Toolkit

The resources in this kit are designed to give IEA leaders, staff and organizers tools they can use today to educate members and other stakeholders about the campaign, then to spur them into action around Invest in Excellence.

Use these resources in your organizing efforts.   Modify them to meet your needs.   Updates and new resources will be added to the Toolkit regularly during the campaign, so revisit this site often to be sure you have all the new tools and updates.

Remember that the Toolkit is not a substitute for the ingenuity and creativity of local and regional stakeholders who meet regularly to plan and implement Invest in Excellence activities.   If you really want to make a difference in the campaign, then put together regular planning meetings of leaders and staff.   Get out the flip charts and brainstorm new organizing activities that you can create and implement in your area.   That’s where the action is.

Finally, be sure to let us know about your activities so that we may add them to the Toolkit in the future.

IIE Toolkit (Zip File) Download all the files listed below in a Zip file.  You will need to be running Window to open/extract the contents.  (Will not work with Macs) More

Do You Know the Facts on Education Funding? This brochure available in pdf format provides talking points as well as statistical data to assist in your IIE activities. More

What You Can Do with the Toolkit Materials The contents of the Invest in Excellence toolkit are intended to help you communicate important information about the campaign. Here are some ideas on how you can use these items. More

PowerPoint Presentation Handouts A hard copy of the IIE presentation for your self or your audience. Print it out, six slides to a page. More

Notes on the PowerPoint Presentation This document shows one way a meeting where the PowerPoint presentation is offered might be conducted. Background notes on each slide are included. More

Association Meeting Agenda This is an agenda for a local association meeting on IIE, including how to prepare. More

Suggestions for Association/Building Representatives Association representatives are a key to the success of the IIE campaign. These documents offer suggestions on how one-on-one conversations about the campaign might be conducted. Contents include a sample script, some pointers, and a sheet for taking notes on the contact. More

Local Needs Assessment Form This document is designed to help you understand and explain how the inadequate and unfair funding system in impacting your district and what a better system might mean for the students and community. More

Fact Sheet Flyer Basic facts about Illinois school funding. Print and distribute as you think appropriate. More

Letter to the Editor – Summer 2007 Example letter to the editor, promoting the need to change the Illinois school funding system. Adapt and submit to your newspaper. More

Sample Letters Examples of letters promoting the need to change the Illinois school funding system. Adapt for your own legislator/newspaper. More

Resolution It is crucial that your local, your school board, your city council or influential community organization goes on record with the belief that Illinois has a school funding system problem that is broken and needs to be fixed. This non-binding resolution can be proposed for adoption by the organization’s leadership and/or membership. More

Pledge Sheet for IIE One more way to get individuals personally invested in the campaign is to have them sign the pledge and return it to you. We will want e-mail addresses of those who support IIE for so they can be mobilized during the legislative session. This version has the pledge laid out as a single 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. More

Pledge Card for IIE One more way to get individuals personally invested in the campaign is to have them sign the pledge and return it to you. We will want e-mail addresses of those who support IIE for so they can be mobilized during the legislative session. This version has the pledge laid out as 4 cards per 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. More

Palm Card Front A page containing four promotional cards. Print onto heavier, colored stock and distribute at meetings to promote IIE. More

Palm Card Back A page containing four promotional cards. Print onto heavier, colored stock and distribute at meetings to promote IIE. More

Toolkit Ideas The IIE Toolkit offers many opportunities to promote the campaign’s goals to a multitude of audiences. Here are some ideas, but don’t feel limited to what you see here. We hope you will share any ideas you come up with. More

State and Regional Inequities This pdf document is a booklet from the toolkit illustrating the following: A Comparison of Revenue Sources, Inequity: In Spending Per Student, 2004-2005 Operating Expenditures Per Pupil, Property Wealth Per Pupil, Highest and Lowest Total Tax Rates for Schools in Levy Year 2003 and District Operating Tax Rate in Levy Year 2003. More