How to Communicate the Message to the State Board of Education and Missouri General Assembly

We have seen e-mails from organizations other than fine arts groups come across our computers recently that use “scare tactics” to motivate their members to send letters, e-mails and faxes. We do not believe fine arts educators need to feel threatened in order to be motivated to act.

The MAAE has determined that the best way to communicate our position is to concentrate on the effects of the policymakers’ actions on educating the children in Missouri public schools, not what it will mean to you such as losing your job or taking away planning time. While these are legitimate concerns, they are not strong arguments to change state policy.

Here is what we suggest:

First, identify yourself.  When communicating with the Missouri State Board of Education or DESE, let them know if you are a teacher, school administrator, school board member, parent, student, community member or other group.  If you write to a legislator, let him or her know if you live in the legislator's district--letters and e-mails from constituents are important to officials.

Start with an opening statement. Identify what concerns you.  Use the Statements from the previous page for the different groups (State Board and MO General Assembly).  

Please remember to recognize the support the State Board of Education has shown for the arts at the January meeting.  If Mr. Michael Ponder, SBOE member, had not asked the Board to revisit the fine arts “issue” at the next meeting (February 16), our options would be greatly limited.

Make sure you use a professional and respectful tone in your letter, e-mail and/or fax.  (We say "letter AND e-mail" because it is more effective to mail a letter and send an e-mail and/or FAX to make sure your voice is heard.) It is vitally important to be polite and professional in your correspondence with policymakers. Avoid exclamation points and PLEASE use paragraphing—no one wants to read long paragraphs that go on and on. 

This leads us to the next point: be succinct. Limit your communication to a one-page letter or fax, any more than that will not be read. 

Now, outline two or three (or more) reasons why the State Board should include the arts in the MAP and Best Practices document and why the State Representative and State Senator should adequately fund schools.

•  I support a well-rounded education for children in our public schools, an education that includes more than an emphasis on one or two subjects such as language arts and mathematics. 
• The arts promote creativity and innovative thinking, qualities that are valued in the 21st century workplace.
• The arts help keep kids in school.

Now add your personal insights into the value of the arts in our schools.  Were you influenced by a terrific art teacher?  Did your band director teach you how to work in a group to reach a common goal?  Do your children bring home artwork or sing a song they learned in music class?  Does that dance class at your high school keep students engaged in learning? Can you still recall some of your lines from the high school play? Are minority and students from lower socio-economic levels excelling in your school?  Have you, as an arts teacher, influenced a student to do the right thing, stay in school, etc.? Did you notice how many arts students were recognized at the last high school graduation or awards assembly?

Note: We do not encourage form letters because they are not effective in making the case for the arts. The information provided here should help you write a personal letter, however, if you need a format for letter writing, see the Sample Letter Format following the addresses for policymakers.

Addresses of the Policymakers

FAX number:573-751-1179. 

The names of the members are: David Liechti, St. Joseph, President; Peter F. Herschend, Branson, Vice-President,  Rev. Stan Archie, Kansas City; Deborah L. Demien, Wentzville; J. Michael Ponder, Cape Girardeau; Sybl Slaughter, Lebanon; Russell C. Still, Columbia

E-mail:  chris.nicastro@dese.mo.gov

E-mail: Margie.vandeven@dese.mo.gov

Fax: 573-751-9434

Sharon Hoge, Assistant Commissioner of the Office of College and Career Readiness

E-mail: Sharon.hoge@dese.mo.gov

Fax: 573-526-4261

State Representatives:

Address for State Senators: If you need to look up your State Senator, go to www.senate.mo.gov and click on Legislator Lookup; if you know the name of your State Senator, click on Senators name on the Senate homepage. This info will give you the room number to fill in on the mailing address below. If you click on the name you will get the e-mail address and fax number.

Sample Advocacy Letter Format

Date

Dear _____________________,

I am a (teacher, school administrator) who is concerned about the future of fine arts education in our schools. As a member of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education and (fine arts association name here) I am writing to ask you to include a fine arts assessment in the Missouri Assessment Program as part of MSIP 5.  I ask that you direct the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to include minimum levels of visual art and music instruction in elementary and middle/junior high schools as part of the Best Practices document.

We need the arts in our schools to educate the whole child (or whatever argument you can put in one sentence). I am asking you to include the fifth-grade fine arts assessment in the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) as part of the MSIP 5 Performance Standards. I also respectfully ask that you direct DESE to include in a Best Practices document that each elementary school student shall receive instruction in art, music and physical education for a minimum of 50 minutes in each area each week and that middle school/junior high school student shall receive 3,000 minutes of fine arts instruction per school year.

(Include a sentence or two about how you have reached, motivated, or taught students in your fine arts class.)     

I appreciate the support you have shown for the arts as a member of the State Board of Education. 

Sincerely,

My name is _______________, and I teach (music/visual arts/theatre/dance/etc) at (school).  The purpose of my letter is to request your support for fine arts education in our schools. As a constituent in your (House, Senate) district, I am writing to ask you to adequately fund the foundation formula for Missouri Public Schools in order to prevent the revised rule 161.209 for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to take effect.

I also ask that you require DESE to enforce minimum requirements for schools to provide fine arts instruction and all of the other areas covered by the Resource and Process Standards, and take into consideration the consequence 161.209 has on educating the whole child.

(You can list reasons why you believe this will help you, or your school, or your students.)

Thank you for your consideration of the legislation enacted in August 2010. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (your phone number).