PTA - Beyond Fundraising

What is the current impression of PTA at your school?  Within BSD, every building except 2 high schools have a PTA unit.  And yes, some are more effective than others, yet they represent over 100 years of history, results-driven projects on a local, state and national level and the one parent group that has consistently looked at academics along with overall parent involvement in a school building.

Sidenote:  For those 2 high schools that don't have PTA units, they also don't have an organized group of parents that are focused on academic success of the student body.  Trust me, I've tried to find a parent network to tap within those buildings.  It's a variety of booster clubs focused on extra curricular topics.  So when it comes to discussing SSP (Student Success Plans) or CCSS (Common Core State Standards), I've struggled with finding an inroad.  At all other buildings, the conversation can at least start with the PTA leaders of that school and what is happening across the building.

Beyond fundraising, I believe that PTA can re-identify itself within BSD by being the academic voice for all students and identifying some of the difficult topics within 21st Century educational reform and holding our administration accountable.  PTA is not just fundraising -- yet too many of our units within BSD are only focused on that element.  Has this "turned off" a larger parent presents and limited our opportunities as parents to have a place at the decision-making table? 

Here is what PTAs could do to support 21st Century public education:

• Work to have their membership match the demographics of its student body: We live in a global society -- from our neighborhoods to our local economies to our national leaders.  Our parent voices at the local level need to acknowledge that as well and work to grow its membership to be more representative. (No more little "niche" leadership teams.)
• Educate our parents as to the important elements of academic success:  It starts with understanding the Common Core State Standards (which the State PTA has training for) and then it gets into what BSD is doing in the classrooms, with the curriculum, how our teachers are adopting the standards and the vision for STEM for all of our students, and then how assessments really work.
• Get us the tools from the district/state - and make sure the local buildings use them -- that help us as parents be informed partners in our students' academic success:  There are a variety of tools available to parents from Home Access to Compass Learning to Student Success Plans in the secondary levels that can help us as parent support our student's learning and also understand their progress.  Not only do these tools need to be consistently offered, but we as parents need to know that they exist and how to use them.
• Identify an issue that a greater body of parents can identify and advocate for:  Whether this is better testing (and dropping DCAS sooner or making sure all parents understand the next test Smarter Balance before it comes online in our schools) OR organizing better overall nutrion and exercise programs in all of our buildings including the status of our playgrounds OR support state legislation around anti-bullying measures and making sure that they are implemented in our school buildings.

But in order for PTA to be effective, it also takes strong and broad leadership across our district.  And those leaders have to attend the training that is consistently being offered by the State PTA, Region resource teams and even nationally.  Next State training is on June 9th for all new PTA leaders just voted into office for the next school year.  Will our parent leaders make it a priority to attend as their local Board representatives?

And as parents, we need to stay connected to the PTA network.  That is not necessarily attending every meeting, but it is making sure the minutes are consistently provided, a consistent treasurer's report is also included monthly out to the entire membership, and that a strong, 2-way communication effort is established that keeps everyone up-to-date on important matters.  That'll help all of our parents stay connected. 

That's what I'd like to see as next steps for our PTAs across the district.  What would you like to see in your PTA leadership?

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As a parent, are you happy with the recent NewsJournal reports?

The week before Spring Break, there were a series of articles in the News Journal about education reform in our state.  I also attended the Thursday night panel discussion at the University of DE that was a part of that series as well.

I'd really like to hear from other parents on this one, as I felt like the articles and the panel discussion were NOTHING NEW.  There was no forward-thinking, aggressive plans for change.  It was just more of the same, only packaged slightly differently, but the content wasn't moving the bar for all students.

And here are a couple of points that really concerned me:

1.)  IF all public schools had the type of parent engagement and support that Charter Schools have .... well, we wouldn't need charter schools because the landscape and results of public schools would be so different and the bar would be set higher for ALL --- not just a select few.

2.) Charter schools cater to the top and/or the bottom.  Either financially, academically or socio-economically, they have a different playing field from public schools.  They don't serve the middle and they don't service a broad spectrum of different student needs and concerns like public schools.  Therefore they are very niche-oriented and thus can develop very specific and measurable results.  Public schools have to serve every student that walks through their doors, regardless!  Comparing charter schools and standard public schools are not apples-to-apples.

3.)  Similar to students, families come in a variety of shapes, sizes and backgrounds.  The examples given by the panel of the parent were specific to Title 1 funding and its requirements.  Again not a clear picture of the full spectrum of what it means to successfully execute "family engagement".  Parents make the difference in "moving the bar higher" as it is typically our passion and our outside perspective that demands more of our administrators, our teachers in the classrooms and the academic curriculum being set.  The internal, educational jargon doesn't move us -- the dynamics of a school building, constant inviting atmosphere of a school and the classrooms along with specific results in our students' school work home, the activities in the school building and the ease of 2-way communication that shows RESULTS are what parents measure.

Many of us who attended the Thursday discussion thought there was going to be more focus on RttT results from the first year and a half.  Nothing of the sort.  RttT wasn't even mentioned nor was the testing assessment "fiasco" that we are currently experiencing.  DCAS for now until the $25 million from RttT runs out and then they are already talking about moving to Smarter Balanced Assessment.  No wonder parents are cynical when it comes to testing assessment of any kind in this state!  How do I know as a parent that my children are getting a proper education??  We're not even sure what our educational leaders are even measuring with their testing and WHY?

We as parents need more direct and basic information from our school buildings and our districts as to what is going on NOW and on-going developments. Families with students in high school can't wait two to four years more for curriculum and testing assessment enhancements to be fully implemented before they "engage" families.  We need to be a part of the conversation at the table NOW while it's being developed.  And those of us who are able to lend more time because we are more financially stable in these rough times, need to find ways to get the parent voice heard for ALL -- loud and strong because I'm not sure if the educational system will be able to do it without us based on these recent news pieces.

So that was my take after a week or so of review....what was yours?  Really like to have a strong discussion here if we can.  So not holding back please.

2012 Operating Referendum - Passed - Thank you parents!

Thank you to all of the parents and various PTA efforts over the course of this Referendum process and also the many activities in the buildings yesterday.

Late last night, Dr. Holodick confirmed that the 2012 Operating Referendum did pass, which goes to the efforts of the committees and many parent networks.  Thank you!

With its passage, we'll quickly turn to the "heart" of the Board proposal and start looking at planning and implementation efforts that directly impact our students and their learning environments.  Parents and the PTA will continue to play an important role in 21st Century education reform. 

While making our leadership accountable to established goals defined with this referendum, let's see what we can accomplish together with the power of parents.

Thank you to everyone's hard work and let me know what parts of the Board proposal you are most excited to see implemented.  

21st Century Education needs Community Support

Don't forget to VOTE YES for the 2012 Operating Referendum between 10 am and 8 pm TODAY.

Why would anyone in our community want to support this referendum?  Here are a few ideas that come to mind:

* New families moving to our area are looking at 3 basic items when they are relocating to a new area - general level of housing prices vs quality of the homes, the crime rate in the area AND the quality and performance of the local public schools!!  (Which ties back to the quality of the home they are buying.  A strong community supports and monitors strong public schools which attracts strong companies based on a strong basic workforce.)

*  There is something for every student in the referendum proposal!  The majority of the allocation helps to support our existing programs with the remainder helping our efforts to grow and expand in order to support 21st Century education.  (Like greater access to technology through greater broadband to figuring out ways for personal, student devices to be used within our school environments.  Plus the arts and extra-curricular activities are also support -- to name just a few items)

* Our students need our support!  At the end of the day,  they are the ones who will benefit from the strong, positive endorsement by our community and families by voting for this referendum.  They'll see and feel it in their classrooms and in their school environments.

Please get out and vote today!

So what do parents want out of their public education system?

I attended an annual parent meeting for one of BSD’s innovative programs recently.  It was an informative meeting covering the history of the program, recent developments, current growth of enrollment, ideas on upcoming initiatives where parents could have an opportunity to be involved on a policy level for the program and then of course, information about the upcoming Referendum.

Towards the end of the meeting, a parent provided input that they thought it was a “sneaky” way for the district to talk about the Referendum.  I thought, “Wow, for as smart as this group of parents is perceived to be, that comment demonstrates that some of them just don’t get it!”  How do they think this wonderful program that they are utilizing gets paid for?  How do they think that future progress and continued advanced training is going to be covered to keep this program “cutting edge” like they expect?  Plus our tax dollars that go towards education pale in comparison to what our neighbors in Pennsylvania pay, yet mention of how great their school system in key counties is seems to come up consistently in our district since they’re right next door.

To me there seemed to be such a disconnect.  And I see it all around as public school parents have “checked out” from being an accountable part of the overall process of educational reform.  Yes, there are very dedicated parents out there – especially when it comes to THEIR STUDENT- who are involved with getting information from the school, attending a PTA meeting every once in a while, making sure their student gets their homework done in order to get good grades, supporting school fundraising efforts when they come up, attending any school function when their student is directly involved, yet that doesn’t change education for a 21^st Century need.  That just supports the status quo and looks out for “Numero Uno” but it also sets up our system for limited results

Yes, we are all busy and the demands of job and family seem to be greater than ever before, but have we set our priorities.  If we’re not willing to support the bigger educational picture, how can we expect great things and changes in our classrooms that we’re all expecting for our 21^st Century children?  There is so much going on in educational reform right now and parents need to be a strong voice in the process. We need to push their comfort zones, we need to provide real-world perspectives and we need to make sure our schools deliver a multicultural, global perspective that provides the overall life skills for our students to be  great contributors of American Leadership.  A country doesn’t remain a global leader by neglecting its educational base.  If you want great leadership at the top and paradigm changing results for society, it takes a team effort and accountability by ALL to set a higher bar for public education.

It takes a complete perspective of all aspects of running a school district from paper and crayons in the Elementary schools to high tech computer labs in the Middle Schools to strategic curriculum development leading to consistent graduation rates in High School.  That takes money, dedicated and talented teachers, multifaceted principals and district leaders with a vision – and it takes parents being informed and taking action at various levels. Reform and fiscal accountability happens when a strong partner sets the tone and follows through in action.  Parents can be the strongest voice in that partnership!

Are you going to take ACTION on March 28^th …. and know why you are doing it…

March Referendum

So I saw that the Red Clay Capital Referendum passed. Hope that is a good trend as BSD goes out to Referendum later this month (March 28th) for its Operating Referendum.

Just trying to get the word out to parents seems difficult in this day and age. With all of the electronic avenues we have at our finger tips, I'm still not sure if enough parents are even aware that this Operating Referendum is coming; and if they have the detailed information to make an informed decision.

I think there is something for everyone in the content of the proposal that the Board approved. But don't take my word for it -- go to our district website and then go to shortcuts - 2012 Operating Referendum to get the details firsthand.

To entice you to take a closer look here is just a quick checklist of items listed in that proposal:

STE(A)M Initiative
Accelerating ALL Students
Behavior Intervention
Instructional Technology Packages for ALL classrooms
Internet Connection Speed Increase
Collaborative Learning Environment
Wireless Access
Club Facilitators
Support of String Program
Preventative Maintenance & Upgrades

These items seem to support a vision for 21^st Century education.

Also check in your school office or with your PTA – there is an information brochure that outlines some of the financial details, voting locations and high level impacts.

Pass the Referendum and then also plan to continue to monitor our Board and District administration and then measure results all the way down into the classrooms & school buildings to make sure we as parents know what’s being delivered – consistently across all of our classrooms.  This gives them the financial means to move forward and we’ll monitor the implementation to make sure they follow through.

Hope you’ll stay informed – share your thoughts!

Parent Involvement & My Background Efforts

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 21^st 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 21^st 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 21^st Century educational service to all of our students.