It is critical that you add your voice to the education reform debate NOW, to ensure school nurses are included in the bill and the "Race to the Top" federal grant application that the state is seeking.
Just add the name of your Representative and your name and contact information to the enclosed Grass roots letter. (You can embellish it if you want to with your own school nursing experience of how your role supports student achievement and readiness to learn. CAUTION: Do Not Include Statements About How you Assist Faculty.)
Print, sign and IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU MAIL THIS ASAP, but NO LATER THEN DECEMBER 19TH. At this time, mailing your letter creates a lasting file for the Rep’s office and is more effective than making a phone call.
If you don’t know who your representative is just go to: www.mass.gov/legis. There’s a selection for the list of legislators by city/town on the left side. This will give you his/her full name and room number, which you need to add to the draft letter.
Lastly, once you have done this, please let us know, so we’ll get a sense of how many "voices" from school nurses have been heard.
Thanks so much for your advocacy. This legislation provides an opportunity for federal funds that we are working to ensure will include financial support for school nurses.
Mimi Stamer
President
________________________________________________________________
December 8, 2009
The Honorable (name)
State House, Room
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
Dear Representative (name):
I am a school nurse and a constituent. I am writing to ask for your assistance in a very specific way. As you know, the House will be engaged in debating the Education Reform Bill, S. 2216 early in January. The House Ways & Means Committee is examining this bill, along with House leadership and will be engaged in making some changes before its release to the floor of the House.
Both my experience and Massachusetts specific data illustrate that the RN school nurse directly affects student achievement by decreasing class dismissals. The bill is already designed to measure, as a standard for student achievement and school performance, both student attendance and dismissal rates. These measures and the reduction of student dismissals are dependent on the RN school nurse. As taxpayers, millions of dollars are invested into our educational systems and when students are absent from the classroom that results in a critical educational system resource inefficiency. When a RN school nurse is present, rather than calling a parent and sending the child home, students’ return to classroom rate is 92% of all encounters. When no RN school nurse is there, dismissals occur and our children are not in the classroom ready to learn.
Please contact Speaker DeLeo, Chairman Murphy and Chairwoman Walz and ask them to include the school nurses as part of the innovation plan solutions outlined in the bill, consulting with them as appropriate. Further it’s critical that the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization (MSNO) be included as a stakeholder in the Education Resource Study Committee established by S. 2216.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or the agents for MSNO, Craven & Ober Policy Strategists, LLC at 617-680-0330.
I look forward to hearing back from you and in advance, I thank you for supporting school nurses role as a critical component of the education system team.
Best Regards,
Your name
Address
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