Parent-Teacher Organization

This evening I returned to school to attend the monthly PTO meeting. I was greeted by about 15 moms sitting in the library and chit chatting. As they began the meeting I was struck by the number of moms present. Our school has about 800 students from 6th to 8th grade. So sitting there were the core active members of this organization. I"m not great at percentages, but we can all agree that this is not a high percentage of the parent community. Our principal was there and he came in and sat next to me. The meeting began.

I waited patiently until minutes were passed, financial reports were given, and urgent business conducted. Then it was my turn. All faces looked at me as I began to explain the reason I had returned to school on this wintry night to speak with them.....SAP... not the sap of a tree...or a person who is a sap...the Student Assistance Program...a state-mandated program to assist students at risk...students who may have drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues, or any other obstacle to learning. We are a team of teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, social worker, and consultants from our local drug and alcohol and mental health agencies. It is a wonderful program and can be a wonderful resource for families to get help for their child. So I gave my little speech about getting PTO on board with us in our efforts to help students. They were attentive and ask many questions. It as a dialogue long overdue.

Then I presented a program our SAP team is going to be starting. The issue I feel so passionate about.... ANTI-BULLYING. Anyone who thinks this is just a small problem hasn't read the newspaper lately or been in touch with the real world for kids today. From Columbine to every other school incident we have seen our schools become more and more hostile and our kids struggle within them. To make a long story short...these parents took me seriously and it was a wonderful opening dialogue... I got my point across and my soapbox was well used. I look forward to working with these parents and moving our school towards a more tolerant, caring community. I know there are many of you out there who can relate to this...parents who have a child who has been a victim, parents who know their child is a bully, teachers who see this everyday in our schools, administrators and counselors and all school personnel who struggle with this reality. Together we must work to do better for our kids. Comments, please. Let's get the dialogue going.