More than two dozen parents, educators, community members and even a Girl Scout troop gave two hours of their Saturday to learn how to access their legislators and advocate for Des Moines Public Schools students. The Community Legislative Action Team, led by School Board members Heather Anderson (CLAT chair), Dionna Langford and Kyrstin Delagardelle-Shelley, hosted the event at the Iowa Capitol.
Over coffee and doughnut holes, John Cacciatore of PolicyWorks gave the group an update on where CLAT priorities stood with lawmakers at the Statehouse, including extending the SAVE penny sales tax for school infrastructure and technology, and increasing funding for English Language Learners (ELL) and preschool programs.
Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad walked the group upstairs to the House and Senate chambers and explained the process of locating your legislator when you want to visit in person and gave tips for how to be heard.
“We get a lot of form letters when there are big issues,” Abdul-Samad said as the group stood on the floor of the Iowa House of Representatives. “A personal email, phone call or visit is going to be much more effective.”
He stayed to answer questions until there were no more.
“It was a wonderful experience,” said Erica Sloan, a DMPS parent. “It’s important as citizens for us to visit our Capitol, meet our legislators and learn about advocating for issues important to the children of Iowa.”
The next opportunity to interact with state legislators will be Saturday, Feb. 9 at the CLAT Coffee with Legislators. Parents, educators and community members are all welcome. The February coffee is being held at North High School from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Invitations are sent out to all area legislators. Senator Claire Celsi, Sen. Janet Petersen, Rep. Bruce Hunter, Rep. Marti Anderson, Rep. Jo Oldson, Rep. Kristin Sunde, Rep. Heather Matson and Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines have confirmed they will attend.
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Photos of the CLAT Advocacy Training Day
