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2020 NSPW Advocacy Action Day!
On Wednesday, November 11th, NASP held its third annual National School Psychology Week (NSPW) Advocacy Action Day. While NASP again organized the campaign to write to federal legislators, state associations had the option to organize their own virtual action days, in coordination with NASP, to contact their state representatives. We also asked advocates to check in with their school board and advocate at the local level for the first time this year, using our resource guide to advocate for school psychology positions.
We were particularly impressed with members' social media engagement this year. Just scroll through the hashtags #SPAW2020 on Twitter and see for yourself!
We're very happy to share that our advocates sent 3,802 letters to their elected representatives across the country during National School Psychology Week. Great job to our advocates!
Here is a summary, by the numbers:
-23 states coordinated state virtual advocacy days, with numerous other states organizing other local advocacy-related activities. Way to go, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin!
-842 school psychologists from all over the country participated by sending a letter
-1,110 elected representatives around the country were contacted by an advocate
-At least one congressional representative was contacted in 47 states
-100% of the federal representatives were contacted in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming
-1,488 letters were sent to state legislators, and 2,314 were sent to federal congressional representatives.
You made a difference by urging lawmakers to pay attention to the value and importance of school psychologists during this critical time. Keep your eye out on our social media accounts and Advocacy Action Center for additional opportunities to advocate - we expect this to be a busy year!
-NASP Advocacy