All posts by Genesee Hill PTA

WSPTA Legislative Assembly Recap

Legislative & Advocacy, ,

Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly Recap: Why We PTA, Top 5 Issues, and Formation of Advocacy Committee 

by Victoria Bhegani, Legislative Chair

Despite its virtual format, the energy at the WSPTA Legislative Assembly this past weekend was palpable. Three delegates from the Genesee Hill PTA, Leigh Ann Johnson, Christy Kinskey and myself, attended, and with other delegates from across Washington state, we voted on legislative issues, resolutions, amendments, and principles. 

In this time of pandemic, political unrest, economic hardship and remote learning, our collective voice as PTA has arguably never been more important. The topics we debated and voted on at the Assembly, like climate change mitigation, anti-racism, and the prevention of gun violence and suicide, reflected this urgency. Equity concerns were at the forefront too, with a resolution to equitably identify highly capable students and another to better fund services for students with disabilities. And with Washington facing a state budget shortfall of 4.4 billion dollars in the coming year, the resolution to preserve education funding felt critical and necessary.  

In every even-numbered year, such as 2020, the WSPTA votes in 5 top legislative issues that will make up its short-term platform. Over the next two years it will focus on these issues in the legislature. The voting to select these issues is done by delegates, all of whom represent WA PTAs. Christy, Leigh Ann and I were grateful to be guided in our voting by the survey results from GH family respondents. In the survey, families were asked to choose the five issues they felt were most important to address over the next two years. 

These are the results from the 42 surveys we received for GH respondents:  

  1. Increase Access to Nursing, Mental Health and SEL staff 
  2. Supports and Funding for Students with Disabilities and their Families 
  3. Support Students and Preserve Education Funding 
  4. Equitable Identification of Highly Capable Students
  5. Prevent and Reduce Gun Violence and Suicide 

Here are the Top 5 issues PTA delegates voted in at WSPTA Assembly:

  1. Increase Access to Nursing, Mental Health and SEL staff 
  2. Support Students and Preserve Education Funding 
  3. Increase Educational Equity by Closing the Digital Divide 
  4. Supports and Funding for Students with Disabilities and their Families 
  5. Prevent and Reduce Gun Violence and Suicide 

The increasing access to nursing and SEL staff resolution received the most votes from both our school and at the Assembly, and it came from none other than our neighboring school, Alki Elementary! To learn about the inspiring process of how their advocacy committee got this proposal in the mix, read this article from the Alki PTA Blog. 

Now that the Assembly has wrapped up, the question we’re confronted with is: What work do we do to advocate for our schools and our students, moving forward? The legislative season will begin mid-December and in the coming months, one thing PTAs are going to be asked to do is collect and tell the stories that are unfolding at our schools. The stories we will especially interested in are the ones that show how the issues we voted on shape things on the ground. For example, we might look for narratives about how children at Genesee Hill are experiencing remote learning. Or we might want to tell the story of how children at our school access mental health and how this is funded. 

To begin this work and to prepare for other actions for the legislative season, I am forming an Advocacy Committee at our school. If you would like to be part of it (please, please!) email me at legislativechair@geneseehillpta.org We will hold a meeting in the coming month and even if you are only interested in being on an email list, please still contact me. I hope to hear from you! 

Appendix: Genesee Hill Elementary Survey Results

Section 1- Issues (Ranked by %favorable)

Mean Score%Favorable Issue
4.595%   ISSUE #2. Increase Access to Nursing, Mental Health, and Social Emotional Learning Staff
4.388%   ISSUE #1.  Safe School Plans and Emergency Preparedness
4.3886%   ISSUE #7. Support Students and Preserve Education Funding
4.383%   ISSUE #4. Prevent and Reduce Gun Violence and Suicide
4.2681%   ISSUE #6. Supports and Funding for Students with Disabilities and Their Families
4.0576%   ISSUE #8. Increasing Educational Equity by Closing the Digital Divide
3.971%   ISSUE #3. Equitable Identification and Services for Highly Capable Students
3.971%   ISSUE #5. Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change

Section 2 – Top Five, listed above in body of post
Section 3 – Legislative Principles

Mean
Score		%Favorable   Issue
4.2142857186%   Anti-racism, anti-discrimination, anti-oppression

Section 4 – Resolutions for Consideration (ranked by %Favorable)

Mean Score%FavorableIssue
4.697%Resolution #4. Social Emotional Learning and Student Success
4.489%Resolution #3. Equitable Access to Recess, Play, Unstructured Time, and Physical Activity
4.3684%Resolution #6. Dismantling Institutional and Systemic Racism
4.0582%Resolution #8. Supporting K-12 Career and Technical Education
4.279%Resolution #5. Restorative Justice and Improving Student Outcomes
4.0574%Resolution #1. Cultural Access Programs and Expanded Learning Opportunities
4.274%Resolution #7. Improving Access and Outcomes in Special Education
4.0571%Resolution #2. School Nutrition, Breakfast and Lunch Policies
3.8970%Amended Resolution 11.28 Mitigating the Health Effects of Climate Change

Anti-Racism Resolution

Equity,

One of the 2020-2021 goals of the Genesee Hill teaching community is to address and dismantle white supremacy culture in education at our school. This has also been a goal of the Family Committee for Equity and Inclusion (FCEIGH) since its inception two years ago, as well as the staff Equity Leadership Team. In the last two years, these two Equity Teams have partnered to present our school community with equity book club gatherings, BIPOC speakers, listening circles and community-centered Unity Nights. It’s been a start; and this past spring, the family committee and staff committee began drafting an Anti-Racism Resolution to further lift up the intention of our shared anti-racism commitment, in order to address our impacts and begin to take tangible action steps and hold each other accountable. 

Our shared understanding and acknowledgement of what white supremacy culture is and how we commit to anti-racism will make this moment a powerful movement in our community. Being anti-racist is not what we say about ourselves, but about what we do individually and together. This is where true change happens. In order to continue this process, we are asking everyone in our school community to read the resolution, share it widely, provide feedback, and attend the special meeting on October 26th to be part of the vote to adopt it. We want everyone to have the opportunity to engage in the process of creating our next steps … how will each of us support a shift in culture at our school?

As you read the resolution (viewable here), be aware that this is meant as an aspirational statement of intent. It is the widest possible net to state what we believe – that our community is anti-racist. Within the resolution there are broad statements of direction that highlight what we mean by this, but a resolution does not provide the map on how to get there. A resolution gives us a guidepost in which to strive toward; the impact the resolution will actually have on our community comes through in how we build out our actions. Together, we get to define these actions, and these actions will evolve over time as we evolve as a community. 

Timeline:

  • June-September: Anti-Racism Resolution was drafted and reviewed by our FCEIGH, GH staff Equity Leadership Team and administration, and PTA board. Staff adopted it and began work on their action plans. 
  • October 5: PTA Board approved the resolution draft for presentation to general PTA membership; called for a special meeting to review and adopt.
  • October 13: PTA general membership approved the motion to hold a special meeting.
  • October 20: Slido will be opened to gather feedback on the resolution. The Slido will remain open for one week here.
  • October 26 at 7pm: Special meeting of the general PTA membership will be held to adopt the resolution. While all comments will be reviewed, the vote to adopt the resolution will go to PTA members. If you are not a member yet, you can sign up at any time (and the $15 fee should not be a barrier to participation; if you would like to request a waiver, please email membership@geneseehillpta.org) Look for log in information for this meeting in the October 22nd bulletin.

At the October 26th meeting, we will hear an update from the staff Equity Leadership Team and the Family Committee for Equity and Inclusion about their current action plans to support the Anti-Racism Resolution, and we will begin the action planning for our wider community to engage with and direct the ongoing work of dismantling white supremacy culture at our school. We are excited to be able to adopt a school-wide resolution, knowing that it’s going to take all of us working together to create the tangible action steps that make anti-racism our shared reality. Your participation is needed as we continually build a more inclusive, welcoming and equitable school community. Please join me on October 26th! 

Kristen Corning

PTA Equity Chair

October GHE PTA Newsletter

Newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of the Genesee Hill PTA Newsletter. As we shared last month, we hope that this new communication channel serves to build community, keep community members informed of updates and initiatives, and highlight opportunities to get involved. If you have a topic that you would like to see spotlighted in an upcoming newsletter, or have a question you’d like to have addressed, please reach out to communications@geneseehillpta.org.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Make Sure Your Voice is Heard at the WSPTA Legislative Assembly

Legislative & Advocacy

On October 24-25, PTA delegates and members from all over Washington state will join together virtually at the WSPTA Legislative Assembly. Delegates will choose the Top 5 WSPTA legislative priorities for the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions, and also vote on resolutions and principles.

There are two ways anyone can participate:

  1. To help your three PTA delegates from Genesee Hill vote according to what priorities are important to you and your family, please fill out this survey by Oct. 9. The delegates want to hear from you!
  2. If you’d like to attend the assembly as a member, you can register here until Oct. 8 for $25. Be sure your PTA membership is up to date if you plan to attend. Only delegates can vote, but any PTA member can attend to listen in. Registration also gives you access to numerous classes on advocacy topics that start on Oct. 6.

If you have any questions, please email Victoria Bhegani, the PTA Legislative Chair, at legislativechair@geneseehillpta.org.

How does the education system work here in Washington and how can families get involved with it?

Legislative & Advocacy

 From Genesee Hill Legislative Chair, Victoria Bhegani

In these past weeks, with the reopening of schools, there has been a lot of buzz, and understandably some confusion, about just who makes up the policies and practices that shape our children’s education and who to speak to about what we want to advocate for our children. As the Legislative Chair for the GH PTA Board this school year, I am just beginning to dive into understanding how these processes work. They are complicated! So please bear with me as I give a brief overview of the what’s and who’s of this, and then wrap up with some suggestions on how to get involved and who to contact in case you do want to reach out.

In Washington State, K-12 education is shaped by a number of forces, including federal officials, the governor, city mayors, state board of education administrators, the state superintendent, state agencies, school board superintendents, school board directors, teachers’ unions and- particularly in these times of pandemic- public health officials. Some of the key players in this at the state level are the Washington State Board of Education (SBE) and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and at our regional level, the Seattle School District (SPS) and our local teachers’ union, the Seattle Education Association (SEA). In a very basic nutshell, education policies are often created by the SBE and the OSPI, who work closely together. School districts then must adhere to these policies, though there might be flexibility in how they do so. Policy implementation might also be changed by union negotiations.  

For example, with instructional hours, our state requires that students be in school for a minimum of 180 days of the school year and that elementary school students fulfill at least 1,000 instructional hours. In the re-opening of schools for 2020, the SBE has not changed these required hours. However, it has given school districts flexibility in how they implement them, be it through synchronous or asynchronous learning, or potentially outdoor learning. It’s not all up to the District though. Before school opened this fall, SPS also had to negotiate how these hours would be fulfilled with SEA.

As you can see, it’s complex. There are a number of pieces trying to move together to make something work, and in these times especially, what they’re trying to make work is no small thing. Our education system is trying to keep kids and staff safe this year, provide some security for vulnerable populations, keep staff employed, and engage our children in learning new things, all in the wildly different educational landscape of remote learning.  

It also bears noting that our state education system is underfunded, as was ruled in McCleary v. Washington in 2012. In the concluding remarks on the case the judge found, “State funding [for education] is not ample, it is not stable and it is not dependable.” While in 2017 the state introduced the “McCLeary Fix” to fulfill its paramount duty to fund education, despite good intentions, the education system continues to face funding shortfalls. These shortfalls affect how our system works at every level- districts struggle to meet their budgets and areas left especially vulnerable are special education, art education, teacher compensation and staffing for positions like nurses and school counselors. 

Further, in our regional politics, school board directors are unpaid. While Seattle city councilors receive a yearly average salary of $130,000 based on their hourly rate, and have up to four assistants working for them, our school board directors receive no salaries and have no paid staff to support their work. When you consider this landscape, it is not hard to wonder why processes do not work as well as they may. 

So what can you do about this?  

Get involved with the PTA

  • Join the Genesee Hill PTA. Your membership supports not only our school PTA but our state PTA. Stronger PTAs are PTAs that can better advocate for better schools and better school systems.
  • You can also learn about broader PTA initiatives by following the Seattle Special Education PTSA and the Seattle Council PTSA.
  • Give input about what should be the WA PTAs legislative priorities for the next two years by filling out this survey.

Advocate for adequate state funding

Give feedback about school re-openings this fall 

WA State

Seattle Region 

Parents, caregivers and families have a voice in all of this. If you want to see the school district acting with more innovation around how our students learn, you need to speak up and show up. So much of this depends on the legal understanding of responsibilities to our kids. Contacting your legislators and school and city council members, while acting in partnership with your PTA, is the best way for us to advocate for our children’s education. 

While these last six months have been challenging for Genesee Hill, many of our school families have been stepping up to engage. Our PTA Board has positions filled that sat empty for years and people are talking about public education and equity in ways many have never done before. Good things can come of this- things that help both our school and our public education system. Please contact me at legislativechair@geneseehillpta.org with any comments or questions you have or join me in a letter writing campaign to our legislators later this month. I’m rooting for our school staff who are navigating so much new territory and working hard to do the best for our kids. The advocacy work we do supports them, and I hope you’ll join me with it. 

References

  1. “Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law,” King County Superior Court, CONCLUSION, 2010-02-04, retrieved 2020-09-12
  2. McCleary v. Washington, 84362-7 (majority)(Washington Supreme Court 2012-01-05)

Supply Drive and Swag!

Fund Raising,

Even though we had to postpone our Ice Cream Anti-Social until Sept. 16, we still launched the Supply Drive today!

As part of the PTA’s mission to support all the students at GHES, the PTA has provided the funding necessary for the teachers and staff of the school to purchase all the supplies a student might need throughout the school year in bulk. The PTA does this to help ensure that the teachers have the exact supplies they need, and each student has school supplies, no matter his or her circumstances. In addition, it should make the start of school a little bit easier on parents & guardians, since you don’t have to go through the hassle of finding just the right number 2 pencil or red marker. The cost of supplies works out to be about $20 per student.

In order to offset the expense, please consider making a tax-deductible donation for the cost of student supplies, so that the PTA can continue to purchase supplies in the years to come. If you can give a little extra, that would be most appreciated! Please donate here.

Also, the Genesee Hill online swag store is now open! Just in time for the new school year.  Shop for your new gear and show your Genesee Hill Elementary school spirit!

There will be samples of the latest GHE fashions at the PTA ice cream for supply drive on Sept. 16, 3-6, at Dakota Homestead!  Be sure to check it out!

September GHE PTA Newsletter

Newsletter

Hello Genesee Hill Community Members!
We’re proud to share our September PTA Newsletter. This is the first edition of a newsletter that will be sent out the first Tuesday of every month going forward. We hope that this new communication channel will serve to build community, keep community members informed of updates and initiatives, and highlight opportunities to get involved. If you have a topic that you would like to see spotlighted in an upcoming newsletter, or have a question you’d like to have addressed, please reach out to communications@geneseehillpta.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Take care, 

Amy and Leigh Ann, Communications Chairs

Material Packet Pick-Ups

Schedule

Material Packet Pick-up Schedule – Our teachers have put together Learning Packets for all students. It is our hope that the District provided technology devices (iPads for K-2 and Laptops for 3-5) will be ready for you at this time as well. The following is the schedule (going by first letter of your student’s last name) for these packets to be distributed.

As much as we would love to see the students, we are asking that one adult from each household come to the gym, via the back door, to pick up their students’ packet. We appreciate your effort to make these options work. If you need another arrangement, please let Principal Kischner know.

Wednesday 9/9

9:00-11:00 – Last names beginning with letters A-B
11:00-1:00 – Last Names beginning with letters C-E
1:00-3:00 – Last Names beginning with letters F-H

Thursday 9/10

9:00-11:00 – Last names beginning with letters I-K
11:00-1:00 – Last Names beginning with letters L-M
1:00-3:00 – Last Names beginning with letters N-P

Friday 9/11

9:00-11:00 – Last names beginning with letters Q-Si
11:00-1:00 – Last Names beginning with letters Sk-T
1:00-3:00 – Last Names beginning with letters U-Z

Learning Packets will include the following:

  • Device: Laptop (3-5) or iPad (K-2)
  • Privacy shield
  • Drop-off Portfolio
  • Composition book
  • Writing tools

Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Letter Regarding Academic Pods

Equity

from Genesee Hill Equity Chair, Kristen Corning Bedford

What are our kids going to learn this year? From one parent I hear this question with an exasperated tone, frustrated and stressed. And from another I hear the same question, no less stressed and frustrated, but with an added tinge of hope and possibility. What could our children learn this year?

The stress of what parents are managing as we approach the Fall cannot be overstated. A friend of mine, who is a therapist, recently told me that out of all her patients, parents are doing the worst. It’s a lot. And within the stress and strain there are multitudes: some parents are losing jobs, others are working overtime. Regardless of the situation, no one is able to provide their children with what they receive at school. And some children are further from educational justice, lacking also the safety and nutrition that school may provide.

I’ve been reflecting on the idea of just calling it this year – suggesting that perhaps we could just give everyone across the nation a pass, all work together on a common project and regroup at the start of school 2021. The children would be ok educationally, because we’d all be taking this skip year together. But this doesn’t solve the very real crisis of childcare, which is where our systems are really breaking down and where we’re seeing the fault lines of a society that does not value Black, Brown and Indigenous lives, and severely undervalues female labor and caretaking.

Here’s what I can say with certainty, after six years as a parent at Genesee Hill, serving as both the parent representative on the Building Leadership Team and co-chairing the Family Committee for Equity and Inclusion for the last two: this is a staff that is doing incredible work, both in community building and in professional development, in order to support and educate our children. Not just in reading and math, but in how to be compassionate, engaged leaders with critical thinking skills.

And when we’re asking ourselves, what is my child going to learn this year, the number one thing on everyone’s mind are the formation of educational pods. Families are frantically trying to make sense of this time and figure out how to support themselves and each other when the systems are failing them. We cannot judge people for doing what they need to do to survive. But we owe it to our community to ask what’s equitable. How do we survive the coming Fall, when we’ll be expected to carry on with our jobs while also supporting our kids’ education, all while sitting together at the kitchen table? How do we focus support on the most vulnerable, not the most inconvenienced? How do we use our privilege to create change for others as well as ourselves?

If you’re mad, you should be! If you’re frustrated and scared, now is the time to channel that energy into making the system better. This must be a community effort, pushing our district and government leaders for greater clarity and innovative solutions for a new future. Here’s how you can use your voice to make a difference:

First, if you’re considering forming a pod with other families, we ask that you focus on childcare and socialization instead of curriculum. Childcare is something everyone is seeking, but providing educational advantages contributes to a widening educational gap. Ask yourself, who is getting left behind? Pandemic pods and withdrawing students from SPS highlight the growing inequities surfacing during Covid19. Because enrollment and attendance are central to determining funding for public schools, withdrawing your student further diminishes public schools’ ability to serve the most marginalized students and keep staff employed.

There is no single solution that will work for all, but we can be informed in our approach and intentional in our application. Integrated Solutions offers a great article that includes a list of questions to ask ourselves, which include the following that I’ve been focused on for my family:

  • Am I clear on what is a need and what is a desire?
  • Instead of thinking “how can I make sure my (privileged) kid doesn’t fall behind?” – can I ask myself, “how can I help to strengthen the public institutions we all depend on?”
  • Have I searched for local organizations (particularly those run by BIPOC) who are pushing for equitable approaches to these current situations and can I join with them? 

Genesee Hill also has a robust grade level cohort model that is set up to support families in connecting with and supporting each other. If you’d like to figure out ways to ensure all families at our school are getting the support they need, you can reach out to our Cohort Leader at cohorts@geneseehillpta.org.

Second, join the PTA and the Family Committee for Equity and Inclusion. We need more people showing up with diverse perspectives, to ensure we’re hearing from everyone and establishing norms not dependent on the dominant culture. How we hold meetings, choose leaders, listen and respond are all part of the evolution happening across institutions and industries. As a community of passionate parents and caregivers, we must link our individual school efforts to district wide efforts, in order to create equitable educational opportunity.

Third, contact the City Council, the School Board, and the School District. Tell them what you expect from them in supporting a more just response to the pandemic, and that there are changes you would like to see put into continued practice, like reducing testing and implementing ethnic studies. This blog post and letter, both prepared by educational researchers, outline actions to urge policymakers to take. (They come from the following document, A Guide to Equity in Pandemic Schooling by Dr. Erica Turner.) You can also learn more about how to support systemic change by reaching out to our PTA Legislative Chair, legislative@geneseehillpta.org.

What our children could learn this year is much greater than what they’d typically get in a year of gradeschool. They could learn resiliency and community. They could witness the beauty of slowing down and appreciating what they have – that what we need to learn is often much simpler and often not proven out by test scores. They could learn that they are part of a system and that they have the power to change that system. All education happens in relationship, teacher to student, parent to child, friend to friend. Perhaps our kids could learn that the adults, working together, ensured they were taken care of, while being given the opportunity to witness the possibilities that emerge from complexity and chaos.

While the above reflects my personal opinion, I’ve posted here as a representative of the Genesee Hill Family Committee for Equity and Inclusion and PTA.  Please feel free to send comments or questions to: equity@geneseehillpta.org All dialogue is welcome.