Advocacy

NYSSMA Government Relations & Advocacy Committees 

Alan Orloff

Alan Orloff
NYSSMA Government Relations
Committee Chair
grc@nyssma.org
 

Announcing the 49th Annual Joseph R. Sugar NYSSMA Day in Albany!

March is STILL Music in our Schools Month!

This year’s 49th Day in Albany will take place on March 7, 2022 as scheduled.  However, as many of you know, we will not be meeting in Albany this year.  The Capitol is closed due to Covid and we will not be meeting with our legislators in person as we had hoped.

Many of you have already made appointments to meet with your legislators. Please contact those offices and find out what arrangements they would like to make in order to hold your visits.  As we did last year, NYSSMA will provide you with a Zoom account number so you can schedule your visits as Zoom meetings.  Most of the Zoom numbers from last year will still be your number for this year.  If there are any problems remembering or using last year’s numbers, please contact Executive Director David Gaines at the NYSSMA office, 516-997-7200, ext. 10, and he will help you with the Zoom account.

If you have not made appointments yet, please do so as soon as possible.  We want to make all appointments take place on March 7, 2022, so please try to make that date work.

Another idea for these March 7th meetings would be to take a small group and meet with your legislators in person at their local home offices. Again, that would be up to the protocols used by your legislator’s office.

“Ask” materials with Zoom information are ready and can be found by downloading the DIAInstructions link below. The ask materials have also been sent in emails from Pres. Faunce and Past President David Brown.

No other education discipline has been affected by Covid more than Chorus, Band and Orchestra. The Government Relations Committee wants to remind you that the keyword here is RELATIONS. We need to establish relations with the people elected to serve us and our Joseph R, Sugar NYSSMA Day in Albany is the exact way to do just that.  We look forward to meeting with them, telling them of our situations due to Covid and establishing personal relationships with them.  As Joe would say, “They are people just like us – they put their pants on one leg at a time!”

Music Education that inspires ALL children to Connect, Belong, Create

Alan Orloff Joseph R Sugar Day Information

Alan Orloff – Welcome Letter

NYSSMA-WhoWeAre

10 Tips for Legislative Visits

Everything ESSA link

The following “Swiss Cheese’ letter formats are for you to send as a private citizen, not on behalf of NYSSMA

S4525 – A1788 Swiss Cheese Instructions and Letter

SED Music Associate Swiss Cheese Letter

 

 

NYSSMA MUSIC EDUCATION ADVOCACY

The future of music education in the state of New York is dependent on the support of educators, parents, students, communities, legislators, and support groups. This new area on the NYSSMA Web Site features important advocacy information to aid in supporting music education at the local level. The NYSSMA Government Relations Committee presents the information on this website to assist music educators and parents in supporting the right of every student to receive a well-rounded education that includes a comprehensive, sequential, high-quality program of music taught by a qualified music teacher.  Please credit the source when using this information in your advocacy efforts.

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