So, even though I haven’t been blogging in a while, a lot has been happening behind the scenes, so let’s catch up:
Expanding the parent/family network is very important to me. Educational programs that have a long history of success also have a connection to parent and family involvement. Two that I have first-hand experience with are 1.) Montessori and 2.) PTA. Interesting enough, both have over 100 years of experience, training and research backing their efforts today. Both work on the basis of home and school being a partnership working together on behalf of the child.
Montessori parents have “co-op” hours, where every year in some form or another, the parents support the school by directly donating hours of work. At the beginning of the year the co-op hours required for each family are typically set. On average these days, it’s about 35 hours. That’s it. When you think about the number of days most student are in school – average is about 185 days per year – 35 hours, that can be done both at home or at the school seems reasonable. And it can be a variety of tasks; attending informational meetings, volunteering on a school committee, sending out emails, being a homeroom parent, volunteering 1 weekend every other month for a school event or project or even donating items for a holiday party in the classroom or prepping materials at home for an upcoming school project. Most are very simple and not too time consuming, but require a little bit of focus and ongoing connection with the school.
PTA also has a solid parent volunteer basic – focused on public education with a national network. On the local level, you can be a bit cynical in the fundraising “overload” that seems to dominate our local school units today – but this sells PTA too short. Did you know that PTA has ties for getting the legislation passed that makes the Free School Lunch programs possible today OR what about the fact that child labor laws are in place that put the focus more on children being in school and learning for tomorrow vs. laboring in sweatshops of yesterday. And current efforts support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and educational reform which are a critical component in delivering a 21st Century, accountable education system to students and parents today for lifelong success.
But how do I know this? Let me provide some background disclosures that demonstrate some of my background activities that you should know when reading this blog going forward:
1.) As of June 2011, I am the Executive Board President of Children’s House Montessori School. As such, I work with a group of parents from the school, both past and present in running the business operations of this non-profit and making that educational institution as strong as it can be, with the best support and training for its teachers and staff, and delivering a high-quality, family-focused service to its broad and diverse customer base while being fiscally responsible.
2.) As of October 2011, I am the Region 1 VP for the DE-PTA. This role has been unfilled for a number of years, yet is such a vital link in keeping each PTA unit in our area strong and connected to other state issues and national information. My taking of this role also coincides with changes in leadership at the state level. Both the state and the local units are only as strong as its leadership and growth year-over-year. So if there is no growth or change, the vitality and viability of a group comes into question. Though not involved in PTA to this magnitude in the past nor having first-hand knowledge of what the DE PTA leadership(s) has been for the last decade, I can see and am experiencing the “residuals” of that time. PTA is more than just fundraising. It is an important partner in the strong dynamics of any school’s success and the larger education system that is being delivered through our public schools. PTA delivers advocacy and accountability, but it is a role we have to actively engage in and nurture in building a strong parent representation that is informed and organized. As parents and as a PTA, we need to embrace our diverse audiences, educational needs and actionable items that the PTA encounters. I am now a part of that leadership on the state level that is continually pushing to deliver a logical and consistent parent voice to our legislation and educational administrators and making sure parents as stakeholders are heard.
3.) As of October 2011, I have been participating in various subcommittees providing input to the BSD Operating Referendum and continue to be involved with these efforts with the Board’s approval of the recommendation on January 23, 2012 and the forthcoming Vote to take place on March 28, 2012. I thought it was very important to have a strong parent voice that represented the realities of today’s BSD schools. I did not grow up in Wilmington nor attend a local high school in the area; so again, past DE history is not my guide when viewing our current public education system. In order to have a strong parent voice in the political and business aspects of public education, all parents must find ways of remaining informed and engaged in the accountability and leadership of the system. By participating in these subcommittees, I believe I am delivering on that expectation and finding ways of now bringing that information to the broader family and parent community.
4.) As of January 2012, I am now the BSD RttT Family and Community Liaison. This 2.5 year contract will focus on looking at new ways of getting all of our various types of families involved in some form or another in our public education system and supporting our students’ success, looking at new community resources to form partnerships for 21st Century educational reforms and strengthening existing programs or operations that currently work but might need some new energy or focus. (This last area is where I think my connection with the state PTA can be invaluable in bringing untapped resources back into the district. This national network has a variety of programs and training just waiting to be utilized and at the same time be our network with state and national issues happening in education. )
So together I think these various roles help me to bring a new perspective to overall parent activities in our district. I’m walking the walk and not just talking. I’m trying to make changes for the good of all families and students, including my own. I want our parent bodies and activities to better reflect the collaboration that we as parents in a global society know our students need in order to be successful. Most of us experience global workplaces where colleagues, peers and leadership might come from anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world, with a variety of different stories on how we got there – and the customer base we are servicing can be just as diverse. I’d like our classrooms, our PTAs, parent interactions and community partnerships to reflect our global economy as well. What’s the saying “Think Globally, But Act Locally”. Well, I’m part of the efforts t to “act locally”, not only am I drawing attention to key issues I have as a parent with children in this school district, but I am also trying to be an active part of the solution(s).
I hope you will join me anyway you can – through participation in this blog, voicing your concerns and opinions to make our school dialogue representative of our many different perspectives but also to find a way to be a more active participant in a student’s success – join PTA, read all of the news coming home from your school, check out the district website, mentor, educate yourself on the issues surrounding the upcoming Referendum and VOTE on March 28. And that’s just a start. My mandate with RttT is only 2.5 years, there is a lot to do – so let’s get busy and start working together to deliver a 21st Century educational service to all of our students.
