An important strategy in convincing Congressmembers to support the DREAM Act is to demonstrate that educational institutions formally support the DREAM Act. We encourage asking school district boards of directors and college/university boards of trustees and regents to approve a resolution in support of the DREAM Act.
To begin, establish local DREAM Act Leadership Teams, composed of students and adults. These teams can and probably should be relatively small groups. To the extent possible, students should be prepared to take leadership in the activities below. The intent is to provide practical experiences for students to learn leadership and public engagement skills while educating others about the relevance and benefits of the DREAM Act.
The steps we suggest for approaching local school districts and colleges are the following:
- Request a meeting with the school district superintendent, or president of a college or university. When you call his/her office to schedule an appointment, let his/her assistant/scheduler know you would like to meet to discuss an important educational issue that pertains to undocumented students. Tell the assistant/scheduler that you have a request to make and would like to present materials to the superintendent or president that explains the issue.
- When you meet with the superintendent or president, briefly explain the issue and then request to have a resolution presented for the board of directors, trustees, or regent’s consideration and approval. At this meeting include students who can tell a personal story and who could benefit by passage of the DREAM Act.
At this meeting, leave the following materials:
If you receive word that the issue will be placed on the board’s agenda at a subsequent meeting, they will let you know how much time to make a brief presentation—likely 10 minutes or so. A brief PowerPoint would be OK, provided it is brief and allows time for one or two personal stories.
LEAP highly recommends telling one or two brief personal stories of students in the school district or college area who would be affected by the DREAM Act. When providing personal stories, we recommend that you refrain from using names or announcing anyone’s legal status.
Here is an example of the type of story you can use:
Maria came to the U.S. with her parents at age 2 and is the youngest of 7 children. She will be the first in her family who will be attending college. She is the daughter of farm workers who have migrated to several states to work in agriculture for 12 years.
Maria is a member of the school choir and band and loves to tutor young children in Sunday school. She will be graduating 5th in her class with a 3.5 GPA. Maria has received several academic and community service awards and wants to become a bilingual teacher. Her family can’t afford the cost of college so she knows she must work to attend college.
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