Parents
United for the D.C. Public Schools
11 Dupont Circle NW, Rm. 433 Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone (202) 518-3667
Fax (202) 319-1010
Parents United was founded in 1981 in the face of
devastating teacher layoffs. Parents from all over the city came together
to fight the budget cuts. Since then we have acted as the parental
conscience in education matters, advocating more effective and intelligent
allocation of resources to the classroom, lower pupil/teacher ratios,
effective fire inspections of the schools, the provision of school nurses
and athletic trainersl for every school and major athletic program,
stiffer graduation requirements, more effective teacher evaluations, etc.
etc. etc. We are unparalleled in our understanding of the school budget.
Through our newsletter, UPDATE, we provide invaluable information to
parents and interested citizens about hearings, school board meetings,
events and changes within the school system. In fact, for most, our
newsletter is often the only notification people have of important
upcoming events. Having watched and worked with five superintendents,
dozens of school board members and hundreds of PTA presidents and other
active parents, we are the city's institutional memory on public
education.
WHAT PARENTS UNITED DOES
The mission of Parents United for the D.C. Public
Schools is to empower parents and the community with information and
advocacy skills to transform D.C. Public Schools to ensure educational
success for all our children.
PARENT ORGANIZING
Develops and maintains the most complete roster of PTA/HSA presidents
available in the city
Uses that roster to call and do mailings to parent
leaders to inform them of opportunities to testify at hearings and attend
our advocacy events.
Organizes parent outreach by establishing a network of
Ward Coordinators and helping them contact parent leaders to encourage
parent advocacy.
Convenes three to four city-wide meetings annually.
Organizes a parental response to school crises when crises arise.
Attends evening meetings of parent groups to explain
our work, to add parents to our newsletter mailing list and to understand
the issues important to those parents.
Develops materials that help parents address the needs
of their child and their child's school.
CREATING A PARENT BASED AGENDA FOR SCHOOL REFORM
Talks with parent leaders to learn their issues and
incorporate them into the Parents United agenda.
Takes the issues parents raise in hearings and other
forums and combines them into systemic change needed to address issues in
all schools.
Helps parents network so they learn what works to educate children and
meet their school's needs.
Attends selected meetings of School Board committees and reports about
those meetings to parents.
Writes, publishes and distributes a bi-monthly newsletter incorporating
information gathered from a variety of sources.
ANALYZING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
Analyzes school budget issues and school system data.
Disseminates our analytical work to the larger community in a format
parents can understand. Presents the analysis to political officials to
pressure them to address the problems identified.
Monitors and reports on school reform and school budget and spending.
Develops and provides information and data on the school system and
individual schools.
SECURING RESOURCES FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
Testifies at public hearings to secure the resources our schools need
to educate children. successfully.
Establishes a climate of support for the DCPS so that meeting school
needs becomes a priority of the Mayor and they address school needs.
MONITORING THE SCHOOL BOARD
Attends Community Meetings of the School Board and its business
meetings then reports on the meetings in the newsletter.
Activates the phone network to encourage parents to attend School Board
hearings and other policydiscussing events and state publicly whether
their school has the resources the system says it does.
Prepares testimony for public hearings of the School Board, Mayor, D.
C. Council and D.C. Committees of the U.S. Congress.
REPRESENTING PARENTS TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Represents parent perspectives on task-forces and other school system
forums.
Seeks other parents to participate in these forums.
ADVISING PARENTS WHO NEED HELP
Answers questions and researches issues raised by parent phone calls
and other inquiries.
Develops consolidated lists of organizations and offices that can help
parents. |