UMC parents in low income schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What I have seen, is in schools with a high (over 65%) Spanish speaking population, there is NO PTA. Why is this? Because you could have all the translators in the world and they are not going to participate. I am not trying to sound racist here. What I have seen are parents living below the poverty line and struggling to put food on the table, much less run a PTA meeting.

I agree but has anyone considered that maybe the PTA is not a good thing to have in the first place? Poor people shouldn't be forced to join it if they want to engage.

The solution is not having a PTA and finding other ways to build community and parent engagement without a PTA in low income schools. A PTA that is run by a small number of white people advocating for their needs over the majority of parents that are not involved in their PTA is not OK. The solution isn't to strong arm the poor parents into participating in the PTA but to make sure that the PTA has zero influence and there are other avenues for parental engagement.

And who is going to do that? What are the “other avenues for parental engagement”? Is the principal supposed to do it? If parents do it, then there is some kind of parent group. Whether it is associated with the MD PTA or whether it is some other kind of PTO seems kind of irrelevant. Either the administration has to do it or the parents have to do it, and I’m not sure why doing it through the PTA structure is inherently worse than having to invent an alternative structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What I have seen, is in schools with a high (over 65%) Spanish speaking population, there is NO PTA. Why is this? Because you could have all the translators in the world and they are not going to participate. I am not trying to sound racist here. What I have seen are parents living below the poverty line and struggling to put food on the table, much less run a PTA meeting.

I agree but has anyone considered that maybe the PTA is not a good thing to have in the first place? Poor people shouldn't be forced to join it if they want to engage.

The solution is not having a PTA and finding other ways to build community and parent engagement without a PTA in low income schools. A PTA that is run by a small number of white people advocating for their needs over the majority of parents that are not involved in their PTA is not OK. The solution isn't to strong arm the poor parents into participating in the PTA but to make sure that the PTA has zero influence and there are other avenues for parental engagement.

And who is going to do that? What are the “other avenues for parental engagement”? Is the principal supposed to do it? If parents do it, then there is some kind of parent group. Whether it is associated with the MD PTA or whether it is some other kind of PTO seems kind of irrelevant. Either the administration has to do it or the parents have to do it, and I’m not sure why doing it through the PTA structure is inherently worse than having to invent an alternative structure.

+1

And for everyone who is complaining about the structure or the parents who run it - you sound like you would be an amazing force of change at your child's school! PTA elections are usually held in May or June, so join the board for next year and implement some of these ideas that will support all of the families at your school! Find ways of drawing out families who might not be able to make it to a PTA meeting and find ways to engage them and help meet their needs. Let your dissatisfaction about the way things currently are at your school and in your PTA be an impetus to create positive change and a shift in the atmosphere at your school.

It always starts with one person. Be that person.

[Anonymous]

What's the alternative to getting involved? (Obviously trying to actively include others is a good idea, please don't read that as "what's the alternative to refusing to provide translators?" I mean in a broader sense. I'm white and well educated though not UMC, my schools are mostly non-white and high FARMs, but I can't afford and don't want to send my kid to private, and I also don't think it's good parenting to check out of my kid's education on grounds that demographically he has advantages other kids don't.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I think that the school staff should do many of things that PTAs are doing. We came from a smaller school system and the school's front office coordinated the big events. They would ask for parent volunteers to bring in food but the spirit events were school not parent driven. The teachers were very active in getting grants and bringing in programs that were free for enrichment. These weren't the multiple session ones given by small private companies but local museums that would send docents, community organization type things, etc. The local plant nursery sponsored the garden and would send someone out to talk about the plants. The principal would organize speakers and parent education activities in the evenings. Open house was a big fun event not the scripted presentations that they have here.

The school was not as well funded as the schools here but the staff didn't have all the data and reporting stuff up to a central office that seems to take up so much time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the alternative to getting involved? (Obviously trying to actively include others is a good idea, please don't read that as "what's the alternative to refusing to provide translators?" I mean in a broader sense. I'm white and well educated though not UMC, my schools are mostly non-white and high FARMs, but I can't afford and don't want to send my kid to private, and I also don't think it's good parenting to check out of my kid's education on grounds that demographically he has advantages other kids don't.

I don't think that anybody is saying, "Don't get involved." The isssue is about how to be involved, not whether.

[Anonymous]

We the at Focus school and our PTA has tried to reach out for years. We do have Spanish interpreters. We send out information in Spanish for the events.

Guess what? Participation from Spanish speaking parents is really low.

My kid in 1st grade had a field trip and we struggled to get enough volunteers for it. At my niece’s more higher-income school, they turn away parents on field trips!

I volunteered for a class party last year and I was the ONLY parent volunteer. Literally the only one.

I’m not White, but don’t judge the UMC White Moms for taking control of the PTA. If they are the ones running things, it’s because they are able to or choose to show up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We the at Focus school and our PTA has tried to reach out for years. We do have Spanish interpreters. We send out information in Spanish for the events.

Guess what? Participation from Spanish speaking parents is really low.

My kid in 1st grade had a field trip and we struggled to get enough volunteers for it. At my niece’s more higher-income school, they turn away parents on field trips!

I volunteered for a class party last year and I was the ONLY parent volunteer. Literally the only one.

I’m not White, but don’t judge the UMC White Moms for taking control of the PTA. If they are the ones running things, it’s because they are able to or choose to show up.

Able to. You got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Agree. I work at a high FARMS school where the PTA president refuses to spend PTA money on interpreters to attend the PTA meetings, which essentially keeps the Spanish speaking majority away from participating in the PTA. When we looked closely at the budget and expenses, we saw that the amount of money spent on book fair decorations would pay for the interpreter for the whole year but the president still wouldn't budge. They said that if a staff member would volunteer their time to interpret then they would be ok with it. Staff members ended up finding high school students needing SSL hours. The PTA serves the interests of the English speaking UMC minority, and not the majority of the school's population.

The PTA President doesn't get to make all the decisions. Even the Board doesn't get to make all decisions. Votes should be open to members at meetings to vote on budget items. Anyone can propose an amendment on the floor for a public vote. Get more involved in your PTA and more educated on how PTA is *supposed* to work, then you can effect change. If there is an issue with the PTA board at your local school, go to your Cluster Coordinator or Area VP for support. Contact the MCCPTA if you don't know who your cluster coordinator or Area VP are.

I suggest you read the article. You can't expect poor, non-English speaking parents who barely have a high school education if that to walk into a PTA meeting and take on the 4-5 mothers with advanced degrees who are controlling everything by calling for a floor vote and an amendment to get interpreters. The point of the article is that the low income parents are intimidated by them and have neither the time nor debate skills to prevail.

Excuses and more excuses. You are an enabler to a population that keeps considering themselves as inferior. Keep catering to them and they will never step out of their comfort zone. Why not empower them to stand up and speak up for themselves rather than doing it for them? Sounds harsh but it is indeed a harsh and competitive world.

It's a special kind of gift to see immigrants who move somewhere where they can't speak the language as people who don't leave their "comfort zones."

[Anonymous]

What is a white person with money supposed to do. We go to all rich schools with high test scores we are greedy racists who don’t share. We go to poor schools and try and raise the standards and abdicate for our kids (the horror I know) we are oppressive and not sensitive to people who can’t keep up. If we go private we are elitist who are the scum of the earth.

What you really want is rich people to go sit in the corner and be quite. That isn’t how power works even if the new generation has confused outrage with power.

[Anonymous]

Advocate not abdicate

[Anonymous]

That is an old article and has been filled in the no shit category of live. Poor people have little voice and society has even fewer ears for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think posters well meaning (and some not) are missing the point.

The point of the article is that a small number of white parents come in and not only control the influencing factors on the school but also define how that happens and what it means to be a better school. The PTA in itself is the problem as there are other barriers for poor families to enter it. The PTA issue is that the white parents basically define that the PTA is the way to influence and the poor people either join into their structure or stay out.

The things that the small number of white people want to do to "improve the school" are usually things that benefit their kids and don't play into the needs of poor families. Tracking and gifted centers is a perfect example. The pressure for more seats to be in compacted math or get into the local or regional CES and open up more seats so the white kids don't get left behind with the hispanic kids is intense. White parents will push teachers to spend time with the higher reading groups and give their kids enrichment when other kids can't even read. White parents often want to see after school programs and enrichment programs at the school yet they are the only ones who can afford it. White parents want the field trips that cost over $50.

White parents act as if they are saving the school. Many of the comments are very tone deaf. Comments made to other white parents considering pulling out to private schools along the lines of "oh we can't loose you, we need everyone to stay so the school can get better" within earshot of teachers or non-white parents is harmful. Yes keeping more high scoring white kids in the school will help the rankings and possibly attract more white parents into the school but their presence alone isn't making it better , in fact, sometimes it is hurting by taking away desperately needed resources.

Look at all the posts from people saying look at the test scores by race not the school as if its perfectly fine for all the hispanic to be failing as long as the white kids are passing.

Where do your kids go to school? Willing to bet that most posters here saying the article describes a wide spread phenomenon are not in Focus or Title 1 schools so frankly have no idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think posters well meaning (and some not) are missing the point.

The point of the article is that a small number of white parents come in and not only control the influencing factors on the school but also define how that happens and what it means to be a better school. The PTA in itself is the problem as there are other barriers for poor families to enter it. The PTA issue is that the white parents basically define that the PTA is the way to influence and the poor people either join into their structure or stay out.

The things that the small number of white people want to do to "improve the school" are usually things that benefit their kids and don't play into the needs of poor families. Tracking and gifted centers is a perfect example. The pressure for more seats to be in compacted math or get into the local or regional CES and open up more seats so the white kids don't get left behind with the hispanic kids is intense. White parents will push teachers to spend time with the higher reading groups and give their kids enrichment when other kids can't even read. White parents often want to see after school programs and enrichment programs at the school yet they are the only ones who can afford it. White parents want the field trips that cost over $50.

White parents act as if they are saving the school. Many of the comments are very tone deaf. Comments made to other white parents considering pulling out to private schools along the lines of "oh we can't loose you, we need everyone to stay so the school can get better" within earshot of teachers or non-white parents is harmful. Yes keeping more high scoring white kids in the school will help the rankings and possibly attract more white parents into the school but their presence alone isn't making it better , in fact, sometimes it is hurting by taking away desperately needed resources.

Look at all the posts from people saying look at the test scores by race not the school as if its perfectly fine for all the hispanic to be failing as long as the white kids are passing.

Where do your kids go to school? Willing to bet that most posters here saying the article describes a wide spread phenomenon are not in Focus or Title 1 schools so frankly have no idea.

+1.

[Anonymous]

This is going on at my focus school. The PTA leadership positions are almost all white Kindergarden moms at a school only 19% white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going on at my focus school. The PTA leadership positions are almost all white Kindergarden moms at a school only 19% white.

So step up and volunteer.