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Chapter 7, Where We Go from Here
Permanent Fund for Early Ed Voted Down
Please call and thank our supporters:
Senator Howie Morales,(505)986-4863
Senator Gerry Ortiz y Pino,(505)986-4380
Senator Nancy Rodriguez,(505)986-4264
Senator Carlos Cisneros,(505)986-4362
Senator Pete Campos,(505)986-4311
This defeat certainly means parents, kids, and early educators still have tough months ahead, but it does not mean this fight is over. Scores of our parents and kids from all over the state spent countless hours at the legislature and on the phone, talking to legislators. We passed 4 committees, twice as many as we did in 2011. We turned several key "No" votes into "Yeses." We are stronger, wiser, better known, and better positioned now to save Early Education by pursuing other actions and continuing to press this proposal next year.
Stay tuned for more thoughts from our members on where we go from here.
The Final Push!
Our members have been talking face-to-face with legislators all week about how Early Learning changes our kids and our communities for the better. We can win this fight if we have more parents join us in Santa Fe to talk one-on-one with key legislators whose support we still need. You can join us any day between now and Wednesday, but there are three key opportunities coming up:
1. House Education Committee Hearing Friday morning.
2. Educators and Parents rally Saturday at 11:00.
3. Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Please make the commitment to join us one of these days. Email us at mhenderson@olenm.org to let me know when you can join us. We can help you get to Santa Fe, connect you with legislators, and help you make an impact.
We hope to see you up there!
Sincerely,
Matthew Henderson
OLÉ Working Parents Association
olenm.org
Parents & Early Educators Storm Santa Fe!
See our report here on how it went and what you can do in the final 12 days of the Legislative Session to Save Early Education!
Will We Ever See this Money? Chapter 6 in the Story of Early Ed
Our new video has the answer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAR5s4EgioU&hd=1
After watching, you'll see why we all need to fight for this legislation. Email us at parents@olenm.org to let us know if you can join us Thursday for our Early Education Lobby Day in Santa Fe. Buses and carpools will be leaving from all over the state Thursday morning. Hop on board. It's time to win this.
Save Medicaid! Get on the Bus!
Get on our bus to Santa Fe next week as we fight to fully-fund Medicaid and tell Governor Martinez NOT to tax Medicaid recipients with a new Medicaid co-pay. Our chartered bus will depart from our office at 8:15 on Tuesday morning. We will hold a short lobby training in Santa Fe, divide into groups to talk to our representatives, have lunch, and be back in Albuquerque no later than 2:00.
If you want us to save you a seat on our bus, please email us as soon as possible. Seats are going fast!
How to Save Early Education
Over the past couple of months, you've seen how Early Childhood Education helps our kids and communities and how quality Early Education is disappearing in New Mexico. Today, finally, we have some news about how parents, teachers, and advocates are fighting to save it:
Chapter 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Af4GpU-7ow&hd=1
The kids aren't coming back: Chapter 3 of our Video Series
As we enter the holidays, take a minute to watch the latest chapter in our video series on our parents' and early educators' struggle to save New Mexico's child development programs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NkZ5n-bJm8&hd=1
For the Kids Chapter 2: Fighting for those who can't fight for themselves
Check out the second installment in our series on Early Education in New Mexico! This week features Senator Linda Lopez and some of our members' kids from Roswell.
And please send us your ideas for Chapter 3. Or send us your own Early Ed videos!