You can still advocate! Here are two easy ideas, each will take 10 minutes or less and will have a big impact!
Option #1: Call your Elected Officials!!
You can call your state elected representatives for free! Just call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 1-800-635-9993). You can leave messages on important issues and the Hotline will forward your messages to your own state Senator, Representatives, the Governor and the Lt. Governor. They have interpreter services for many languages, and will tell you who your lawmakers are and make sure your message gets to the right place. You can watch the sample video below to see how easy it is!
Option #2: Email your Lawmakers!
Not a phone person? Email is also easy! First, find your district lawmakers. You will want to send your message to all three of them. You can find their email at the link, but if you know them already, their emails are almost always like this: firstname.lastname@leg.wa.gov. Here's a sample email that you can cut and paste or draw inspiration from, just change the parts that are highlighted. There are also a few ideas below about ECEAP that we've been sharing with legislators to make our case!
Dear Representative (or Senator) McAwesome:
I am a constituent (or parent, or Head Start teacher, or whatever) in your district, and am a strong supporter of early learning. I am writing to ask you to support the Fair Start for Kids Act and increased funding for ECEAP so programs can serve more kids, pay their teachers fairly, and make sure that children are given their best chance to succeed.
This is important to me because [this is where you talk about your own child, family, or program - what has your ECEAP/Head Start/Childcare program done for you? How would your life be different if you didn't have it? What did your program do during the pandemic to help you through the crisis? How is your child doing now because of their experience?]
Thank you for your support of early learning programs and ECEAP.
Sincerely,
My Name
My address or town
Other pro-ECEAP messages:
- COVID-19 Pandemic Has Especially Impacted ECEAP (and Head Start) Families and our programs have stepped up to provide education services both in person and remotely, ensure families have food and supplies, connected families and kids with mental health supports, and help families navigate and build resilience as they lost jobs, faced health issues, and supported their children in a whole new (and stressful) way.
- ECEAP is one of our state’s most effective tools to eliminate racial disparities for our youngest children, and 66% of ECEAP children are children of color. There continues to be a large gap between white students and children of color, and ECEAP helps close that readiness gap.
- Research Shows That ECEAP Works, and the benefits extend well beyond kindergarten. A Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) concluded the impact of ECEAP on later student test scores is nearly twice the average effect of pre-k programs in other states.