Parent Involvement Committee gains momentum

• sponsored two evening seminars presented by school staff for parents on Bullying.

• worked to improve communication between the school and families by sharing progress on the school website, in the school newsletter, via a member email list and via a Facebook group.  

• celebrated Teacher Appreciation by sharing student-written accolades from students to their teachers.  

• helped recruit volunteers for all-school activities such as the end of the year school picnic.

Over the summer, the committee worked to find volunteers to help library staff reorganize the elementary school libraries which were moved due to higher elementary grades transferring to West End Elementary. It was a large job for the librarian staff who were volunteering their own time and an easy way for parents to lighten their load a little.

It was a solid start considering the process began so late in the school year. In a short time, the committee learned that there is an intense need for parent and community member support for elementary school activities evident by the many staff requests to support existing programs or resurrect previously run programs.

As the 2012-13 school year takes off, there have been even more requests to help out and the committee has offered a few ideas to support the elementary school community.

• At the request of the new elementary school principal, Melissa Tate, the committee helped serve root beer floats at the elementary school open house nights.

• A community member living near the school voiced her concerns about the safety of students crossing at the intersection of 14th Street and 15th Avenue in the absence of a crosswalk. The committee collaborated with the local SHIP coalition to complete morning pedestrian and biker counts to evaluate the situation at the intersections near school. The committee hopes to share findings and suggestions to improve safety with city officials.

• Parents and students gathered Thursday to clean up the courtyard and front gardens at Falls Elementary to give staff and students a sunny spot for respite and give the school a slightly improved curb appeal.  

• A Wishing Willow program has been created, where staff fill out wish lists of non-covered supplies needed to support school functions or special activities. The lists will be displayed at the schools and posted online for families and community members to view, purchase and donate which can be a preferred way to support the school for families too busy to volunteer their time. 

We’re excited that we can support important events and projects that build school spirit, a sense of community, and improved student safety. Some of us have already noticed an improved sense of community at school.

Volunteers needed:

Our major push this fall will be to organize and expand volunteer support at the schools. We’re distributing a new school-wide volunteer form to offer a variety of opportunities for adults to help out the school whether that be in a classroom, in the office, at a special event or, even at home. Our goal this first year is to have families commit to volunteering three hours a year to the school. That’s it!

So many people are hesitant to sign up to volunteer because they feel they might be relentlessly hounded to help at every opportunity. Many of us don’t have the time to commit to volunteering on a regular basis and volunteering at the school isn’t for everyone. We don’t want families to feel pressured to over-extend themselves rather to thoughtfully consider ways they can help. Volunteers do not, however, need to have children attending school. Community members or service organizations who would like to support school activities can participate as well. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to have more available volunteers than volunteer tasks?

Of course, some volunteer opportunities do require more than a couple hours over the course of the year but can be tackled by signing up with a friend to share the workload. Overall, with a larger pool of volunteers, we can spread out the workload, avoid volunteer burn-out, improve the sense of community and create a richer educational environment for the students who will realize that the larger community values their education.

Volunteers can find volunteer forms at the elementary school offices and can look for one soon online at the PIC page on the school website. Once signed up in our email group or Facebook page, families can stay informed about volunteer activities, upcoming events, and PIC meetings. 

Organizers are thrilled that the PIC is growing and gaining momentum and would like to see it become an ongoing force of positivity at the school. To make that a reality, however, more people are needed to come forward and help start and continue programs. The first organizational meeting of the year is Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Falls Elementary School library and will continue the first and third Tuesdays of the month throughout the year. Bring your ideas and energy to the meeting so we can tackle the needs of the staff and students. Together, we can make a difference!