General Meeting

Meet members as early as possible. You want to make a friend before you need a friend. Try to meet them prior to the general election or as soon after as possible; it's effective to meet them before the session begins in January. Try to include the staff member who is their education expert.

The purpose of the first meeting is to introduce yourself, discuss charter schools, and invite them to visit your school site. We need to educate our representatives about charter schools.

Reconfirm the appointment if you made it far in advance. Remind the scheduling staff of the meeting's topic and confirm that any information you sent ahead has arrived.

Keep the visiting group small - three is ideal and six is maximum. At least one person should live in the member's district. A perfect meeting would be a disinterested expert, someone from the district who will be impacted by charter schools legislation, and you, the passionate advocate.

Review the questions to be asked. Meet with the rest of your group and decide who will lead the discussion, who will ask which questions and who will record the information.

Be prompt. Arrive five minutes early. Have someone drive to the location to check parking if this area is new to you.

Have a person take notes. Don't have someone record the entire conversation.

Don't stay too long. Twenty to thirty minutes should be ample. Don't be insulted if you only get fifteen minutes.

Always be polite and courteous. You are gathering information and seeking support, not debating issues.

Meet the aides and staff and make a note of their names for future reference.

Send a thank you note (US mail, not fax or e-mail) within three days expressing appreciation for their time and enclosing any information you promised to send.

CONGRATULATE YOURSELF FOR BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS!

For assistance or any additional information please contact
Helen Wallquist at (916)448-0995 or wallquist@canec.org.