Tips for Writing to Your Legislators About NWP

1. Most members of Congress are eager to hear from constituents and learn about their concerns. When you write to members of Congress to tell them about the writing project, your letters should:

• inform your legislators of the work the writing project is doing in their state or district
• explain the impact that that work has on students and teachers, and
• thank your legislators for supporting the project in previous years (if, in fact, they backed our program in the past).

2. Be concise. Try to keep your letters to a single page.

3. Be sure to include your address and zip code in all correspondence with your legislators (to show that you live or work in their state or district).

4. Explain why you are writing in the first sentence (i.e., "I am writing to tell you about the impact the National Writing Project is having on teachers and students in our state/district and to thank you for your support of this program.")

5. The bulk of your letter should focus on what your site is doing for teachers and students in your area and how the writing project has impacted both your own teaching and your students' learning. This is very important. Typically legislators are most concerned about a program's impact on their own constituents.

6. Provide some basic facts about the National Writing Project. For example:

• The National Writing Project is the only national program that works to improve the teaching of writing in the nation's schools.
• The National Writing Project has been proven effective by outside evaluators and has become a model for improving classroom instruction in other academic fields.
• The NWP Legacy Study shows that 98 percent of NWP summer institute participants remain in education until they retire, and 70 percent stay in the classroom throughout their careers.

7. Invite your legislators to attend a local writing project event or to visit the classroom of a writing project teacher in their state or district.

8. Close the letter by again thanking your legislator for their support of the National Writing Project.

9. There are several ways to send your letter. You can submit the letter electronically using the “Contact” page of your member’s website. If you already have a relationship with your member’s education aide, you can also email your letter to that person. You can also fax your letter to your member’s office. Visit www.senate.gov or www.house.gov to find website, phone, and fax information for all legislators. At this time, we do not recommend using postal mail to send correspondence to legislators since it can take several weeks to arrive.