Getting Invovled in our Schools

By Anastacio Andrade

The article discusses some basic steps that parents and community members can take to be involved in the process of improving our schools.

We each have the ability to get involved in different ways. After our homes, our schools are the most influential places in our children's lives. We have a responsibility to establish supportive environments in both.

1. Home Environment As parents, we do our best to support our children at home. I believe that establishing a culture of love and respect is our responsibility. We must provide boundaries and allow to them to grow and express themselves in a safe environment.

We must also allow our children to make mistakes and learn. My family and I faced some very difficult times when my son was convicted of a crime and sent to prison. It was an awakening for him. He now is an outstanding student at Cabrillo College with a bright future ahead of him. We are so very proud of our son.

2. Be Present We must visit our schools as parents and community members. We need to get to know our schools, meet the office staff, review the curriculum, meet our teachers and our principals. Our presence there is crucial.

We can also be involved as part of district committees, interview panels, and other. Our role . We need to make sure that our school district is made up of a diverse group of people, not only in ethnicity but also in ideas. Clearly, we need to create more avenues for parents and community members to participate and have our voices heard.

Over the years, I have been a part of many school and district committees. I began my involvement in 1986 as a parent at Mintie White Elementary. representative of the Migrant Parent Association. I have had the honor of working as a State Representative of the Migrant Parents.

3. Speak Out and Find Solutions Another way to be involved is to speak out against laws and practices that hurt our children. No Child Left Behind is an example of an unfair law that sets unrealistic goals for our students, provides almost no resources, and results in punishments for schools and districts that don't reach these goals. We must be outspoken against practices by the district that do not involve parents.

We must also be ready to propose realistic alternatives. Criticism is easy, constructive criticism is harder.

Each of us must decide what we can do for our schools. After decades of involvement in education at different levels, I have chosen to run for Area VI of the School Board of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. This is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I hope to make sure our district is a more welcoming organization, that it become more responsive to a greater population of our community, and most importantly that it be more effective in teaching our students.