Kimball Elementary PTSAKimball Elementary PTSA
Planning session2021–22

Working Meeting — Take Back PTA goals and community advocacy

  • 7:15 Welcome, Opening reading (Charissa)
  • 7:20 Community-building question: Share a creator of color (ex: author, actors, cook, blogger, musician, artist) who has influenced you. How have they influenced you?
  • 7:30 Principals' report
  • 7:40 Moveathon update and ask for input (@Alaron L)
  • 7:50 Take Back PTA pledge discussion (@Michelle Bradley** and Advocacy Team) (35 mins)**
  • 8:30 Updates
  • Next working meeting 2/16, 7:15pm start as usual (Principal's Q&A 6:30-7:30pm)
  • Recruitment of co-Treasurers for the following year was discussed; leaders were encouraged to document roles and train successors.
  • Adopt a teaching/training/bringing others alongside mentality in our work (or just document for the person who follows you)
  • Opportunity to be trained to be on a hiring committee for April interviews. (Charissa)
  • Chat groups (@Kristen)
  • Target & $1,000 grant (Charissa)
  • Kimball Kitchen (@Michelle Bradley** @Kristen)**
  • **8:40 Color Brave Space reflections: Where did you see a Color Brave value **
  • reflected in our meeting tonight?

Take Back PTA pledge discussion:

(From Slack):

**For reference, the proposed top priorities for our PTSA are (1) review and revise, as needed, Kimball PTSA mission statement, (2) communicate new focus on centering advocacy and community building to greater Kimball community and admin, and (3) build trust with Kimball families and staff by conducting surveys and interviews to understand which activities they would like Kimball (from school budget or PTSA budget) to continue to support. We will also continue to build relationships at the state, district, and local levels in order to continue to learn how to advocate for all children! **

As a refresher, following are highlights from the Take Back PTA Resolution,

  • The original focus of the National PTA was advocacy and community engagement, not fundraising.
  • "Parent fundraising has become more important as state and local funds have dwindled."
  • "PTA involvement is viewed by families as primarily a fundraising program intended for the wealthier and therefore influential families, leaving most other parents feeling disenfranchised, driven out, or never engaged."
  • **Incredible inequities are created between schools based on funds raised by PTAs and how those funds are spent. **
  • Community-based organizations (CBOs) are negatively affected because a "local school fundraiser can be seen as competition for dollars."
  • The Seattle Council PTSA encourages Seattle schools to refocus on (1) advocating for all children, (2) building community and family engagement, (3) balancing fundraising with advocacy (3 parts advocacy : 1 part fundraising), (4) adjusting PTA budgets to focus more on advocacy, (5) supporting CBOs, (6) recognizing that PTAs are not sustainable sources of funds for schools so support orgs and programs that are, (7) advocating for increased funding at the state level and equitable funding at the district level."

Small group breakouts to discuss resolution & Kimball PTSA Take Back PTA Resolution Goals

**

Share out from small groups:**

CSL: Building community in a virtual setting is hard; what are our non-money events? We had Clean-up Saturday in the fall; Plant flowers, pick weeds?

CP: PTSA seen primarily as fundraising entity

CG: Need for gradual process; baby steps; BIPOC families front and centered throughout this process, which would necessitate slowness to ensure inclusivity

**MA: Impressed by work and organization; refocusing on child advocacy seems like the obvious and necessary place to start, otherwise no context; we got off course, need to recenter mission; spreadsheet seems sequential **

**MT: Agree on the gradual; how will we educate the broader community about what this means; people might have different definitions of advocacy; will need to get clear and crisp on our definition; anxiety over stressing out admin by pulling back on funds; program driven vs ___ driven; BLT clarification **

NEXT STEPS:

Vivien Van Gelder of Southeast Seattle Education Coalition will be joining our 2/16 WM to share the history of redlining and school segregation in Seattle. She’ll provide feedback on our “Kimball PTSA Take Back PTA Resolution Goals” and hold a short Q & A. We hope to adopt our goals and sign the Take Back PTA Pledge at the end