It’s that time of year, when pristine Crayolas, crisp composition books, and un-scuffed sneakers signify that school is back in session. Congress, however, still has a couple weeks before they bunker down. After delivering a mixed bag of pre-August recess early ed appropriations decisions, members of the House and Senate are rooted in their home districts until September 10, when they’re expected to vote on a six-month continuing resolution to keep the federal government chugging along as attention spans drift toward the election and sequestration.

But just because they’re not in DC doesn’t mean that your friendly local federal representatives are kicking back and taking it easy. They’re back at home so that they can connect with you, the fine constituents whose votes keep them in office and whose concerns they should be eager to hear at scheduled events like town halls, meet-n-greets, and ice cream socials.      

And just like the students and Congresspeople, you have some homework of your own: get out there and tell your representatives that early learning matters. Though the continuing resolution may kick the FY13 funding can further down the road, it’s important to keep spreading the word about quality early learning while members are relatively undistracted by the growing multitude of issues that await them in our nation’s capital.   

A quick visit to a member’s website should provide a smorgasbord of opportunities for you to make your voice heard. No luck finding an event? You’re not off the hook yet. Members pay attention to local newspapers and blogs, and an op-ed or letter to the editor can be just as important as an in-person meeting.

The First Five Years Fund has some handy cheat sheets to help you complete your assignment. Our revamped communications template toolkit features talking points and templates that you can tailor to produce an op-ed, press statement, or letter to the editor. Need leave-behind materials? The “Smart Investments, Big Returns” one-pager collection is like Early Learning 101, concisely laying out the results, research, and policy principles behind successful investments in early learning. For a captivating visual take that reminds policymakers to “Be Careful What You Cut,” check out (and share!) the Children’s Defense Fund’s great campaign.

Are you the type who likes to read ahead? The next chapter in early learning’s funding saga has a potential villain looming in the shadows: sequestration. Stay tuned for more analysis in an upcoming installment, but you can find some great pre-reading in this CLASP article and in these materials from the Non-Defense Discretionary Coalition. It will be a challenging stretch, but with so many A students hitting the books, early learning funding is in good hands. 

Given the resounding evidence that investing in early learning drives economic prosperity, why aren’t candidates trumpeting early learning platforms? Why isn’t the voting populace clamoring for them to talk about it? And what can we as advocates do to change all that and inject some early learning into the dialog?

We tackled those questions and more on Tuesday, when early learning took its place in the spotlight amid an audience of 200 policy, political, research, media and business representatives who joined the First Five Years Fund and National Journal for an early learning policy summit.

Want to relive the summit or experience it for the first time? You can watch the whole discussion here and check out event photos on Facebook. Education Week and Thrive by Five offered their takes on the event, and you can catch a summary of the Twitter conversation here.

The expert panelists hit on a number of key themes—the importance of supporting parents, developing socio-emotional skills, focusing on quality, on infants and toddlers, and on the most at risk. Do you have a favorite line you wish you could put on repeat for the journalists, business leaders, and policymakers in your life? Stay tuned—FFYF will be packaging highlights, and we’ll be counting on you to keep the dialog going!