The Illinois Reading Council wants to connect our members with their Illinois State Senators and Representative and U.S. Senators and Congressmen. This is the best way to have a say in the politics of reading. The Legislative Directory will help you find your legislator's contact information, including addresses, phone numbers, and even email addresses.
Currently,
the congress is moving quickly on two critical sets of issues, the
rewriting of NCLB and the funding for literacy programs. There needs to be communication to show our support. The
Striving Readers Act will assist states in the creation of statewide
literacy initiatives for at-risk students in grades 4-12. Sample
letters are available below, as well as reports and updates regarding these important
legislative issues. These updates
will provide you with information on what is happening and suggest
that you take action. For more information, please contact Mike Ellerman.
As Alan Farstrup,
Executive Director of IRA said, "it is our job is to make sure that the voice
of the classroom teacher, the professional, is heard." This is a
continuous process. Other leaders of IRA, Richard Long and Donna Ewigleben, both stressed that it is not the quantity of mail that Representatives and Senators receive, but the quality of the mail that they get. Every voice is important. If you are interested in further information, you can go to the USDOE website. In addition, you can sign up for the "Striving Readers" listserv which will provide you information about events, publications, or resources relating to this grant when they become available.
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