Your Action Needed

Congress is quickly assembling a new package of COVID-19 relief, including aid for K-12 education. Your urgent action is needed now.

The interests and concerns of WCRIS schools are being represented in D.C. by our lobbyist at the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), of which WCRIS is a charter member. Things are moving rapidly.

Please use CAPE’s Legislative Action Center to let your representative and senators know that this aid package should include support for ALL students.

The portal has a pre-written message, so you can simply insert your contact information and press send. Or, you can add your own message and tell your school’s unique story.

If you do, insert your personalized details near the top of the letter so they will be seen. Include the following:

  • The number of students you enroll and people you employ;
  • Your families’ demographics (i.e., low and middle-income children from working-class homes);
  • How you are navigating education now (virtual, in-person, both);
  • Give details of the hurdles your students and staff are facing;
  • Tell how federal aid will help solve your problems;
  • Remind them that private K-12 schools enroll 10 percent of Wisconsin’s school children and that this minority should not be excluded from help during a Pandemic that does not discriminate against who it strikes.
  • For example, you can note the federal Paycheck Protection Program saved many teaching jobs and kept schools open, with a reasonable amount of paperwork and oversight. This program was far more accessible for private schools and their students and teachers than programs run with Title I like conditions, as were the ESSER funds.
  • The message to Congress is: Keep the aid simple so the money can flow equitably and quickly to save our students, teachers, and schools. Allow it to address the unique needs of each school community. One size does not fit all.
  • End with your name and title, and invite them to contact you for more information.

You can read WCRIS’s letter to Wisconisn’s Congresstional delegation here.