“Insure” the Future of Your French Program

AATF in Montreal, July 7, 2011

Margot M. Steinhart     Northwestern University, IL

Eileen Walvoord                               Niles North & West High Schools, Skokie, IL

Samantha Godden-Chmielowicz                    Carl Schurz High School, Chicago, IL

Randa Duvick Valparaiso University, IN

Introducing the Session

Margot M. Steinhart

Questions for Reflection

• Do you know the signs that a French program may be in danger?

• What are your resources to sustain your French program?

• Whom can you identify and cultivate as allies for your program?

• How do you mobilize supporters to advocate for the French program?

Organization of Presentation

• Recognizing the signs that a French program may be vulnerable

 • Cultivating allies to enrich the French

program

• Focusing on promotion of French and its visibility in the classroom, school, and community

Organization of the Presentation (2)

• Mobilizing allies to support and advocate for the French program

• Identifying human and material resources for promotion and advocacy

• Initiating a plan of action to make your French program more visible

• Comments, Questions

Recognizing the Signs that a French Program may be

Vulnerable

Margot M. Steinhart 

Potential Signs of a Vulnerable

French Program

K-12

Potential Signs of a Vulnerable French Program

 K-12

• Insufficient budgets• Other language priorities• Call for program review• Politics of unsupportive decision-

makers

Potential Signs of a Vulnerable French Program 

K-12• Ignorance of importance of French

or Indifference• Invisibility of French program• Retirement or frequent

Resignations• Inadequate teacher preparation

Potential Signs of a Vulnerable

French Program

Higher Ed

Potential Signs of a Vulnerable French Program - Higher Ed

• Insufficient Finances• Unawareness of the Numbers

Game• Lack of Institutional Support

Potential Signs of a Vulnerable French Program - Higher Ed

• Indifference or Unfavorable Perception by Others

• Academic Reorganization• Invisibility of French Faculty  

Ignorance, Indifference & Invisibility contribute to the demise of French programs.________________________________________________Sources:

• Robert (Tennessee Bob) Peckham, http://www.utm.edu/staff/globeg/advofr.shtml

• Robert (Tennessee Bob) Peckham. ”Before they just disappear—Danger Signs for College Foreign Language Programs” Part of C243: French No Exit: Call for Post-Secondary Advocacy, at the July 2010 AATF Convention in Philadelphia

Cultivating Allies to Sustain the French Program

Samantha Godden-Chmielowcz

•Allies: WHY do we need them? Because, when French is in danger...   decisions may come suddenly teacher feels abandoned, isolated 

Allies: WHY do we need them?Because, if French is in danger...   

 

• decision-makers listen to voters and /or funders

• teacher may not have a voice• allies can work as a team for  success

Students & Former StudentsParents

Colleagues & CounselorsAdministrators

Board MembersCommunity Members

Allies: WHO?

 Communicate

  Alert the media

  Educate

   Organize opposition

  Defend French

Allies: WHAT can they do?

But only if... we have shown them reasons to value their French program, will they be ready to defend  it.

   

Allies: HOW do we get their support?

Create interest! 

Create excitement!

Create a buzz!

Spread the word!

Doing what we've always done...

Engaging Classroom ActivitiesHigh Interest Projects

Field Trips Travel & Exchange Programs

National French ContestFrench Club

National French Week National French Honor Society

Outstanding Senior  AwardImmersion Day

PLUS...

Visibility

and

Involvement

Focusing on Promotion 

throughVisibility & Involvement

Eileen Walvoord

Visibility & Involvement StudentsBulletin Boards

Video Announcements

Electronic Signs & Screens

School Newspaper & Yearbook 

School Website

Teacher Website

Testimonials

 

Visibility & Involvement 

FORMER STUDENTS

Stay in Touch

Invite as Speakers

Use as Classroom Resources

Send Info to Alumni News

Request Testimonials

 Visibilty & Involvement   PARENTS

September Parent Booklet

Newsletter 

"Bonjour" Letter

Parent Interview

Family Tree Project

 

Visibility & Involvement   PARENTS

Parent/Grandparent Activities

Class Speakers

Field Trip Chaperons

Fifteen Ways To Compliment

Films to Watch At Home

Visibility & Involvement    PARENTS 

Activities to do With Your Child

Study Strategies For French

Celebrities Who Speak French

Maps of the Francophone World

French Companies in the USA

Ten Reasons to Study French

    PARENTS   

Parent-Teacher Night

Open House

Progress Reports

Phone Contact

Parents as Resources

Testimonials

Visibility & Involvement

Visibility & Involvement

COLLEAGUES 

Collaboration

Guest Speaker 

Colleagues Survey 

Bell-ringers                            

INVITE AS GUEST SPEAKER 

BELLRINGERS

Visibility & Involvement

COUNSELORS 

Letter for Spanish-speaking parents

10 Reasons to Study French in Spanish

 Colleagues Survey

 Invitation to French Class or Club

Events 

Contest Judges                            

INVITE AS GUEST SPEAKER 

BELLRINGERS

Visibility & Involvement 

          SCHOOL COMMUNITYCREATE ANNUAL IN-SCHOOL

EVENTS:

National  French Week 

Crêpe Sale Mardi Gras Mask Contest

   Bûches Contest

T-shirt Contest

National French Contest

Visibility & Involvement

SCHOOL COMMUNITY 

PARTICIPATE IN ALL-SCHOOL EVENTS:

Homecoming

International Night

Relay For Life

Spirit Days

Visibility & Involvement

SCHOOL COMMUNITY

PARTICIPATE IN LARGER SCHOOL LIFE 

French Club

National French Honor Society

Visibility & Involvement 

ADMINISTRATORS

Invite to French Events 

Ask to Judge Events

Send Samples of Food !

Visibility & Involvement BOARD MEMBERS

Greet at All-School Events

Invite to French Events

Ask to Be Contest Judges

Use Colleague Survey

Thank Them for Their Support

Report on Trips & Exchanges

Send Valentines!

Visibility & Involvement 

COMMUNITYInvite Local Speakers

Volunteer in Local Institutions

Collaborate With Local Institutions

Visibility & Involvement 

  PUBLICITYPosters

School Flat Screen

Video Announcements

Local Newspapers

Local TV & Radio

Community Websites

School Website

Moving from Promotion and Visibility to Advocacy

Margot M. SteinhartRanda Duvick

Mobilizing Allies and Supporters to Advocate for the French Program

K-12

Margot M. Steinhart

MMS

QuestionsYou Should Ask Yourself

• How does your community see itself?• What is your community’s world–

view?• Why would your community make a

decision to cut French instruction?

Building Support

• Find allies• Cultivate them• Include them in French activities• Motivate them to lead

Allies who believe in the program will support it

How do I get others involved?

• Identify allies and target key parents• Facilitate a network of parents• Provide parent–allies with arguments and

talking points AATF website The World Speaks French website French Language Advocacy Wiki

When Mounting a CampaignThink About…

• Who can storm the barricades—oYourselfoParentsoStudents (past and present)oColleagues and community

members

When Mounting a CampaignThink About…

• What YOU could do—and what you should not do…

• What can others do?o Parentso Current and former students o Colleagues and community members 

What Can Advocates Do?

The World Speaks French

Communicate! Meet

Leaflet

Mobilize

Message

Petition

Alert the Medi@ • E-mail education-beat journalists• Organize meetings to attract press

coverage • Write letters to the editor• Contact local TV public affairs

departments• Call-in on local talk–radio shows

Educate the School Board!

• Meet informally with one or two members

• Write–and call–BOE members• Submit petitions• Get on the Agenda at BOE meetings• Be politely persistent

Tailor Your MessageHelp is on the Wiki

Tailor Your MessageHelp is on the Wiki

French Language Advocacyfrenchadvocacy.wikispaces.com

Video Stories DVD Online Wiki

10 Reasonsto Study French

• Flyerso In bulleted formo In narrative form

• PowerPoint presentations• Extended examples for articles and

speeches

Reasons to Study FrenchDifferent Strokes for Different Folks

 Flyers

Reasons to Study FrenchDifferent Strokes for Different Folks

PowerPoint presentations

Reasons to Study FrenchDifferent Strokes for Different Folks

Brochure

Technology:An Advocate’s Best Friend

Uses of Technology in Advocacy

• Communicate with allies• Organize advocacy campaigns• Enlist supporters• Present compelling arguments to

decision–makers

Spread the WordRecruit Active Supporters• For quick to instantaneous communication

o Emailo Skype and other video-chat softwareo Video Calling

• More extensive document sharingo Facebooko Google Docso Wikis

Raising Awareness of

• Create webpages• Blogs are free• Social networking

o Facebooko Twitter

“The Situation”

Make the Case forRetaining Your Program

• Electronicallyo Online petition sites

One time setup No fee Distribute via email

www.thepetitionsite.com

Make the Case forRetaining Your Program

• In person or via the webo PowerPointo PhotoStoryo iMovie

The World Speaks French

Make the CaseVideo Stories

• On DVD or download from Wikio Thirteen storieso First person accountso Short and usefulo Web versions for

PC, Mac, iPod, iPhone

The World Speaks French

Video Stories

Advocacy StrategiesSummary

• Identify and contact effective parent–allies

• Articulate reasons o for studying foreign languages o for the importance of French to your

community• Match your arguments to your

communityo Educational goalso Cultural and economic aspirations

Advocacy StrategiesSummary

• Use social networking and media outlets to harness support

• Keep the momentumo In the communityo With the advocateso For the students

• Get visible and stay visible

Call Now!Your Best Friends are Standing

By…

• Be proactive• Promote now• Publicize your French program tout de

suite

Help is on the Wiki

Mobilizing Allies to Support and Advocate for the French Program

Higher Ed

Randa Duvick

Allies: Post-secondary• Who are they?

o Current students o Past students = alumni o Friends:

Faculty from "linked" departments"Friends" in other departments

o Administrators (Dean…), Board members/Trustees

o Local, regional, or state business leaders

Mobilizing Allies: Post-secondary

• Others can communicate with decision-makers on your behalf

• Determine who the decision-makers areo Dean? Provost? President? Board? State

board?

Mobilizing Allies: Post-secondary

• Gather your "ammunition" for the allies    1. Gather statistics on…

o Enrollment and enrollment trends:Majors, minors, gen ed courses, etc.FTE faculty and ratio with enrollments

o Class sizeo Assessment outcomes

Mobilizing Allies: Post-secondary

2. Document your program's connections with other programs and units• General Education contribution• Contribution to other majors (required for int'l

business or…)• Internships/Co-ops/Service Learning

Mobilizing Allies: Post-secondary

• Articulate your program's intersection with institutional mission and visiono Service? Career/internship? Liberal learning?

Internationalization? Etc.

Mobilizing Allies: Post-secondary• Determine how allies might

communicate with decision-makerso On-line petition?o E-mail to decision-makers? US mail?o Build a Facebook page/website?o Twitter or other social media campaign?o Letters to Editor?

Materials: PromotionWhat materials are available to help me promote my French program?

French Advocacy Wiki: https://frenchadvocacy.wikispaces.com Table of Contents (handout)

o "Cultivating Allies" pageo "Technology" page

Materials: Promotion

• AATF National Bulletino National French Week ideaso Poster & Essay Contestso Promotion ideas

• Alliance française o Activities for your studentso Connections with other Francophiles

Materials: Promotion

• Délégation du Québeco Events, companies

• French Consulateo Events, companieso Author tours

Materials: Advocacy

• What materials are available to help in an advocacy campaign?

• French Advocacy Wiki: https://frenchadvocacy.wikispaces.como Table of Contents (handout)

Materials: Advocacy• When I feel the need to respond with an

advocacy campaign, I want help knowing…

… what to do   … whom to contact    … what to say

… what to do

• Advocacy Checklists • Success Stories• Essays:

o Board member perspectives• Sample Advocacy Letters:

o Parent to parento Teacher to parent

… whom to contact

• Advocacy Checklists• Essays:

o Advocacy Role of AATF Chapter President• Sample Advocacy Letters:

o To Boardo To Superintendento To Provost

• Success stories

…what to say

• Talking points• Presentation: 10 Reasons to Study French• Sample Advocacy Letters• Essays:

o "Ease & Challenges…"o "Not Zero-Sum Game…"o "Which Language Should I Study…"

…what to say

• Flyers: o "10 Reasons to Study French"o "French Words in English"o "French Companies/Products in US"

• Sample Brochure--French Language of Choice (also template)

• Testimonials:  Text and Video Stories! • Maps

French Language Advocacy Wiki

http://frenchadvocacy.wikispaces.com

Activity: "Think Promotion!"

Together with a partner, brainstorm the following: Think of an activity that you already do with your French class or classes that you could make more visible to outsiders—parents, colleagues, administrators, school board members, the public in general...    How might you modify the activity to give it more visibility, or what can you do to get the word out about this fantastic activity??  

"Insure" the Future of your French Program

Questions and 

Comments

"Insure" the Future of your French Program

Margot M. SteinhartNorthwestern University, IL

m-steinhart@northwestern.eduEileen Walvoord

Niles North & West High Schools, Skokie, ILeilwal@d219.org

Samantha Godden-ChmielowiczCarl Schurz High School, Chicago, IL

mmegodden@juno.comRanda Duvick

Valparaiso University, INranda.duvick@valpo.edu

http://frenchadvocacy.wikispaces.com

 

 Sample 'chapter title cue' slide with green to show progression of presentation

this white space is free to: add enlarged section title? lay foundation of section (for the longer ones)? Other??