How to be an effective group of "Pushy" Parents?

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for ideas and resources on how a group of parents can attempt to work effectively with their local school or school district at effecting positive change -- getting better programs, higher academic standards, better communication between school system and parents.

I've been looking like crazy on the web for books, papers, case studies, etc. "How parents put pressure on school officials to turn around a failing school" -- step by step discussion of what they did, who they sent letters to, sample letters they sent; meetings they attended, and so on. I'm sure some parents have worked to make their local public schools better choices for their children, but am not sure how they have done it.

If you have any good resources for me to look at, I'd really appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

What specifically are you trying to accomplish? Have you had any resistance from a specific principal or district leader, or is your group still in a planning mode at this point........

[Anonymous]

I think you're working backwards. I think you should identify what you want to change and work from there. I don't think there can be a how-to book or article on this because every issue and every school district are so different. And don't dub yourselves "pushy." You're "concerned." Very different!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you're working backwards. I think you should identify what you want to change and work from there. I don't think there can be a how-to book or article on this because every issue and every school district are so different. And don't dub yourselves "pushy." You're "concerned." Very different!

Thanks!

There MUST be some how to books out there. There are books and articles and websites and so on about everything under the sun. I'm just trying to locate them.

We have identified what we want to change. We want basically what most parents want when they feel their schools are failiing. We want more accountability, higher academic standards, more content based instruction (more science and social studies), increased "non-academic" offerings than what is currently being offered (more art, music, and foreign language). Basically what I am finding is when people want all that and aren't getting it through their public schools, they are ditching the system and setting up a charter school, or of course going to private. Btu there are instances of parents getting involved and "turning their schools around" -- I want to read case studies of this effort.

[Anonymous]

It may be a little difficult to find specific instances of parents turning schools around with a step-by-step guide for how they did it. On a broader level whet you are doing is basically community organizing.

Here is a resource that may be of help it is called the Community Toolbox and it has a bunch of helpful step-by-step instructions and guides on how to help everyday people get the skills they need to build better communities.

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/Default.htm

The Community Tool Box is the world's largest resource for free information on essential skills for building healthy communities. It offers more than 7,000 pages of practical guidance in creating change and improvement, and is growing as a global resource for this work.

[Anonymous]

Just wondering...as a teacher, how do you expect me to increase content instruction time and still let the kids have more music/art or fl? There are only so many hours in the school day.
But I do wish you luck. Change is usually good even though it is often hard.
Signed,
A happy Mont. Co, public school teacher and parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering...as a teacher, how do you expect me to increase content instruction time and still let the kids have more music/art or fl? There are only so many hours in the school day.
But I do wish you luck. Change is usually good even though it is often hard.
Signed,
A happy Mont. Co, public school teacher and parent

When I was a teacher in VA back when the state SOLs came out (before NCLB) we had exactly the same problem. Teachers had been teaching science and social studies but only 50 minutes every other day. Well, suddenly we had these state mandated, heavy content science and social studies curricula that just couldn't be taught in such a short period of time. Kids needed 60 minutes every day or both We ended up having to teach a lot more reading (and writing) in the content area -- basically doubling up language arts and social studies and science.

[Anonymous]

I'd consider contacting the principal at Lyles Crouch Traditional Academy in Alexandria (Dr. Patricia Zissios). She has worked with the parents to make dramatic changes at the school in a relatively short period of time, including many curriculum enhancements and an arts focus. She may be able to put you in contact with a group of parents that could tell you how they worked together with the school and system to make things happen. I'm a parent there and would highly recommend learning more about their process - if you visit the school you would be very encouraged.

[Anonymous]

http://www.acps.k12.va.us/news2009/nr2009040205.php This is a recent press release regarding the Lyles Crouch principal mentioned in the previous post. She was just awarded a "distinguished educator" award by the Washington Post. What this article does not state is that Lyles Crouch was a failing school with a free/reduced lunch population exceeding 70% in 1999. Thanks to the vision and efforts of two great principals and collaboration with the parent and local community, it is now an amazing public school.

[Anonymous]

perhaps you should start by learning more about the school, the constraints under which it operates, and why the people there have made the decisions they have. I'm not saying change isn't possible or necessary. I am saying that undirected "pushiness" won't succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:perhaps you should start by learning more about the school, the constraints under which it operates, and why the people there have made the decisions they have. I'm not saying change isn't possible or necessary. I am saying that undirected "pushiness" won't succeed.

Thanks, I am just looking for stories or discussions of how other people have changed their schools. Our own efforts won't be undirected, of course. But I want to see what others have done, and how they have done it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.acps.k12.va.us/news2009/nr2009040205.php This is a recent press release regarding the Lyles Crouch principal mentioned in the previous post. She was just awarded a "distinguished educator" award by the Washington Post. What this article does not state is that Lyles Crouch was a failing school with a free/reduced lunch population exceeding 70% in 1999. Thanks to the vision and efforts of two great principals and collaboration with the parent and local community, it is now an amazing public school.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering...as a teacher, how do you expect me to increase content instruction time and still let the kids have more music/art or fl? There are only so many hours in the school day.
But I do wish you luck. Change is usually good even though it is often hard.
Signed,
A happy Mont. Co, public school teacher and parent

When I was a teacher in VA back when the state SOLs came out (before NCLB) we had exactly the same problem. Teachers had been teaching science and social studies but only 50 minutes every other day. Well, suddenly we had these state mandated, heavy content science and social studies curricula that just couldn't be taught in such a short period of time. Kids needed 60 minutes every day or both We ended up having to teach a lot more reading (and writing) in the content area -- basically doubling up language arts and social studies and science.

That kind of curricular integration is a best practice basic!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We have identified what we want to change. We want basically what most parents want when they feel their schools are failiing. We want more accountability, higher academic standards, more content based instruction (more science and social studies), increased "non-academic" offerings than what is currently being offered (more art, music, and foreign language). Basically what I am finding is when people want all that and aren't getting it through their public schools, they are ditching the system and setting up a charter school, or of course going to private. Btu there are instances of parents getting involved and "turning their schools around" -- I want to read case studies of this effort.

If your school is failing academically, I seriously doubt that more electives will be offered until test scores are up. The systems are aware of the research connecting the arts to higher achievement. However, with this emphasis on testing, schedules are not going to change to accommodate the electives. Furthermore, with the economy the way it is, the budget cuts are drastic and mainly affect those teaching electives. Furthermore, science and social studies are pushed aside to also make room for extended periods of math and reading. So you're fighting a losing battle here, too, as the tests do indeed dictate what to teach.

Having said that, I'd encourage you to join the school improvement committee. Parent stakeholders are usually part of the committee which helps to write and monitor the school improvement plan. Although the plan is monitored (and tweaked) over the year, it's revised each summer. This is the accountability factor.

Higher academic standards very gray. What specifically are you asking for here? All systems have a built-in observation process which holds the teacher accountable for student performance. As a parent, you have very little say in this area.

Furthermore, I've noticed that if a website is poorly maintained, communication between the school and community is poor. I'd advise you to examine the website first. Transparency here is a good thing and can be defined as posting a copy of the school improvement plan on the page.