The Child Advocate - May 2010

Child Advocate

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May 2010 Issue 9, Volume 18

97th Annual WSPTA Convention

100% Membership Awards

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Election Results Delegates at General Voting Session 2 on Friday evening elected Novella Fraser as WSPTA Secretary; Cheryl Child as WSPTA Finance Officer; Kerrilynn Robinson as Leadership Director; Pam Deming as Program Director; and Christina Allen, Audrey Bennett and Angela Falcone as the three at-large members of the State PTA Nominating Committee.

Bylaw Amendments

n Bellevue Children’s Academy PTA 2.3.1 n Somerset PTSA 2.3.80 n Cascade Ridge PTSA 2.6.2 n Cougar Ridge PTSA 2.6.8 n Discovery Elementary PTSA 2.6.9 n Grand Ridge PTSA 2.6.10 n Issaquah Valley Elementary PTA 2.6.11 n Maple Hills Elementary PTA 2.6.15

n Newcastle Elementary PTSA 2.6.18 n Endeavour PTSA 2.6.20 n Sunny Hills Elementary PTA 2.6.25 n Sunset Elementary PTA 2.6.30 n Beaver Lake Middle School PTSA 2.6.33 n Pine Lake Middle PTSA 2.6.42 n Skyline High PTSA 2.6.70 n Louisa May Alcott PTSA 2.8.3 n Peter Kirk PTSA 2.8.45 n Ben Rush PTA 2.8.52 n Samantha Smith PTA 2.8.57 n Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary PTSA 2.8.66 n West Mercer PTSA 2.9.35 n Islander Middle School PTSA 2.9.37 n Arrowhead Elementary PTA 6.10.5 n Brookside PTA 6.12.15 n Daniel Bagley Elementary PTA 6.15.40

Bylaw Amendments were approved with one amendment to the proposed amendment of Article 8, State, Section 3, Nominating Committee: “Self-declared candidates have 30 days after the posting of the Nominating Committee’s report to declare their candidacy.” (The original proposed amendment was 15 days.)

Chuck Saylors Encourages Parents to Get Engaged in

Their Children’s Lives

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Resolutions

Randy Dorn Talks About Issues Facing Public Schools

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The resolution on Levies and Local Effort Assistance and the resolution on School Bond Elections Reform 18.20 were both adopted without change. The resolution on No Child Left Behind and the 1% was adopted with an amendment to the 2nd resolved statement. In this resolved statement the word “professional” was removed.

Sandy Jewell Urges Parents to Offer Their Children

Unstructured Outdoor Experiences

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Jamie Yoos Attributes Classroom Success to

Effort and Engagement

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Debbie Wooten Encourages and Entertains

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The Child Advocate is published online every month from September through June by the Washington State PTA, 2003 65th Avenue West, Tacoma, WA 98466-6215, (253) 565-2153. Contributions are welcome. Call the State PTA office for guidelines. Whenever PTA is used it also refers to PTSA. PTA is a registered trademark of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers.

Scott Allen, Washington State PTA President Bill Williams, Washington State PTA Executive Director Karen Fisker-Andersen, Editor

Child Advocate

The

a Washington State PTA parent involvement publication

Washington State PTA

WSPTA Vision, Mission and Goals

The resolution on Supporting Efforts to Increase State Revenue to Fund Schools was referred back to the Resolutions Committee for revision, to be addressed at the 2010 WSPTA Legislative Assembly.

Contents

VISION:

“Making every child’s potential a reality.”

MISSION:

PTA is: sA powerful voice for all children, sA relevant resource for families and communities, and sA strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child.

The Washington State PTA accomplishes the mission of PTA by

sSpeaking on behalf of children and youth in the schools, in the community, and before governmental bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children; sSupporting parents* in developing skills to raise, protect and advocate for their children; and sEncouraging parent* and community involvement. * Parent may include adults who play an important role in a child’s family life since other adults (grandparents, aunts, uncles, or guardians) may carry the primary responsibility for a child’s health, welfare, education and safety.

2003 65th Avenue West

Phone: (253) 565-2153 or 1-800-562-3804

Tacoma, WA 98466-6215

Fax: (253) 565-7753

Website: www.wastatepta.org Email: wapta@wastatepta.org

Chuck Saylors Encourages Parents to Get Engaged in the Lives of Their Kids

C huck Saylors, National PTA President, urged parents to get engaged in their children’s lives and spoke to PTA delegates about some active initiatives that concern children.

The Common Core Standards, developed by state governors and state school chiefs, is a program that among other things, would create nattional standards for graduation. Many students who face relocation may meet the graduation requirement in the state they are moving from, but may find that they do not meet the local standards in the state they are moving to.

PTA Men Essay Contest

Saylors also dicussed the ESEA Reauthorization, which PTA participated by authoring a section on parental engagement. He explained that this legislation would give schools the tools and the funding to get parents involved at school.

Finally, Saylors discussed bullying and cyberbullying and the importance of parental engagement as a means for solving this problem. “Our children are hurting each other and the only way it’s going to stop is for parents to engage with their children, monitor what their kids do and who they’re with, and if need be, take the internet away,” he said.

Melissa Robinson 2nd grade, Adams Elementary, Spokane Valley

“Daddy” My daddy is a loving person. He’s there when I am hurt and he is my hero because he is there when I need him. He makes our house a better place by showing love and kindness. My daddy is a special person. He loves my family. I have fun with him.

He gives us special presents. We watches football all the time but I love him anyway! He calls me boo boo. He reads me my favorite story book 1, 2, 3. He watches me play soccer. He loves me very much. He plays the wii with us. We like to cuddle with him. I know that we will be a family forever.

The Child Advocate, May 2010

He explained that when parents are engaged, the mind set of the elected officials will have to change to meet the needs of families, or the elected officials will be removed from office and exchanged with people who pay attention to the needs of our youth.

He encouraged delegates to leave this conference energized, engaged and educated and to go home ready to get parents engaged. “Let’s get 140,000 people at the capitol at next year’s Focus Day,” Saylors said. “Get them to work and get something done. Not only does your future depend on it, my future depends on it but the children’s future depends on it as well,” he concluded.

Randy Dorn Talks About Issues Facing Public Schools Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn, touched on some key legislation addressed in this past legislative session. He explained that the Race to the Top legislation, the Quality Education Council bill, the Levy Lid bill, and Levy Equalization bill were successful because of a great coalition working together, including PTA. is a great program he recommends schools sign up for. Dorn discussed our state’s four goals for the basis of the grant: 1) that students enter kindergarten ready for success; 2) be competitive in math and science; 3) attain high academic standards for all children no matter gender, economic status or race; and 4) graduate college and career ready. He explained that our state had to pass two pieces of legislation—a new accountability system and a new evaluation system, for this program.

Race to the Top

PTA Men Essay Contest Lily Kotovic 3rd grade, Little Cedars Elementary, Lynnwood

“Mr Hubbard: A great influence in my life” I am writing about a man named Mr. Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard is my school’s librarian. I decided to write about him because he is really important to me. I have known him for a really long time, since I was three. One thing that I like about Mr. Hubbard is how he interacts with me. He is happy and excited to see me. He talks to me in a good voice. Whenever he talks to me he doesn’t sound mean or angry, or like he doesn’t have time for me.

Mr. Hubbard taught me about comprehension. He showed me how

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A new evaluation system refers to how teachers are evaluated. “If you have a quality teacher your child will get a quality education. We have to do better job of getting and keeping good teachers and providing respect for and recognition of how well they do,” he said.

In regards to our assessment system, Dorn recommends we cut the time students spend taking standardized tests in half and utilize technology to make it more efficient.

Dorn believes that by doing this, there will be a reduction of student test fatigue.

Early learning programs are also key to student success. “We need to have all kids start so they are ready to learn,” he explained. In the schools that have added all-day kindergarten, the state is finding that kids are more ready to learn, and as a result has had to consider changing curriculum for first grade and second grade and beyond.

“When we come out of the recession we make a commitment that we will fully fund education, but we need to ask ourselves what does a fully funded education look like?” he asked. Technology is not currently considered a part of basic education, nor are buildings or extracurricular activities. Technology funding is currently from special levies and as a result, some schools receive this funding and others don’t.

He concluded by suggesting that policies need to be in place soon, so we are ready when we come out of this recession to move forward with education funding. to find books in the library. He also teaches me things about computers. For example, he taught me where to find things in the library using the computer. He has helped me discover books. He taught me to read a lot to become an even better reader than I am now. Mr. Hubbard helped me discover books and the joy of reading.

If there was no Mr. Hubbard it would be like my whole life would change. It would affect my life is so many ways. One way it would affect my life is I wouldn’t have as good reading skills as I do now because I may not be as interested in books as I am now. I wouldn’t have a chance to learn the different things that he has taught me. If there was no Mr. Hubbard I would be missing some happiness in my life.

Mr. Hubbard is always ready to help me no matter what I need. He took the time to teach me about biographies, different sections of the library, catalogs on the computer and how to use them in the library.

He is always by my side to help me whenever I need him. I feel like Mr. Hubbard is my own personal guardian when I am at school away from my parents. These are all the reasons why I chose to write about Mr. Hubbard and how he has influenced my life to make me be a more successful student and person.

a Washington State PTA parent involvement magazine

Sally Jewel Urges Parents to Offer Kids Unstructured Outdoor Experiences Swe allyare seeing Jewel, the CEO of REI, talked about trends that in the lives of children today and how their childhood is different than when we grew up. When we were kids, play meant going outside with our friends in the neighborhood and coming up with games and activities on our own to entertain ourselves. Today play often means structured achievement-oriented activities, such as participation on sports teams.

Jewel referred to a recent study that found that 98% of children who play organized sports become spectators when they become adults.

Although sports are healthy and good for developing teamwork, she explains that the drive for achievement brings more families to select sports that a year-long, and moves these families away from other lifelong activities, such as hiking, camping, and biking.

Another thing that is keeping kids inside is a fear of strangers: parents are often afraid to let their kids outside. As a result, our children are too often experiencing nature via the TV.

Adventure,” encourages hiking, biking and other outdoor experiences.

She explained that kids need these kind of unstructured outdoor experiences with friends to develop important life skills such as getting along, resolving conflicts, being creative, and getting organized. These skills can actually help reduce depression and suicide later in life.

Jewel also introduced a growing national movement, “No Child Left Inside.” Pilot programs are currently underway in our state to help re-connect kids with nature.

Finally, she suggested that there are ways to incorporate new technology into outdoor experiences. She recommends parents try geocaching with their kids, which is a form of treasure hunting in the outdoors using GPS. She encourages PTA delegates to be advocates for green space in our communities, to take kids out into nature and help introduce hiking or camping to other families, who may not have experienced this as children are reluctant to do this on their own.

Our children are experiencing more injuries from repetitive motions, and impact injuries from over-intensity of training in sports. At the same time, young people are struggling with weight than ever before.

Homework also interferes with outdoor time, and although our kids have more homework than we did as kids, their knowledge of life and the world around them is less developed.

She recommended a book by Richard Louv, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder,” and also recommended programs from REI to help families unstructure their children’s playtime. One program available through REI, “Kids Passport to

The Child Advocate, May 2010

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PTA Men Essay Contest

In the 6th grade, he helps out in the math classrooms. He can explain everything our math book says in a way that makes sense.

Every day he shows up in math class to help the kids who don’t understand. He doesn’t give up on seemingly hopeless causes. He helps them until they get it, and then he gives them a piece of gum. It’s almost like he’s thanking us for understanding the material.

Kaleena McWilliams-Hauke, 7th grade – Naches Valley Middle School, Selah

“The Bus Driver” He starts his day by getting up early to begin his route as a bus driver. He gives each groggy kid a warm hello. After he drops the kids off at school, he returns his bus to the garage. He then drives back to the school to volunteer in the classrooms. During lunch, he monitors the playground. At the end of the school day, he again hops on his bus and drives the kids back to their homes. After his final stop, he goes home to his family.

You can find this man at the Naches Intermediate, Middle or High School. Who is he? Does he have a secret twin? No, this man, ladies and gentlemen, is Mr. Fisk.

The first time I met Mr. Fisk was in 4th grade when I landed in detention. Most of the teachers loathe this job, but Mr. Fisk volunteered to do it. He was helping kids with assignments they forgot to do. Unlike some of the teachers, who don’t have time for troublemakers, he actually cared that we got them done, not just that we got punished for forgetting them.

The next time I encountered him, he was helping out with knot tying for our colonial days project in 5th grade. None of the teachers knew how to teach knot tying, so Mr. Fisk taught us.

I always wonder why he isn’t a teacher instead of a bus driver and school volunteer.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to leave the Naches school system. Maybe it’s because he enjoys what he does.

Even if I can’t figure out his reason for staying, I do know one thing.

If he isn’t appreciated, someday someone will look back and figure out that Mr. Fisk was always there to help them, and that he made a difference in their life.

Mr. Fisk is a man who I believe deserves the respect of our student body. He is someone who will be there throughout my school years.

He is like a favorite teacher that you don’t have to say goodbye to at the end of the year. This is a man who has gone beyond your average bus driver. He takes the time to care. I have seen him sitting in the front row at many of our concerts and award dinners.

This man inspires me because he doesn’t do it for money, and doesn’t do it for the praise. No one has ever given him a trophy for his efforts.

He does this because he wants us to succeed. Mr. Fisk is the man who impressed upon me to volunteer in the classroom.

I hope that someday, he will inspire more people than just me, and that he will be recognized for his efforts. People like him shouldn’t be taken for granted. Until then, there are still plenty of kids who need more than just the bus driver, Mr. Fisk.

Jamie Yoos Attributes Classroom Success to Effort and Engagement Jteaches amie Yoos, Washington State’s Teacher of the Year for 2009-2010, chemistry and bicycle maintenance at Bellingham High. During his presentation to PTA delegates at Convention, he emphasized two main points as it relates to education: 1) effort is necessary to be successful; and 2) students need to be actively engaged.

He made his first point by demonstrating that the word, “chemistry,” can be broken down to “CHEM is Try.” This emphasizes that fact that effort is involved. He explained that being a beginner is scary and that as a teacher, he will support his student’s efforts, and eventually what was

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once unknown and scary becomes comfortable.

Another mantra he used in his presentation, “You’re either now here or…you’re nowhere,” emphasized that active engagement is necessary--it takes more than just being “present.” As a teacher, he talked about being mentally ready to build a relationship with his students, to be aware of where they are, to let them fail but reach out his hand to offer to help them up. He doesn’t worry about failing, but is concerned about people giving up. “Apathy is becoming acceptable,” he explained. “The easy solution is to tune-out. We can’t do that in education. We have to be present for those students everyday.”

As a teacher he also works hard to help all students feel that they have a place at the school and that their learning experience is relevant. He engages different learning styles and provides a lot of hands-on experiences. Yoos also gets to know the stories behind his students, so they can trust him. Finally he encourages his students to grow to be responsible, ethical citizens who “own” their learning.

a Washington State PTA parent involvement magazine

Debbie Wooten Encourages and Entertains D ebbie Wooten, who contracted Polio at 5 months old, and suffered from Spina Bifida and Scoliosis as well a number of other setbacks throughout her life, encouraged delegates to lose their victim-attitude and laugh instead. “We can’t stop life from happening to us.” She encouraged PTA delegates to make a victory shout. “Look at what you got over. It takes pressure and heat in a dark place to make a lump of coal into a diamond. A diamond can cut through anything. And once you’re a

diamond, remember that every diamond has a flaw, it’s ok to not be perfect.”

She also encouraged delegates to remove the word, “can’t” from their vocabulary.

“We need to get creative so we can figure out how we CAN,” she explained.

Her story involved being influenced by a PTA mom who volunteered at her school. This mom showed her that she could be different from her own mother and that she could raise her own kids sober and without abuse.

Each one of us has the ability to change other lives just by the way we act. We have a power to make a difference.

Finally, she urges delegates to value all the children in their schools. “You don’t know what it took for people to get where they are. You don’t always know what they’ve been through,” she said.

PTA Men Essay Contest Rachel Lederman, 10th grade, Skyline High School, Sammamish

Untitled In my family I was the first girl after a generation of all men. In fact, my Grandma so anticipated my birth, she set up a crib with pink teddy bears and tutus in her home for when I visited. There has never been a lack of male presence as I’ve grown up. They are artistic, wealthy, dedicated, wise, intelligent, well educated and caring. On a subconscious level I assumed one of these men would be a role model to me.

Eric Ensey was my first period Honors English and Social Studies teacher. He is an Instructional Tech Specialist in the Issaquah School District, a teacher at Pine Lake Middle School, a Dawgs fan and a male role model that I’ll never forget. While the men of my family were only stripes of colors in my life tapestry, I would see that Mr. Ensey would be a block of color amongst them.

When I met this young, lanky and incredibly tall new teacher on my first day of middle school, I never expected he would become one of the most influential people of my life. Enz (as his current and former students call him) is the most charismatic, well rounded, and goodhearted teacher I’ve ever had. The way he talked and taught changed how I looked at school and education. He made me want to know more about everything from Mayan culture to being a poet. His les-

The Child Advocate, May 2010

sons changed my value of knowledge entirely. Because of him, I now wake up every day and I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to learn in a classroom. He is an inspirational and kind person, a passionate teacher, and a tremendous humanitarian.

Ensey led nine hundred Issaquah students to raise tens of thousands of dollars to free modern day slaves in the world. Enz is the driving force in a humanitarian project called “Loose Change to Loosen Chains” at Pine Lake Middle School. Ensey touched every student’s heart whenever he talked about LC2LC. I’ll never forget the day that nearly half the school was moved to tears by a presentation he put together about kids around the world, our age, living as slaves in horrible conditions.

Enz taught everyone to see the big picture—to look outside of the Pine Lake Middle School hallways, and the school district, and the plateau and our bubbles of happiness and security. He didn’t use a textbook to teach at least eleven hundred students that there is more to life than right here right now in Sammamish, Washington. Mr. Ensey isn’t a role model of mine because he saved lives; he is a hero because he taught so many young minds to do the same: to look beyond the fact that we are blessed ourselves, and realize that we can be role models too. From him, I learned that the world is a place that I can mold, where I can make a difference, where I can change someone’s life. Mr. Ensey’s confidence in me gave me confidence to become a better writer, friend, student, teenager, daughter, sister, niece, cousin, granddaughter, and human being. A role model isn’t about the fact that they themselves are good people, but that they give a reflection point for me to realize my strengths and potentials.

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Convention Memories