitol. Remember there are hundreds, if not thousands of issues that lawmakers can support.
Key elements to engage lawmakers
- Make local appointments to meet face-to-face. It's hard for policymakers to say "no" in person. Get to know key staff.
- Know the issue – including key pieces of legislation./li>
The Value of Afterschool
- After-School and Summer Learning Programs can Foster Literacy, Especially for English Language Learners. (Learning to Read. Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters, A Kids Count Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation)
- Both the Harvard Family Research Project and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) have also taken a research-based approach to identifying quality characteristics. The consolidation resulted in the following list of eight characteristics exemplified by quality programs: Prepared Staff, Intentional programming, Alignment with the school day, Promotion of varied youth engagement, strong community partners, Safe, Health & Wellness, Sustained student participation and access, Ongoing assessment and improvement. (Afterschool Alliance, Issue Brief: Quality Afterschool: Helping Programs Achieve It and Strengthening Policies to Support It, March 2011)
- Quality afterschool programs are having a positive impact on a number of measures of student academic achievement, positively affecting behavior and discipline and helping relieve parents' worries about their children's safety. (Afterschool Alliance, Evaluations Background: A Summary of Formal Evaluations of Afterschool Programs' Impact on Academics, Behavior, Safety and Family life, March 2011)
Success Stories: Submit your success story by clicking here.
Building Relationship with Policy Makers:
Write about the importance of connecting with your representatives
Sample Letters
Sample Letter from a Parent
Sample Letter from OST programs
Contacting your Representatives
Contacting your Senators: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/76th2011/Legislators/Senators/slist.cfm
Contacting your Assemblymen/women: http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/76th2011/Legislators/Assembly/alist.cfm
How do I find out who my representative is? http://mapserve.leg.state.nv.us/website/lcb/viewer.htm
Contacting Media
Media Outreach Ideas and Tips Click here to read more.
Messages that Work Click here to read more.
Newspapers Click here to read more.
Talk with the Editorial Writers of Your Local Newspaper Click here to read more.
Send a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Newspaper Click here to read more.
List of Media Click here to read more.