We have surpassed 2500 signatures! Well done, everyone!! I want to assure everyone that signing this online petition is valuable in many important ways: 1. Spreads awareness and builds engagement – sending an invitation to sign this petition provides an opportunity to inform more people of an issue they may not know about otherwise. 2. Connects people with a common cause – Each person who adds their name to the petition means more people unified with a common goal and a louder voice for all of us. Furthermore, the petition continues to connect all of us – that means if this situation escalates in the next few weeks then we already have a network of informed and engaged people who can be invited to participate in additional advocacy strategies. 3. Demonstrates “court of public opinion” – Media increasingly relies on “public opinion” to frame their news stories, which then further influences public perception about the issue. It is essential we have our perspective represented in the public sphere and this petition has already helped us to do that (thank you CBC for covering our petition in a recent article!) 4. Provides a metric for politicians - Politicians are constantly surveying the landscape of public opinion. Whether they like it or not, our votes are what give them their job. A strong demonstration of public solidarity helps to inform their perspective. 5. “Real time” results – This issue is front and centre in the media spotlight right now, with the independent Christian schools threatened with potential loss of funding, as well as the increasing pressure on Catholic boards to revise their policies. Online petitions have the benefit of demonstrating results in “real time” so it is not necessary to wait until the MLAs return to the Legislature in October in order to be heard. It is essential to provide public evidence of where Albertans stand on the issue while it is in the spotlight. 6. Instead of “why?”, ask “why not?” Signing an online petition is free, simple, requires very little time or effort and is an important opportunity we have to make our voice known. Though online petitions cannot be officially submitted to the Legislative Assembly (only paper copies following a very specific format will qualify), please be assured that this online petition is still useful in many ways. Please continue to encourage people to engage in the issue and to sign the petition. I’m still aiming for 10 000 signatures within the next week! And if each of us reaches out to 4 more people who will sign the petition, that goal is attainable. It is worth noting that the schools represented by Brian Coldwell also reportedly serve over 1000 homeschoolers and the looming threat of pulling funding should also send a troubling message through the homeschool community when it comes to the future availability of educational choices. Each family in this province should have the freedom to access educational choices that best serve the needs of their children. We must continue to support diversity in this province and ensure that authentic educational choice is protected. The higher the numbers on this petition, the better! Thanks for your continued support! Sincerely, Theresa