UMC parents in low income schools

[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.

Devils advocate-but a PTA like that won't have a lot of money. Surely there should be a staff or parent volunteer who speaks both languages who could interpret for free?

+ 1

In all probability, the PTA (the handful PTA involved parents who do everything) are the ones who are raising and donating money and time and are choosing (as is their right) how they want to spend the money. The school population can attend the PTA meeting where budget is voted on and decide how the money will be spent, but since most people do not show up for anything they lose the right to complain. Yes, you get the PTA you deserve. If you do not show up and vote and are knowledgeable you get the 1 or 2 PTA parent who will do it all - raise the money and spend the money.

In a Title 1 school - the Principal should be spending their own slush funds (which is plenty considering that they are Title 1) and get interpretors. But the administrators do not care either, even though they are paid for that.

A good Principal will engage the underrepresented community. But usually we get the worst Principals who are biding their time so that they can get away from such schools. They expect the PTA to do their jobs.

Thank you for posting. My kids go to Catholic school (where the latino minority are very involved), and I really had trouble understanding the article. I have never known the PTA to have so much influence over substantial matters in the school. I have lived in a few different areas and had children at a few different schools, and the PTA has always been a fundraising body providing extra supplies as needed by teachers, some new technology, and paying for field trips. The most I even saw the PTA involved was in raising money to hire additional teachers aids.
I was very surprised to see how much influence these PTA's seemed to have. My initial thought was that the author of the article was exaggerating what was happening. It sounds more like it is a somewhat spineless principal and administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Devils advocate-but a PTA like that won't have a lot of money. Surely there should be a staff or parent volunteer who speaks both languages who could interpret for free?

+ 1

In all probability, the PTA (the handful PTA involved parents who do everything) are the ones who are raising and donating money and time and are choosing (as is their right) how they want to spend the money. The school population can attend the PTA meeting where budget is voted on and decide how the money will be spent, but since most people do not show up for anything they lose the right to complain. Yes, you get the PTA you deserve. If you do not show up and vote and are knowledgeable you get the 1 or 2 PTA parent who will do it all - raise the money and spend the money.

In a Title 1 school - the Principal should be spending their own slush funds (which is plenty considering that they are Title 1) and get interpretors. But the administrators do not care either, even though they are paid for that.

A good Principal will engage the underrepresented community. But usually we get the worst Principals who are biding their time so that they can get away from such schools. They expect the PTA to do their jobs.

Thank you for posting. My kids go to Catholic school (where the latino minority are very involved), and I really had trouble understanding the article. I have never known the PTA to have so much influence over substantial matters in the school. I have lived in a few different areas and had children at a few different schools, and the PTA has always been a fundraising body providing extra supplies as needed by teachers, some new technology, and paying for field trips. The most I even saw the PTA involved was in raising money to hire additional teachers aids.
I was very surprised to see how much influence these PTA's seemed to have. My initial thought was that the author of the article was exaggerating what was happening. It sounds more like it is a somewhat spineless principal and administration.

I had the same impression and would take this article with a grain of salt. They're trying to push an agenda (like most media these days) and are trying to spin a situation to appear a certain way.

[Anonymous]

The PTAs and parents in the DCC seem to have a lot of influence on the DCC schools -at least at the elementary school level. Lots of resources redirected toward the white kids, and increase in CES programs mostly favoring white kids. MCPS is scared about white flight so they cater to them even though it isn't making a dent in the white flight or pulling white DCC kids into MCPS from privates.

[Anonymous]

I also think that MCPS is a bit different in that our neighborhoods and schools have not been historically low income. More and more low income families are moving in and we see shrinking PTA budgets, and a shrinking volunteer base. There is absolutely a tension between funding "needs" and "wants", but I don't really see the gentrifier dynamic that the article is talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Devils advocate-but a PTA like that won't have a lot of money. Surely there should be a staff or parent volunteer who speaks both languages who could interpret for free?

+ 1

In all probability, the PTA (the handful PTA involved parents who do everything) are the ones who are raising and donating money and time and are choosing (as is their right) how they want to spend the money. The school population can attend the PTA meeting where budget is voted on and decide how the money will be spent, but since most people do not show up for anything they lose the right to complain. Yes, you get the PTA you deserve. If you do not show up and vote and are knowledgeable you get the 1 or 2 PTA parent who will do it all - raise the money and spend the money.

In a Title 1 school - the Principal should be spending their own slush funds (which is plenty considering that they are Title 1) and get interpretors. But the administrators do not care either, even though they are paid for that.

A good Principal will engage the underrepresented community. But usually we get the worst Principals who are biding their time so that they can get away from such schools. They expect the PTA to do their jobs.

Thank you for posting. My kids go to Catholic school (where the latino minority are very involved), and I really had trouble understanding the article. I have never known the PTA to have so much influence over substantial matters in the school. I have lived in a few different areas and had children at a few different schools, and the PTA has always been a fundraising body providing extra supplies as needed by teachers, some new technology, and paying for field trips. The most I even saw the PTA involved was in raising money to hire additional teachers aids.
I was very surprised to see how much influence these PTA's seemed to have. My initial thought was that the author of the article was exaggerating what was happening. It sounds more like it is a somewhat spineless principal and administration.

This x 1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You have no clue what you're talking about. You don't need a vote or amendment to get an interpreter. Have you actually ever been to a PTA meeting? Or do you prefer virtue signaling from the sidelines?

The phrase "virtue signaling," like the phrase "close your/her legs," has the benefit of being an efficient way to show that the post contains nothing of value.

You never answered the question. Have you actually ever been to a PTA meeting? Do you even have kids?

[Anonymous]

I've been the PTA President at a low-income FOCUS school and honestly, PTA board members spend so much time doing things to help the WHOLE school whether it's through fundraising, having PTA meetings, executing membership campaigns, finding Spanish interpreters, planning events, recruiting for volunteers, finding ways to increase engagement, having meetings with the Principal, finding ways to support teachers, managing the budget, finding after school programs that provide scholarships,etc.. that we don't have time to advocate or to even be with our OWN kids.
Seriously. This whole idea that we only advocate for our own kids is ridiculous. This is the way it works-we get together with the Principal at the beginning of the year to understand the needs of the school and how the PTA can help with such needs. We then formulate a budget that is driven by those needs, and then we vote on that budget at the first PTA meeting (which even non-PTA members can attend). We then execute events and activities throughout the year to ensure that we meet that projected budget so that we meet the needs of the school- in which the Principal has had a huge say on.
And really, the PTA doesn't have that much power to say whether or not chromebooks should be used at the school. Of course, they can provide individual feedback just as any other parent at the school can. It's up to the principal to make the final decision based on what is best for the entire school. What's truly important is that the Principal is in tune with the needs of the families. He needs to be an engaging and a supportive leader.
By the way, for those of you who struggle getting engagement from Spanish speaking families, there is usually a Community coordinator/rep that works for MCPS that is assigned to your school. Ask your Principal about it. A lot of times we used our Community Coordinator to help us reach out to the Spanish speaking families. Ours spoke Spanish too so we used her as an interpreter at the meetings. I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on an interpreter either- knowing that there is someone- whether it's staff, or a parent who can provide that service. I was at a Focus school- with a limited PTA budget. I'm going to find ways to save money so that I can have more money on other things such as paying a scholarship for a science after school program for a needy child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been the PTA President at a low-income FOCUS school and honestly, PTA board members spend so much time doing things to help the WHOLE school whether it's through fundraising, having PTA meetings, executing membership campaigns, finding Spanish interpreters, planning events, recruiting for volunteers, finding ways to increase engagement, having meetings with the Principal, finding ways to support teachers, managing the budget, finding after school programs that provide scholarships,etc.. that we don't have time to advocate or to even be with our OWN kids.
Seriously. This whole idea that we only advocate for our own kids is ridiculous. This is the way it works-we get together with the Principal at the beginning of the year to understand the needs of the school and how the PTA can help with such needs. We then formulate a budget that is driven by those needs, and then we vote on that budget at the first PTA meeting (which even non-PTA members can attend). We then execute events and activities throughout the year to ensure that we meet that projected budget so that we meet the needs of the school- in which the Principal has had a huge say on.
And really, the PTA doesn't have that much power to say whether or not chromebooks should be used at the school. Of course, they can provide individual feedback just as any other parent at the school can. It's up to the principal to make the final decision based on what is best for the entire school. What's truly important is that the Principal is in tune with the needs of the families. He needs to be an engaging and a supportive leader.
By the way, for those of you who struggle getting engagement from Spanish speaking families, there is usually a Community coordinator/rep that works for MCPS that is assigned to your school. Ask your Principal about it. A lot of times we used our Community Coordinator to help us reach out to the Spanish speaking families. Ours spoke Spanish too so we used her as an interpreter at the meetings. I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on an interpreter either- knowing that there is someone- whether it's staff, or a parent who can provide that service. I was at a Focus school- with a limited PTA budget. I'm going to find ways to save money so that I can have more money on other things such as paying a scholarship for a science after school program for a needy child.

THIS is how it actually works. But this is going to be really hard for OP to read. How is OP going to feel like a social justice warrior if what you're describing is actually the truth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been the PTA President at a low-income FOCUS school and honestly, PTA board members spend so much time doing things to help the WHOLE school whether it's through fundraising, having PTA meetings, executing membership campaigns, finding Spanish interpreters, planning events, recruiting for volunteers, finding ways to increase engagement, having meetings with the Principal, finding ways to support teachers, managing the budget, finding after school programs that provide scholarships,etc.. that we don't have time to advocate or to even be with our OWN kids.
Seriously. This whole idea that we only advocate for our own kids is ridiculous. This is the way it works-we get together with the Principal at the beginning of the year to understand the needs of the school and how the PTA can help with such needs. We then formulate a budget that is driven by those needs, and then we vote on that budget at the first PTA meeting (which even non-PTA members can attend). We then execute events and activities throughout the year to ensure that we meet that projected budget so that we meet the needs of the school- in which the Principal has had a huge say on.
And really, the PTA doesn't have that much power to say whether or not chromebooks should be used at the school. Of course, they can provide individual feedback just as any other parent at the school can. It's up to the principal to make the final decision based on what is best for the entire school. What's truly important is that the Principal is in tune with the needs of the families. He needs to be an engaging and a supportive leader.
By the way, for those of you who struggle getting engagement from Spanish speaking families, there is usually a Community coordinator/rep that works for MCPS that is assigned to your school. Ask your Principal about it. A lot of times we used our Community Coordinator to help us reach out to the Spanish speaking families. Ours spoke Spanish too so we used her as an interpreter at the meetings. I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on an interpreter either- knowing that there is someone- whether it's staff, or a parent who can provide that service. I was at a Focus school- with a limited PTA budget. I'm going to find ways to save money so that I can have more money on other things such as paying a scholarship for a science after school program for a needy child.

I don't know. Some posters seemed to say that's what they were fine with doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been the PTA President at a low-income FOCUS school and honestly, PTA board members spend so much time doing things to help the WHOLE school whether it's through fundraising, having PTA meetings, executing membership campaigns, finding Spanish interpreters, planning events, recruiting for volunteers, finding ways to increase engagement, having meetings with the Principal, finding ways to support teachers, managing the budget, finding after school programs that provide scholarships,etc.. that we don't have time to advocate or to even be with our OWN kids.
Seriously. This whole idea that we only advocate for our own kids is ridiculous. This is the way it works-we get together with the Principal at the beginning of the year to understand the needs of the school and how the PTA can help with such needs. We then formulate a budget that is driven by those needs, and then we vote on that budget at the first PTA meeting (which even non-PTA members can attend). We then execute events and activities throughout the year to ensure that we meet that projected budget so that we meet the needs of the school- in which the Principal has had a huge say on.
And really, the PTA doesn't have that much power to say whether or not chromebooks should be used at the school. Of course, they can provide individual feedback just as any other parent at the school can. It's up to the principal to make the final decision based on what is best for the entire school. What's truly important is that the Principal is in tune with the needs of the families. He needs to be an engaging and a supportive leader.
By the way, for those of you who struggle getting engagement from Spanish speaking families, there is usually a Community coordinator/rep that works for MCPS that is assigned to your school. Ask your Principal about it. A lot of times we used our Community Coordinator to help us reach out to the Spanish speaking families. Ours spoke Spanish too so we used her as an interpreter at the meetings. I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on an interpreter either- knowing that there is someone- whether it's staff, or a parent who can provide that service. I was at a Focus school- with a limited PTA budget. I'm going to find ways to save money so that I can have more money on other things such as paying a scholarship for a science after school program for a needy child.

THIS is how it actually works. But this is going to be really hard for OP to read. How is OP going to feel like a social justice warrior if what you're describing is actually the truth?

Yup, it's easy to judge from the outside. Many people have a really bad perception of the PTA and what they do. They imagine a bunch of white, well-to-do, stay at home moms who plan bake sales and classroom parties and who chaperone field trips. This is far from the truth. When I was PTA president, I didn't even have time to volunteer to go to my kids' field trips but yet we were raising money so that the needy kids could attend them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The PTAs and parents in the DCC seem to have a lot of influence on the DCC schools -at least at the elementary school level. Lots of resources redirected toward the white kids, and increase in CES programs mostly favoring white kids. MCPS is scared about white flight so they cater to them even though it isn't making a dent in the white flight or pulling white DCC kids into MCPS from privates.

If you think there are more CES opportunities at your school because of the PTA, then you have no understanding of how the Office of Enriched and Accelerated Programs functions. More local CES programs were put in schools as a way of expanding access to students, specifically URM students. That didn't come from PTA advocacy at the local level, it came from the CHOICE study results.

And inceasing opportunities for gifted education helps URM minorities too btw

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been the PTA President at a low-income FOCUS school and honestly, PTA board members spend so much time doing things to help the WHOLE school whether it's through fundraising, having PTA meetings, executing membership campaigns, finding Spanish interpreters, planning events, recruiting for volunteers, finding ways to increase engagement, having meetings with the Principal, finding ways to support teachers, managing the budget, finding after school programs that provide scholarships,etc.. that we don't have time to advocate or to even be with our OWN kids.
Seriously. This whole idea that we only advocate for our own kids is ridiculous. This is the way it works-we get together with the Principal at the beginning of the year to understand the needs of the school and how the PTA can help with such needs. We then formulate a budget that is driven by those needs, and then we vote on that budget at the first PTA meeting (which even non-PTA members can attend). We then execute events and activities throughout the year to ensure that we meet that projected budget so that we meet the needs of the school- in which the Principal has had a huge say on.
And really, the PTA doesn't have that much power to say whether or not chromebooks should be used at the school. Of course, they can provide individual feedback just as any other parent at the school can. It's up to the principal to make the final decision based on what is best for the entire school. What's truly important is that the Principal is in tune with the needs of the families. He needs to be an engaging and a supportive leader.
By the way, for those of you who struggle getting engagement from Spanish speaking families, there is usually a Community coordinator/rep that works for MCPS that is assigned to your school. Ask your Principal about it. A lot of times we used our Community Coordinator to help us reach out to the Spanish speaking families. Ours spoke Spanish too so we used her as an interpreter at the meetings. I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on an interpreter either- knowing that there is someone- whether it's staff, or a parent who can provide that service. I was at a Focus school- with a limited PTA budget. I'm going to find ways to save money so that I can have more money on other things such as paying a scholarship for a science after school program for a needy child.

THIS is how it actually works. But this is going to be really hard for OP to read. How is OP going to feel like a social justice warrior if what you're describing is actually the truth?

Yup, it's easy to judge from the outside. Many people have a really bad perception of the PTA and what they do. They imagine a bunch of white, well-to-do, stay at home moms who plan bake sales and classroom parties and who chaperone field trips. This is far from the truth. When I was PTA president, I didn't even have time to volunteer to go to my kids' field trips but yet we were raising money so that the needy kids could attend them.

+1 this was my experience too. I gave up time helping and volunteering in my own child's classroom to focus my attention on the needs of the whole school. Theres only so many hours in the day. People who criticize PTA board members should join the board and see how it really is.

[Anonymous]

The URM low-income parents: it's not that they don't care. They have given up a lot to get here. I have heard their stories and try to understand their struggle. But, their culture is not one based on PTA's, advocation, and challenging an educational system or even a teacher. In most minority cultures, you take whatever they give you, accept whatever they say to you and focus on your own family. If the kids fail, you can try at home to help them if you can understand or have the resources but you have to just accept your child failing and hope he gets a job doing something. They also are highly intimidated by the school, teachers and other parents outside of their community. I believe a community insider would have to teach them these skills in order to see more involvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been the PTA President at a low-income FOCUS school and honestly, PTA board members spend so much time doing things to help the WHOLE school whether it's through fundraising, having PTA meetings, executing membership campaigns, finding Spanish interpreters, planning events, recruiting for volunteers, finding ways to increase engagement, having meetings with the Principal, finding ways to support teachers, managing the budget, finding after school programs that provide scholarships,etc.. that we don't have time to advocate or to even be with our OWN kids.
Seriously. This whole idea that we only advocate for our own kids is ridiculous. This is the way it works-we get together with the Principal at the beginning of the year to understand the needs of the school and how the PTA can help with such needs. We then formulate a budget that is driven by those needs, and then we vote on that budget at the first PTA meeting (which even non-PTA members can attend). We then execute events and activities throughout the year to ensure that we meet that projected budget so that we meet the needs of the school- in which the Principal has had a huge say on.
And really, the PTA doesn't have that much power to say whether or not chromebooks should be used at the school. Of course, they can provide individual feedback just as any other parent at the school can. It's up to the principal to make the final decision based on what is best for the entire school. What's truly important is that the Principal is in tune with the needs of the families. He needs to be an engaging and a supportive leader.
By the way, for those of you who struggle getting engagement from Spanish speaking families, there is usually a Community coordinator/rep that works for MCPS that is assigned to your school. Ask your Principal about it. A lot of times we used our Community Coordinator to help us reach out to the Spanish speaking families. Ours spoke Spanish too so we used her as an interpreter at the meetings. I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on an interpreter either- knowing that there is someone- whether it's staff, or a parent who can provide that service. I was at a Focus school- with a limited PTA budget. I'm going to find ways to save money so that I can have more money on other things such as paying a scholarship for a science after school program for a needy child.

THIS is how it actually works. But this is going to be really hard for OP to read. How is OP going to feel like a social justice warrior if what you're describing is actually the truth?

+100

We are at a Focus school and echo the PP’s experience. I have never been PTA President but am involved in the PTA. The article from the OP does not illustrate my experience at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The URM low-income parents: it's not that they don't care. They have given up a lot to get here. I have heard their stories and try to understand their struggle. But, their culture is not one based on PTA's, advocation, and challenging an educational system or even a teacher. In most minority cultures, you take whatever they give you, accept whatever they say to you and focus on your own family. If the kids fail, you can try at home to help them if you can understand or have the resources but you have to just accept your child failing and hope he gets a job doing something. They also are highly intimidated by the school, teachers and other parents outside of their community. I believe a community insider would have to teach them these skills in order to see more involvement.

So this is what I don’t understand. They travel thousands of miles to come here to escape a toxic culture in their home country only to continue to live by this toxic culture here in the US? I’m sorry for their struggle but heck, they sky has just opened up for them with opportunities galore! Why continue to live defeated lives when they have attained freedom? Let’s empower them and challenge them to live better lives. I have been where they have been and it angers me to see them waste opportunities. They might as well have stayed put in their home country. Sorry to anyone I offend but it offends me when immigrants waste their freedom because there are so many others who couldn’t make it here that would’ve loved these opportunities.