[Northampton-GP] breakthrough amendment to the Unz law regarding waivers - write now !!!

[NeilESL at aol.com]

A House amendment to the Unz (English immersion) law will be introduced this 
Wednesday (4/23/03), calling for the waiver option to be available for all 
students, regardless of age. In other words, students under 10 years of age, 
as well as 10 years and older, would be eligible to apply for a waiver.

How to write your representative or senator :

State Rep or State Senator
State House District Office 
Boston, MA 02133

web addresses for senators and house members 
http://www.state.ma.us/legis/memmenus.htm
http://www.state.ma.us/legis/memmenuh.htm
if you don't know who your reps are, call (617) 727-2828

3) A sample letter is below.
subject line of e-mail : Please co-sponsor House amendment to Unz bill

Rep or Sen with name

Please co-sponsor and vote for the House amendment that will allow all 
parents and children to choose the type of education they desire by opening 
the waiver process up to all ages. This bill will protect each parents' and 
communities' rights to choose the type of education they wish for their 
children by allowing for the necessary waivers. Also, please commit to 
supporting legislation that repeals the "Suing Teachers" provision of 
Question 2. Thank you for your time. 

Your constituent,  
name and address

To: All supporters of bilingual education
> 
> Fr: Tom Maher
> 
> Re: A breakthrough amendment to the Unz law regarding waivers
> 
> Date: April 19, 2003
> 
> PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO ALL PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAY BE 
SUPPORTERS OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION IMMEDIATELY - THANK YOU
> 
> 
> There is very encouraging news from bilingual advocate and attorney Charles 
Glick. A House amendment to the Unz law will be introduced this Wednesday 
(4/23/03), calling for the waiver option to be available for all students, 
regardless of age. In other words, students under 10 years of age, as well as 
10 years and older, would be eligible to apply for a waiver.
> 
> Should this amendment pass, literally thousands of families that had been 
ineligible, would now be entitled to fight for their children to receive an 
appropriate and effective bilingual education program. The positive affect it 
would have for bilingual education in public schools would be absolutely 
enormous.
> 
> Charles Glick believes direct lobbying of State Representatives and 
Senators could be of singular value; and could help produce a favorable 
outcome. I would like to suggest, therefore, that every advocate of bilingual 
education we know be contacted as soon as possible. They could be asked to 
meet at the State House on any day between Wednesday and Friday (4/23 - 4/25) 
if they can be available. Parents of bilingual ed students, and bilingual 
education teachers and paras, would be especially instrumental in waging a 
successful lobby effort.
> 
> The extraordinary opportunity this amendment represents could not be 
overestimated. It means that children in grades K through Five, who had 
previously been locked out, would now have a chance to be empowered. I ask 
that we fight for this amendment with every resource available to us.
> 
> By Monday or Tuesday, I'll try to work with Berta to send out an e-mail to 
everybody on our networks, detailing all the logistical information:
> 
> Exactly where to meet for each day, from Wednesday to Friday
> 
> At what precise times we meet throughout the course of each day, at 
designated rendezvous points (as advocates would be arriving at the State 
House at various times and on different days)
> 
> Distributing a fact sheet or "talking bullets" that every advocate could 
use as a guide, for articulating a persuasive message to elected officials or 
key staff
> 
> A check-off system to record who we visited and note the outcome
> 
> Arranging for people to team-up in pairs or threesomes for visiting 
offices; and to receive a briefing before they begin lobbying
> 
> In the meanwhile, people on our networks will begin receiving this e-mail 
on Saturday and Sunday, or Monday. As each person receives it, perhaps the 
only thing I could ask right now is to determine whether you can lobby at the 
State House on any day between Wednesday and Friday, for one to two hours. If 
you can, please e-mail either me or Berta to advise us as to what day. One of 
us will get back to you on Monday or Tuesday with all the logistical info 
referenced above.
> 
> It's now Friday night, so I can't begin coordinating this with anybody 
right now. I won't get back into town until Monday around 5:30 pm. If there 
is anybody receiving this e-mail that can begin coordinating some of the work 
for our lobbying effort, please do so. We'll be in touch on Monday or 
Tuesday.
> 
> I wish this message could be more thought out, rather than doing it "on the 
fly." But it may be helpful to just reach people to ask if they can free up 
some time between Wednesday and Friday. By Monday night, a bona fide strategy 
can be communicated.
> 
> Although this is hurried, the chance of winning a waiver for students of 
all ages and grades is just too great an opportunity to let slip away. I 
apologize for the haste. This battle is going to be another struggle.
> 
> For contact:
> 
> Berta Berriz; Bberriz at attbi.com (617-983-5170)
> 
> Tom Maher; tomaherforbtu at earthlink.net (617-323-4006)

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