There Needs to Be Enforced Equity Among PTA's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think teachers should pay anything out-of-pocket for supplies or class materials. I think it’s a shame that the county doesn’t provide a stipend for every single classroom teacher.

However I don’t think PTA should be limited or capped If they want to reimburse teachers for bells and whistles. Our school pta adopted A less fortunate school and we fund raise and give them supplies. It’s telling that the original author only cares about this now that her school does not have the resources or strong pta.

Our Principal told us that MCPS DOES pay for all supplies and class materials that are part of the curriculum. It's all the extra after-school or special programs that they don't. That's where the inequity comes in. Don't be fooled in thinking that the experience at all schools is the same. I would be okay with this fact if any MCPS kid is allowed to attend any school but they can't, and the reality is school boundaries are highly segregated by SES.

If you walked into a classroom that just had the basic supplies, no classroom library, nothing else I'm sure you would be pissed off. There's always some smart-ass who claims they are okay with the bare minimum but most are not

Engaged and resourceful teachers create good classroom environments. It is fully independent of socio-economic status.

Although it takes effort, there are many, many charitable organizations and book publishers that provide books and materials to teachers in low income schools. The OP just needs to do a search on DCUM for multiple threads with lots of links.

Can you list them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:News flash. Life isn’t fair. Sorry. It’s never going to be. And the more we push the narrative, the more the people in the middle are going to vote in their own best interest to stop their money from helping everyone poorer than them. Wake up. This isn’t where to focus your energy.

Such entitled, disgusting people in this county. Teachers who need the most support (title 1 and focus schools) aren’t getting it and your suggestion is “suck it up?” No wonder people are leaving this profession. You’re a truly terrible person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA does a lot admittedly but it also does a lot for the poorest school in MCPS from coat drives to fund sharing. Kneecapping the "rich" schools will hurt the poorer ones first.

I get what you're saying but a coat drive and a 5 or even 10% portion of PTA funds being transferred (and are you even donating that much?) is hardly a drop in the bucket for a hyper-segregated school. This is not a good faith solution to systemic issues though I recognize the kind spirit behind the effort. The truth is that these programs and supplies should be provided for by the state. Funding schools via property taxes, which obviously vary by the size of the tax base, just perpetuates inequality and injustice. We need to be advocating for systems-wide changes instead of using enormous PTA budgets as a band-aid that only helps kids who generally already have means and advantages.

The reason why economically diverse schools work is human psychology . . . we will always notice injustice and work harder when it comes to our own kids. We can try to treat those poor kids at another school the same, but the fact that we're allowing those kids to be clustered in an over-stressed and under-funded environment kind of belies the fact that we really don't.

Case in point: my affluent, highly white neighborhood was zoned out of a majority white, non Title 1 school into a majority Black, Title 1 school a few years ago. We were some of the only people who switched instead of moving or going private. (The school is great, BTW.) But in the lead-up to the school board vote, this other neighborhood, even whiter and more affluent than mine, was also proposed to be rezoned, and those parents worked themselves into a frenzy doing turkey drives and coat drives for the poor school they didn't want to send their kids to. They even made a website with "research" about why the rezoning would be detrimental (all laughable and easily countered by local school integration professors) and they promised that they would keep supporting the school forevermore. To their great relief, they were not rezoned, and guess how long those turkey and coat drives lasted after they didn't have anything to prove?

[Anonymous]

We should have one district-wide PTA and the accumulated money should be allocated on a per capita basis.

[Anonymous]

Bottom line - we need to better fund our schools so they don’t need fundraisers for supplies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA does a lot admittedly but it also does a lot for the poorest school in MCPS from coat drives to fund sharing. Kneecapping the "rich" schools will hurt the poorer ones first.

I get what you're saying but a coat drive and a 5 or even 10% portion of PTA funds being transferred (and are you even donating that much?) is hardly a drop in the bucket for a hyper-segregated school. This is not a good faith solution to systemic issues though I recognize the kind spirit behind the effort. The truth is that these programs and supplies should be provided for by the state. Funding schools via property taxes, which obviously vary by the size of the tax base, just perpetuates inequality and injustice. We need to be advocating for systems-wide changes instead of using enormous PTA budgets as a band-aid that only helps kids who generally already have means and advantages.

The reason why economically diverse schools work is human psychology . . . we will always notice injustice and work harder when it comes to our own kids. We can try to treat those poor kids at another school the same, but the fact that we're allowing those kids to be clustered in an over-stressed and under-funded environment kind of belies the fact that we really don't.

Case in point: my affluent, highly white neighborhood was zoned out of a majority white, non Title 1 school into a majority Black, Title 1 school a few years ago. We were some of the only people who switched instead of moving or going private. (The school is great, BTW.) But in the lead-up to the school board vote, this other neighborhood, even whiter and more affluent than mine, was also proposed to be rezoned, and those parents worked themselves into a frenzy doing turkey drives and coat drives for the poor school they didn't want to send their kids to. They even made a website with "research" about why the rezoning would be detrimental (all laughable and easily countered by local school integration professors) and they promised that they would keep supporting the school forevermore. To their great relief, they were not rezoned, and guess how long those turkey and coat drives lasted after they didn't have anything to prove?

There is nothing stopping you from donating to any PTA. You could easily donate to the schools you are preaching about. And, yet, you don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We should have one district-wide PTA and the accumulated money should be allocated on a per capita basis.

We do, its called MCCPTA but they take the money and spend it on non-sense instead of helping schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:News flash. Life isn’t fair. Sorry. It’s never going to be. And the more we push the narrative, the more the people in the middle are going to vote in their own best interest to stop their money from helping everyone poorer than them. Wake up. This isn’t where to focus your energy.

Such entitled, disgusting people in this county. Teachers who need the most support (title 1 and focus schools) aren’t getting it and your suggestion is “suck it up?” No wonder people are leaving this profession. You’re a truly terrible person.

And yet I represent the majority in this country who are tired of being told utopia is just around the corner with a tax hike. Then the government hands out trillions of dollars, it takes one million dollars to find one veteran a job (see WaPo article a few days ago), inflation goes nuts and I’m called names by progressive liberals with malice. And we wonder why the Dems are not winning large majorities. Wake. Up.

Yes, it sucks. Yes, some PTAs have more funding and use it to them their schools. Not everything can be exactly equal. It is not a goal you want. If we lose agency over our lives and the lives of our children, we end up with unmotivated couch potatoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our local ES PTA has a sister school that they fundraise for/provides funds to. Instead of trying to discourage parent giving PTA’s that can afford it should work with a sister school.

So does the teachers at the sister school also get $250? Or just like old books and handed down clothes ?

Do we have a system where all wealthy otas have adopted a title 1 or focus school or is it haphazardly dive?

It's equal fundraising $, not random used stuff. Like paying for a new gym at our school and the sister school, etc.

When has an MCPS PTA ever paid for a new gym? That’s stuff for the CIP. Our PTA did pay for playground equipment, like benches and stuff. But that’s not a physical structure. What PTA has millions to fund construction costs?

Not a gym, but our foundation did raise money for a much larger stage in the APR at our ES a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA does a lot admittedly but it also does a lot for the poorest school in MCPS from coat drives to fund sharing. Kneecapping the "rich" schools will hurt the poorer ones first.

I get what you're saying but a coat drive and a 5 or even 10% portion of PTA funds being transferred (and are you even donating that much?) is hardly a drop in the bucket for a hyper-segregated school. This is not a good faith solution to systemic issues though I recognize the kind spirit behind the effort. The truth is that these programs and supplies should be provided for by the state. Funding schools via property taxes, which obviously vary by the size of the tax base, just perpetuates inequality and injustice. We need to be advocating for systems-wide changes instead of using enormous PTA budgets as a band-aid that only helps kids who generally already have means and advantages.

The reason why economically diverse schools work is human psychology . . . we will always notice injustice and work harder when it comes to our own kids. We can try to treat those poor kids at another school the same, but the fact that we're allowing those kids to be clustered in an over-stressed and under-funded environment kind of belies the fact that we really don't.

Case in point: my affluent, highly white neighborhood was zoned out of a majority white, non Title 1 school into a majority Black, Title 1 school a few years ago. We were some of the only people who switched instead of moving or going private. (The school is great, BTW.) But in the lead-up to the school board vote, this other neighborhood, even whiter and more affluent than mine, was also proposed to be rezoned, and those parents worked themselves into a frenzy doing turkey drives and coat drives for the poor school they didn't want to send their kids to. They even made a website with "research" about why the rezoning would be detrimental (all laughable and easily countered by local school integration professors) and they promised that they would keep supporting the school forevermore. To their great relief, they were not rezoned, and guess how long those turkey and coat drives lasted after they didn't have anything to prove?

I really appreciate your post. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

This entire thread reminds me of the debate over universal healthcare. The bottom line is one of the wealthiest counties in the country (yes, I know, it's fallen in the ranks) has teachers in less affluent parts begging for Expo markers while others are getting $100 gift cards.

How about the richest nation in the WORLD gets its sh@t together and fund public education? Fully fund public education.

Just like fully fund healthcare, FFS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We should have one district-wide PTA and the accumulated money should be allocated on a per capita basis.

You mean a county level pta? Great idea! Let’s call it MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about the richest nation in the WORLD gets its sh@t together and fund public education? Fully fund public education.

Just like fully fund healthcare, FFS.

Because there is a major political party in our country that wants to destroy public schools. They actively want to:
Abolish the Dept of Education
Use public tax dollars to send children to religous schools

Education is supposed to be the great equalizer. Taxes are given in equal amounts to all schools (well, poorer schools get more funds, but that is not relevant here). Parents give more who have more. Just like wealthier kids get more expensive holiday presents. It is always going to happen.

Life isn't fair, there will always be someone richer than you who has more, and there will always be someone poorer than you who has less

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should have one district-wide PTA and the accumulated money should be allocated on a per capita basis.

You mean a county level pta? Great idea! Let’s call it MCPS.

We do, its called MCCPTA and they get dues from all members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was President of one of these more wealthy associations and we donated a huge amount of money to the county to disperse to other schools that didn't have the same level of participation as the more successful schools. We also mentored their association on fund raising etc. It isn't that they don't have the money in those areas, it is they lack participation.

And why do you think they lack participation? People are working! People that don't make as much money have more inflexible jobs. They also tend to work in the evenings when these meetings are held (like me). They also probably can't afford a house cleaner, so they have to keep up their house themselves after work. They also probably can't afford to order take out as much either-- cooking dinner takes time. They might also not have two cars, or might have to rely on public transportation to make it to the school-- public transportation that stops running or gets scarce later in the day. It blows my mind that people don't see the connection. A lack of participation doesn't mean that parents don't care-- it's that they don't have the energy to do so after all the other work they have to do. The wealthy have easier lives in a million little ways that add up to them having more energy to participate.

I was a PTA officer of a very poor school with high FARMS and ESOL rates. We made dinner available to people, encouraged them to bring their whole family to PTA meetings, had childcare and babysitting provided with movie nights, ran shuttles, to get the parents to participate. Crickets! None of the poor people showed up. Did not matter when we had the meetings, did not matter if we had translators, if we had coffee and breakfast made available to them, had weekend events for the family. LOL! These people did not show up.

I don't resent the rich school. Because rich or poor, no one wants to parent their children it seems and parental participation is very little in both rich and poor school. Yes, the rich can still throw money for outsourcing their kid's education, opportunities or EC activities because they are aware of the path to a MC/UMC/Rich life and what education and ECs their kids will need to at least get into a good college.

The awful truth is that for uneducated parents or poorly educated parents in poor schools, they have no idea of what the education that opens the door to college and career even looks like. They are not the guides that their children can get help from. As a result, they completely cede control to the school and not question any made up statistics that the school tells them. They are gullible and they are powerless. They are fed the lies by unscrupulous administrators that the achievement gap is completely filled in their schools.

They do not even understand what they hear because they themselves are poorly educated. They will not be involved with the PTA because they see no reason to advocate for their child. They can easily be manipulated by MCPS and school administration to advocate for dismantling programs that they think give unfair advantages to other children doing better than theirs. They are fed the lies that their kids are doing poorly because other kids have taken the resources of their children. They never ask more of the administration and the teachers, but somehow their sense of entitlement to get some sort of restitution from others doing better than them is immense.

I think the PTA of rich schools should not feel guilty for what they do for their own children. I find this misplaced guilt even more annoying than the fact that they have money. Seriously.

MCPS provides the same to rich and poor schools. However, the parents of poor school cannot even maximize what opportunities MCPS provides. However, they will bellyache about the icecream socials that the rich school kids get through their PTA. They don't know that they need to ask MCPS for more Math and English tutoring, more experienced teachers, more aides in the classrooms. This is the level of understanding of their own problems.

Rich parents want their kids to go to college and know what career path they will choose. Poor parents don't have any idea of what this path will mean. They are aware that other kids are doing better but it is easier to be the fake victim of others pickpocketing their "golden" opportunities rather than to accept that they are in a deep, deep hole because of whatever reasons and they need to get the help to get out of it. That is the reason this thread was started. To blame for your own misfortunes and shortcoming someone else, rather than face what your own disadvantages are and find a way out. They don't acknowledge their problems and swallow the bitter pill, so their ongoing chronic disease of underachievement is never addressed.

Did you stop to consider it was either you or a past president/board that was not welcoming. You can offer all those things but not be welcoming or inclusive and why would people participate. The other issue is the schools run separate groups and generally its very segregated.

You can help the victims who want to change their situation, but you cannot help the people with a "victim" mentality. Someone snubbed them and now they are checked out from their own kid's education? Wow! Talk about abdicating their parental responsibilities.

Maybe people need to be better parents or stop having kids. We are not living in Gilead. Women are not being forced to breed and give birth.