Happy
2010! Here’s a resolution that we’ve been working toward since the
beginning of the school year: Change our school climate and get more
input from parents, students and Oakland Bay Junior High staff. It all
began with a couple of questions . . . 1) Do we believe in miracles?
and 2) Do we really want to make lasting changes?
If we are determined to change our school, then we can’t afford to sit
around mouthing platitudes any longer. If we truly want to make
progress, then we need to get the parents, the students and the staff
to work together toward common goals. Because if we are serious about
including the community in the decision-making processes that shape our
schools future we will need to create a common meeting ground for all
interested parties.
Reaching out to all of the parents, all of the students and all of the
staff at OBJH will require a whole new approach. We made our decision
with forethought and planning. We researched our options and
discovered the good old tried and true National PTA
(Parent, Teachers Association). We compared the PTA to a PTSO (Parent,
Teacher, Student Organization) and learned that the PTSO is not
nationally affiliated and each group is an independent organization
with none of the special benefits beyond what any local booster club
might offer.
From the information gathered we decided that the perks of the National PTA—such as lobbying on education issues and guidance materials
for the parents of our students—was very attractive to us. In addition
to this, we were also interested in the student recognition programs
that the PTA offers, since our group will include students.
Thus the work began to develop interest and start the process of
creating this group for our Junior High School. We distributed
take-home flyers; we created informational pamphlets that were handed
out during conferences; and we asked all staff to extend a personal
invitation to parents through phone, e-mail or face- to- face contact.
We had 10 people present at our first meeting in early November. We created a contact list and invited the regional PTA director
to the next meeting. Our attendance grew to 20. We presented the idea
to our school staff in December and gained 33 more members!
At our next meeting, we will choose officers and really get the ball
rolling. Finally, parents, teachers, and students will be able to come
together and share ideas. By the way–I don’t break my New Years
resolutions and I do expect miracles! I’ll keep you posted.
Pamelia Valentine is a guest blogger and teacher in the Shelton School District.
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