Javits Program Funding for 2010
Thanks to the last-minute efforts of advocates across the country, the House appropriations committee included $7.46 million for the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act (Javits) in its fiscal year 2010 bill, the same amount the program received in 2009. Committee Chairman David Obey (WI-7) included money for the Javits program in the "manager's amendment," which restored funds to the program that had been eliminated in an earlier version of the bill. A special thanks goes to advocates in Connecticut and Wisconsin whose work helped secure this positive outcome. We can be reasonably sure that the bill, including funding for the Javits program, will be approved by the full House of Representatives.
Our work has not ended, however. We still need to secure funding for the program from the Senate; we need your help TODAY!
The first step in the Senate will be consideration of the Javits program by the appropriations subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education, which meets on Tuesday, July 28 to craft its 2010 bill.
There are several things to do in the next few days:
Contact your Senators
(1) If your Senator is a member of the appropriations subcommittee, it is critical to contact him or her before July 28 in support of funding for the Javits program.
(2) If your Senator is not a subcommittee member, it is still important to contact him/her before Juy 28, but the message is slightly different.
All Senators have online email forms that you may use to send a message on the Javits program. Visit www.senate.gov for the link.
Below are two sample messages for you to build on. Note that your message will be strengthened if you can add a few sentences explaining how your state or school district has benefitted from the Javits program.
For example, you may be able to share how your school district has benefitted from participation in Javits grant research, or your district may use assessment instruments, or curriculum developed from previous Javits grants, or your district may have relied on research from the National Research Center to improve its gifted education program or services.
If you don't have an example of direct benefit from the Javits program, you may want to add a general comment about how a federal investment in research on meeting the needs of gifted students from underserved populations is critical to our ability to cultivate talent in all student populations.
Sample Letter for Subcommittee Members:
Dear Senator [lastname]
As the Senate appropriations committee considers fiscal year 2010 education funding levels, please support $20 million for the Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, which is the sole federal program that focuses on the learning needs of gifted and talented students. The research developed through grants and a national research center under the program has resulted in a range of best practice teaching and assessment strategies to identify and serve gifted and talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The $20 million funding level will also allow for competitive state grants, which would enable [name of your state] to expand services to gifted students through statewide initiatives such as targeted teacher training . I urge you to support the Javits program as proof that federal education policy supports students capable of the highest levels of achievement.
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Sample Letter for Senators Not on the Subcommittee
Dear Senator [lastname]
As a [parent/teacher] of a gifted child, I urge you to support $20 million in funding for the Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act, and ask that you communicate your support to the appropriations subcommittee leadership. The Javits program is the sole federal program that focuses on the learning needs of gifted and talented students. The research developed through grants and a national research center under the program has resulted in a range of best practice teaching and assessment strategies to identify and serve gifted and talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The $20 million funding level will also allow for competitive state grants, which would enable [name of your state] to expand services to gifted students through statewide initiatives such as targeted teacher training . I urge you to support the Javits program as proof that federal education policy supports students capable of the highest levels of achievement.
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Submit a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper
We've prepared a sample letter to the editor on the Javits program that we hope you'll consider submitting to your local paper in the next day or two so that it might be published before July 28.
Letters to the Editor allow you to educate your community about the importance of gifted education and the need for federal funding, with the added benefit that Senate offices scan the letters sections of numerous newspapers as one indicator of topics of concern to their constituents. Letters to the Editor are typically published in reaction to a news story or editorial. You'll see in the sample letter that we've "hooked" the need to support the Javits program to the moon landing anniversary. If your newspaper has a recent article about education funding or another relevant topic, you could easily change the first few sentences of the letter to reference that article, thereby increasing the chances of the letter's publication.
As is true with communications to your Members of Congress, it's important to personalize the sample letter by including mention of how your community has benefited from the Javits Act. Does a school in your district participate in a Javits grant? Does your school district use an assessment tool that was developed under a Javits grant? If you are unaware of a direct connection, you can mention how finding talented children from all populations strengthens your community and our nation.
Your letter should be addressed to the “Letter to the Editor" –Editor of your newspaper. Many papers have online forms for this purpose. For more information on writing letters, click here.
Thank you for your efforts to secure funding for the Javits program in fiscal year 2010.