7 Steps to Success

Preparation is perhaps the most important ingredient for a successful school event, so the following is offered to help keep authors and schools on track with their groundwork. All forms and templates can also be accessed from the downloads page.

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Step 1: The participating author or illustrator should schedule and confirm the Earth Day school visit for April 22, 2011 and exchange all standard author visit materials with the school (confirmation letter, invoice, book order form, etc.) Remember, the school pays the author in the normal fashion, and then the author donates the fee. Review about and join the effort.

Be sure to submit professional & event details to Authors for Earth Day using the School Visit Confirmation Sheet—both the author and school will be listed on the A4ED website under participants.

BY MARCH 1st
Step 2: The author should create and send their school contact a list of five 501(c)(3), not-for-profit conservation organizations, which will be “nominees” for the Earth Day vote. The list should include a brief synopsis about each organization with its IP address, so teachers and kids can research them. The Nominees Template (with a list of well-known conservation organizations) offers a helpful start.

BY MARCH 22nd (one month prior)
Step 3: The school should begin extensive educational preparations for the Earth Day event, including student research of “nominees”, reading the author’s books, using nature books and book-based curriculum in the classroom, downloading Earth Day preparation materials from the A4ED website, and discussing the power of voice and the importance of conservation.

BY APRIL 16th (one week prior)
Step 4: The school should begin final pre-celebration preparations to build enthusiasm for the author visit and Earth Day vote, including making posters, decorating the library and contacting the local newspaper for publicity. Teachers may also encourage final research of the “nominees”.

Using the Voting Forms Template, the author should email a voting form to their school contact, along with voting process details, which need to be printed for each teacher/classroom.

ON EARTH DAY, APRIL 22nd
Step 5: Enjoy the author visit and celebrate Earth Day! As time allows, each classroom teacher should facilitate a student vote (paperless, if possible), counting the exact number of votes for each “nominee” and documenting the tabulations on their voting form. Teachers should not determine a class winner because we want the decision to reflect the popular vote (no Electoral Colleges here).

Step 6: At day’s end, the “winning” organization (donation recipient) should be announced to the student body. The author, who should already have been given a payment check from the school should then write a check to contribute their full day speaking fee, in honor of the students at their school. This is a great opportunity for photographs, which can be used on the author’s, school’s, and A4ED websites!

AFTER EARTH DAY
Step 7: The author should mail the donation check to the conservation organization with a letter explaining the Earth Day event and the student vote that lead to the gift. The letter should also include the school information and request the organization send a thank you letter to the students and any possible educational materials they are able to donate back to the school. This sample Letter to Donation Recipient may prove helpful.

The author should also inform Authors for Earth Day of the donation amount/recipient via an A4ED In Action! form. The organization will be listed on the A4ED website, and the amount donated will be included as part of year’s total contribution.




Thank you sincerely for participating in Authors for Earth Day… HAVE FUN!