how to have successful capitol hill meetings 2014 principal of the year program

How to Have Successful Capitol Hill Meetings

2014 Principal of the Year Program

Agenda• Setting up your Meetings

• Hill Meeting Myths

• How to Maximize Your Influence

• Additional Advocacy Resources

Setting Up Your Meetings• You should have received an email

from NASSP staff with information on the Hill Day with a link to the POY materials page

• NASSP staff has also made initial contact with each of your congressional offices

Setting Up Your Meetings• Coordinate with your fellow state

POY on Senate meetings• Email scheduler with request, then

follow up with another email or phone call

• Persistency & patience are necessary!

Setting Up Your Meetings• Offer to meet with the Education

Legislative Assistant (LA), if Member of Congress is not available– Make sure you get the name of the Education

Legislative Assistant so you can email them directly – House emails: firstname.lastname@mail.house.gov– Senate emails:

firstname_lastname@MOClastname.senate.gov

Setting Up Your Meetings• Plan approximately 30 minutes per

meeting• You should also plan approximately 15

minutes of travel time in between each meeting–Especially if you are traveling from the

House to the Senate and vice versa

Setting Up Your Meetings

House side

Office Buildings-Rayburn

-Longworth-Cannon

Senate side

Office Buildings-Russell-Dirksen

-Hart

http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/plan-visit/us-capitol-map

Setting Up Your Meeting

• Please complete the online appointment form no later than Friday, August 29

• Please contact Jacki Ball at ballj@nassp.org or at 703.860.7338 if you need assistance.

Hill Meeting Myths• Myth #1:o Practitioners' voices like mine don’t

really matter in crafting federal policy

• Myth #2:o Meeting with a staff member is not

nearly as important as meeting with my legislator

Hill Meeting Myths

• Myth #3: o My meeting won’t mean much since

I’m only on the Hill for a day

HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR INFLUENCE

Before Your Meeting

• Do some “homework” o Review NASSP materials on the POY

Materials pageo Prepare examples, personal stories

and data/statistics

• Prioritize your top three to four issues

Before Your Meeting• Practice your “pitch” o Talking points for each issue

- Don’t assume the legislator or staffer knows the issue well

o Know your “asks” - What are you asking the member to do?

- Cosponsor or support a bill? Oppose a bill? Or support funding for a specific program?

At Your Meeting

• Arrive a few minutes early

• Introduce yourself to the front desk staff & tell them who you are meeting with

At Your Meeting• During your meetingo Introductions & exchange cards

o Make a connection

o Thank them for meeting with you, then go into your first “pitch” and “ask”

At Your Meeting• During your meetingo Have a conversation

- Allow them to ask questions & ask them questions too

o Share your stories

o Don’t forget about your “ask”

At Your Meeting• During your meetingo Monitor your time and adjust

accordingly to cover all your issues

o Leave the NASSP folder of materials with the Member of Congress or staff member

o Thank them for their time

After Your Meeting• Immediately after:o Post photos & info about your

meeting on Twitter and Facebook

• As soon as possible: o Send a thank you email

- Reiterate your key points and “asks”- Tell them you are happy to be a

resource whenever they need you

After Your Meeting• In the next few days:o Share your pictures and experience

with your local media and school community

o Reach out to your Members’ local offices (the state and/or district offices)- Invite your Member of Congress to visit

your school - Set up a meeting with the local staff

Advocacy Resources• Check out all of NASSP’s advocacy

resources at www.nassp.org/legislative-advocacy

• POY Materials Page www.nassp.org/poymaterials

• Principal’s Policy Blogwww.nasspblogs.org/principalspolicy

Advocacy Resources• Principal’s Legislative Action Center

www.nassp.org/PLAC

• Twitter@NASSP, @akarhuse, @balljacki

• House & Senate webpages www.house.gov and www.senate.gov

Get & Stay Involved! • Join the Federal Grassroots

Network, if not already a member!o Receive Weekly Advocacy Updateso Commit to regularly communicating

with your Members of Congress and staff (including state & district offices)

oTo join, visit the “Get Involved” page

Contact UsAmanda KarhuseDirector of Advocacy

Phone: 703-860-7241Email: karhusea@nassp.org Twitter: @akarhuse

Jacki Ball Associate Director of Advocacy

Phone: 703-860-7338 Email: ballj@nassp.orgTwitter: @balljacki