Reconnecting to our Roots
Our theme this year is Reconnecting to our Roots. Now that we are gathering again, we would like to focus on every-day conversations and answering the hard questions. We think being comfortable around strangers to ask them the questions like where do they send their kids to school should be our normal. Let's reach out and talk to our neighbors about our awesome schools. Set a goal this year. It could be to plan one RootEd event or just use the hashtag. It could be go all-in this year. Whatever it is...make it fit your life.
Legislation Updates
Make sure you are registered and get ready to turn out the vote!
There are only a few days left to register to vote until early voting starts. This is the final push to get as many eligible Texans registered as possible so they will be able to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Sometimes people feel like their vote won’t matter, and they conclude that it isn’t worth the effort to register and vote. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. By voting, you are picking the people who will make important decisions that will affect you and your loved ones. If you don’t vote, someone else will be making those decisions for you, and you may not like who they pick. Many elections are determined by very small margins – every vote matters!
The bottom line is that the only way to really get what you want is to turn out the vote like never before. We’ve seen that work before and now let’s do it again.
During the 2018 midterm elections, voter turnout in Texas reached new levels. The 2019 legislative session that followed became “the education session” where school funding dominated the discussion and billions of additional dollars were put into schools. As we all know too well, education is on the ballot at every level this year and public education can be made or broken depending on whether people turn out to vote.
So, make sure you are registered, make sure your friends and family are registered, and start getting people excited about exerting their power at the polls!
To Do:
1. Make sure your voter registration is active and has your current address.
· Check your voter registration status here.
· If you aren’t registered, register to vote here!
· If you need to make changes to your name or address, do that here!
2. Mark your calendar for these dates:
· October 11: Last day to register to vote
· October 24 - November 4: Early voting
· October 27: Educator Voting Day
· November 8: Election Day!
RootEd with NISD!
Annual Rep Training
We had another awesome training with our RootEd Reps this summer to get them ready for the school year!! Thanks to everyone for attending, so amazing to hear the ideas flowing. HUGE shout-out to the Reps who have been with us since the beginning, they are a huge source of information and advice! Thanks to Sophie Torres, our RYHT Regional Advocacy Director, for speaking on local advocacy.
RootEd Scholarship
If you'd like to donate to ease the financial burden of an outstanding high school senior, you can donate here: https://proudlyrooted.com/support.
What would you do with $1,000 for life after high school?
Eva Verdin is the RootEd Rep at Salado in East Central ISD and is so deserved of our spotlight this month. She has been going above and beyond for RootEd.
Just this month Eva spoke to the school faculty about RootED. She invited Sophie from Raise Your Hand Texas to come out and speak as well. Eva spoke about RootEd and everything that it involves. She was able to put up RootEd signs and gave the hashtag to all of her teachers and staff so they could start using it. She also met with her principal to see how she can help market her school. She also attends our trainings and workdays to collaborate and learn.
#RootEdSladoECISD
About RootEd
For past newsletters: https://www.smore.com/u/rooted
Email: info@proudlyrooted.com
Website: www.proudlyrooted.com
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Phone: (210) 617-0824
Facebook: facebook.com/RootEdTexas
Twitter: @RootEdSA
Instagram: @rootedtexas
