NAGT ADVOCACY: GROWING AN ORGANIZATION'S OUTREACH PROGRAM

The National Association of Geoscience Teachers’ (NAGT) mission has three primary goals: to improve geoscience education, to emphasize the relevance and cultural significance of the earth sciences, and to disseminate knowledge to educators and the general public. Since its inception, the NAGT has engaged members, the public, decision-makers, and partner organizations in many ways, and the association seeks to update and expand that engagement. The NAGT Advocacy Committee was established in 2015 to maximize the effect of NAGT’s work on behalf of its membership. The committee monitors and supports initiatives at local, state, national, and international levels; develops position papers; authors letters of support pertinent to pressing issues; and works with other organizations on shared concerns.

Upon inception, the NAGT Advocacy Committee created advocacy principles and guidelines for achieving advocacy which were adopted by the NAGT Executive Committee in early 2017. The principles and guidelines assisted the committee and the NAGT leadership in quickly responding to several issues and opportunities in 2017. The NAGT endorsed and partnered with the March for Science, and NAGT members participated in, and were featured speakers at, several of the local Marches. The NAGT drafted and submitted advocacy letters on several issues at the state and federal level. The committee chair and the NAGT President co-authored a short article on NAGT advocacy in the April 2107 issue of the association’s publication “In The Trenches.”

The NAGT Advocacy Committee is now developing a strategic plan to improve its advocacy capabilities. The primary activities in the plan are:

• Create a process that identifies concerns as early as possible and provides a structure to draft and approve proactive responses in a timely manner.
• Formalize lines of communication with partner organizations to identify shared concerns and coordinate responses.
• Create a process to develop new position statements and white papers that also facilitates the review and revision of existing ones.
• Update the NAGT Advocacy website.

The NAGT’s overarching goal is to increase the number of members who participate in advocacy at all levels and to provide a structure and materials that facilitate members’ ability to be advocates for sound science education policy.