I've heard several people ask a similar question, one that applies to just about every elementary school: how come elementary and high school PTAs are kept separate? It seems that as soon as parents really begin to understand what is going on at their elementary school, they are suddenly no longer involved because their kids have moved on. It seems that schools prefer that parents not have access to information about what has gone on previously at the school. The teachers, of course, have that information, since they often stay at one school for decades.
Clusters of Confusion: Why Should Parents Care?
December 13, 2010
by Bey-Ling Sha
I'm really confused about the cluster stuff coming out of the San Diego Unified School District these days. I'm talking about the nine areas into which the school district is now administratively divided, along with correspondingly nice salaries for each area superintendent, not to mention their discretionary funds.
In his recent post, parent-blogger Paul Bowers highlighted the Point Loma cluster and the involvement of parents there. Parent engagement is one of the key planks in the school district's community-based school reform model. Okay, I get that.
What I don't understand though, is why a system put in place to facilitate parent engagement, would then not be set up to optimize parental motivation to get involved?
For example, my children attend a 100 percent magnet school, The Language Academy. Although the school is located in the College Area, 100 percent of the student body comes from across the entire school district; we have no "neighborhood" component to the student body. After completing the K-8 curriculum in French or Spanish immersion, most students matriculate to the School of International Studies at San Diego High (SDHS-IS). Most of our families see SDHS-IS as our "community" high school, given that we have no geographically based "community" or neighborhood.
Yet, The Language Academy is assigned to the Crawford and Hoover cluster. Last year, out of 67 eighth-grade students, only one went to Crawford, and none went to Hoover. In contrast, 20 students went to SDHS-IS, the largest matriculation group out of that cohort...
Showing posts with label PTA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PTA. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Burning Moms are edgier than the PTA
Burning Moms use humor to push for education changes in California
By Pamela Martineau
Sacramento Bee
Jun. 28, 2009
They think of themselves as street-theater activists who are willing to get in the face of the powers-that-be to bring equity to the state's school funding system.
So between driving kids to soccer practice and helping with homework, these moms are hooking up online to organize their next rally or blogging about what bill in the Legislature might bring transparency to education finance.
At the Capitol last week, a loosely formed coalition called the Burning Moms staged its second annual rally at the state Capitol to protest school funding cuts.
Instead of marching with placards and chanting slogans, the Burning Moms and their kids built sculptures out of trash and danced to rewritten rock tunes performed by a band called the Angry, Tired Teachers.
Their goal is to make political activism fun and irreverent, while shining a spotlight on a public school system in crisis.
The name Burning Moms is a riff on the annual nonconformist celebration Burning Man.
"We see ourselves as somewhat edgier than the PTA," said Burning Mom Deb McCurdy, who drove to Sacramento from Pasadena with her two kids for the rally. "We're willing to take somewhat more of a risk to demonstrate our passion."
Burning Moms co-founder, stand-up comic and author Sandra Tsing Loh, 47, of San Francisco, likens the grass-roots movement to a "string of terrorist cells."
The Burning Moms (who also include a few dads) will blog online about an issue then decide to show up to protest or help a group organize...
"It's informal and cell-like," said Loh, who also hosts a talk show on National Public Radio on various topics. A few years ago, Loh developed a comedic monologue and later wrote a book called Mom on Fire about her efforts to find a decent public school for her kindergarten-age daughter in San Francisco.
That effort morphed into the Burning Moms, as more mothers contacted her saying they were experiencing similar frustrations with public schools. Now, the moms regularly chat on their Facebook page or on the site askamagnetyenta.wordpress .com about where to find the best magnet schools or to complain about state and national education policies...
Burning Moms rallied at first lady Maria Shriver's conference on women in November to protest its lack of discussion of public education...
California's beleaguered public education system is a crisis they believe threatens the future of their kids and therefore engenders their oft-referenced "burning" rage. (Watch their video on www.theburningmoms.org.)
They say they applaud (and some still belong to) the well-meaning PTA and other booster groups whose members bake cookies and organize fundraisers to raise money for their kids' public schools. But Burning Moms believe they need to start working to better all kids' schools, not just the ones that are fortunate enough to have active booster clubs. It's an equity issue, they say...
By Pamela Martineau
Sacramento Bee
Jun. 28, 2009
They think of themselves as street-theater activists who are willing to get in the face of the powers-that-be to bring equity to the state's school funding system.
So between driving kids to soccer practice and helping with homework, these moms are hooking up online to organize their next rally or blogging about what bill in the Legislature might bring transparency to education finance.
At the Capitol last week, a loosely formed coalition called the Burning Moms staged its second annual rally at the state Capitol to protest school funding cuts.
Instead of marching with placards and chanting slogans, the Burning Moms and their kids built sculptures out of trash and danced to rewritten rock tunes performed by a band called the Angry, Tired Teachers.
Their goal is to make political activism fun and irreverent, while shining a spotlight on a public school system in crisis.
The name Burning Moms is a riff on the annual nonconformist celebration Burning Man.
"We see ourselves as somewhat edgier than the PTA," said Burning Mom Deb McCurdy, who drove to Sacramento from Pasadena with her two kids for the rally. "We're willing to take somewhat more of a risk to demonstrate our passion."
Burning Moms co-founder, stand-up comic and author Sandra Tsing Loh, 47, of San Francisco, likens the grass-roots movement to a "string of terrorist cells."
The Burning Moms (who also include a few dads) will blog online about an issue then decide to show up to protest or help a group organize...
"It's informal and cell-like," said Loh, who also hosts a talk show on National Public Radio on various topics. A few years ago, Loh developed a comedic monologue and later wrote a book called Mom on Fire about her efforts to find a decent public school for her kindergarten-age daughter in San Francisco.
That effort morphed into the Burning Moms, as more mothers contacted her saying they were experiencing similar frustrations with public schools. Now, the moms regularly chat on their Facebook page or on the site askamagnetyenta.wordpress .com about where to find the best magnet schools or to complain about state and national education policies...
Burning Moms rallied at first lady Maria Shriver's conference on women in November to protest its lack of discussion of public education...
California's beleaguered public education system is a crisis they believe threatens the future of their kids and therefore engenders their oft-referenced "burning" rage. (Watch their video on www.theburningmoms.org.)
They say they applaud (and some still belong to) the well-meaning PTA and other booster groups whose members bake cookies and organize fundraisers to raise money for their kids' public schools. But Burning Moms believe they need to start working to better all kids' schools, not just the ones that are fortunate enough to have active booster clubs. It's an equity issue, they say...
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