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Kids As Self
Advocates (KASA) Seeks Board/Task Force Applicants -
Calling All Youth with Disabilities! Are
you interested in getting involved with the national disability youth
movement? Are you between the ages of 12 and 24? Are you interested
in learning how to inform youth
about their rights, give peer-support, training
and to change systems to include youth? If you answered
"YES" to these questions, Kids As Self
Advocates (KASA) wants YOU! National Kids As Self
Advocates (KASA) has
positions open on our Advisory Board and Task Force. We
are looking for youth with disabilities,
between the ages of 12 and 24, to serve on the
national KASA Advisory Board or our national Task
Force.
10 Tips for
Good Advocates -
Wrightslaw's Pat Howey says parents need to understand that the law
gives them power to use in educational decisions for their children. Parents
should not be afraid to use their power. But, there are better ways to
obtain positive results than to roar through IEP meetings in a Mack Truck.
Here are Pat's newest tips for effective, successful advocates.
Improving Schools: One Person is a
Fruitcake, 50 People are a Powerful Organization
If you think that you alone cannot do much to improve your school, you are
probably right. You're more likely to get what you want for your
child if you work with other parents. If you are
in a school that is not parent-friendly, this is how you might be
perceived.
1 person = A fruitcake
2 people = A fruitcake and a friend
3 people = Troublemakers
5 people = "Let's have a meeting"
10 people = "We'd better listen"
25 people = "Our dear friends"
50 people = A powerful organization"
If you collaborate with other parents and organizations, you can make a
difference. There is strength and power in numbers.
Source: 12 Things Parents
(and Teachers) Need to Know About and Expect From Your Schools - and
Yourself. Originally from Parent Leadership Associates;
reprinted from www.Wrightslaw.com.
Tips for
Managing Interpersonal Conflict as You Advocate -
In the course of seeking help for your child with learning or attention
problems, have you ever experienced conflict with someone at your child’s
school, in the community, or even in your own family? If so, rest assured you
are not alone. The complexity, emotions, and energy involved in parenting a
child with special needs can take a toll on you and your relationships with
others. It’s not uncommon for misunderstandings and conflict to occur.
Mistakes
People Make: Advocates - Because the non-lawyer advocate plays an
extremely important role in the special education process, advocates must be
mindful of the power of their role and the trust parents place in them. The more
serious mistakes advocates may make are generally ones of excess.
Learning Self-Advocacy Skills -
What's the most important skill a high
school student with Asperger Syndrome or autism can learn before he or she
graduates? Run a list of candidate skills through your head. It's a good
exercise. Was self-advocacy on your short list? I think I can make a good case
that it should be.
Advocating Through Letter Writing (PDF) - A
request for a meeting with a teacher, a change in your child’s program, an
adjustment to your child’s testing schedules, all may require a letter. And not
all of us are comfortable writing a letter for these requests. It can be
intimidating and time consuming. In the following few pages you will find some
hints, suggestions or models to use when you re writing your next letter. We
hope this booklet helps you to feel confident and to improve your letter writing
skills.
How
to be an Effective Advocate for Quality Schools (PDF) - Whether it is
through education funding, accountability, or teacher quality regulations,
education policy affects our schools and students. For too long, these policies
have been developed without full consideration of their effect in the classroom.
ASCD is working to change that by helping educators engage in effective
advocacy. The resources in this guide and in the ASCD Action allow you to take
action to support effective education policy. This guide offers advice for
planning an advocacy campaign, communicating with policymakers, making your
voice heard, and ensuring your advocacy is effective and efficient. Using ASCD
materials and the tactics in this guide, you can make the most of your time as
an advocate. Even if you have only two minutes to spare, these tried-and-true
approaches will make sure you are respected and effective as a go-to source for
education policy.
Using The
Internet For Effective Grassroots Advocacy (PDF) -
This guide covers the key
topics any organization should consider when planning an online advocacy program
or strengthening an existing one. From trends in online advocacy to building an
email list, creating compelling online advocacy campaigns, fostering loyalty to
the organization and measuring online program results, it will help you to
create and implement a successful, ongoing online advocate relationship program.
A Citizen’s Guide to Michigan State Government (PDF) -
Find names and contact information for all Michigan Senators and
Representatives, an explanation of how Michigan state government works, and tips
on how to write letters to elected officials.
Books on Advocacy
List compiled by Julia
Burgess, Director, Community Environmental Health Resource Center (CEHRC) and
distributed by Sharon Hudson.
Stir it Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy
Reviewed by: Don Griesmann
This is a passionate book! It is
about community organizing, a reflection of its past, a study of the present and
some prediction of the future. The author utilizes 14 community organizations
that were funded by Ms. Foundation from 1999 to 2001 as models for today's
movements for social change. She encourages through her analysis and
illustrations for people to "stir it up." This is not a Saul Alinsky-style stir.
Alinsky is acknowledged - and criticized. Ms. Sen takes us to the issues, tools,
strategies, systems and constituencies that make up today's organizing movements
at the grassroots level.
Advocacy for Social Justice (2001)
Review by: Mary Boland
Let's cut to the chase. This is
a great book. If you are new to advocacy or you need a basic reference for your
library, buy it. The publishers state that their intended audiences are advocacy
practitioners and trainers, but it would also be an excellent text for
college-level international- or community- development students
The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations: Shaping Public
Policy at the State and Local Level
Reviewed by: Mary Boland
One of the best things about the
book is the Avner's emphasis on organizational mission. "Always go back to the
mission!" She recommends that the first item in the first planning meeting start
with a review of the organizational mission. This may seem like preaching to the
choir, but I have found in my own work and in talking with others that it is
incredibly easy to get drawn into peripheral issues that divert time, energy and
resources away from the center.
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