LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS:
WHY IS FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT?
Raising the next generation is a shared responsibility. When families, communities, and schools work together, students are more successful and the entire community benefits. For schools and districts across the U.S, family engagement is becoming an integral part of education reform efforts.
Check out the resources on this webpage it can help in supporting the framework for building stronger support PTA in schools, so ALL students can have the chance to succeed. Get ideas for how to bring your passion, talents, and energy to help students and to make your PTA stronger. YOU can make a difference and YOU can BE THE CHANGE…
See our Council F.A.C.E/DEI flyer for more information!
- Registration is open for the Equity in Family Engagement conference on March 25-26. This virtual event will help you and other PTA members engage with your schools and communities. Experts in family engagement will share best practices and tools to foster effective interaction and communication. Through interactive workshops, families will engage with educators, administrators, and community members to share their experiences and practice what they learn. The subsidized rate for PTA family members is $25. Use discount code 25parent to receive that rate.
The conference will be on a family-friendly schedule, 9:00 am – 3:00 PM on Saturday and 9:00 am – 12:00 PM on Sunday. - The Everett PTSA Council worked with Everett Public Schools personnel and Washington Family Engagement to create video materials for families that create awareness of how to navigate school systems, advocate for their children, and engage actively in public education. All videos are spoken in English, and four of the videos are also available in a Spanish version, but each of the videos has subtitles available in either Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, and Arabic.
Click on the following link to view videos: https://www.everettsd.org/Page/39021
- Coloring makes everything better! Download this FREE coloring book, It has many of your child's favorite cartoon characters.
WHY IS FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT?
Raising the next generation is a shared responsibility. When families, communities, and schools work together, students are more successful and the entire community benefits. For schools and districts across the U.S, family engagement is becoming an integral part of education reform efforts.
Check out the resources on this webpage it can help in supporting the framework for building stronger support PTA in schools, so ALL students can have the chance to succeed. Get ideas for how to bring your passion, talents, and energy to help students and to make your PTA stronger. YOU can make a difference and YOU can BE THE CHANGE…
See our Council F.A.C.E/DEI flyer for more information!
RESOURCES
NATIONAL PTA
Start your DEI journey in three steps! First, complete the diversity profile which asks you to reflect on who in your community is represented in the PTA and who is missing. Second, reach out and start talking with your community. The facilitator’s guide empowers leaders to start conversations with people who they have struggled to engage. Third, use the DEI action plan template to develop steps to become more inclusive (2021, National PTA website).
Click on the links to view/download these resources.
WSPTA RESOURCES
Well-informed, engaged parents make a difference for student success in school and beyond. Research shows that family engagement in a child’s education increases student achievement, improves attendance, and reduces dropout rates.
(2021, wspta.org)
For more information and resources visit:
Excellent Articles and Books on DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) and systematic barriers
Setting universal goals and pursuing them through specific methods is what targeted universalism entails. Universal goals for all groups are defined within a targeted universalism framework. To reach the universal aim, the tactics devised to attain those goals are targeted, based on how various groups are located within institutions, cultures, and across geographies. Targeted universalism is goal-oriented, with all activities aimed towards achieving the stated, universal objective.
The Promise of Targeted Universalism: Community Leaders Respond is a book that NPQ is co-publishing with Prosperity Now, a nationwide racial and economic justice organization. In this series, authors look at how targeted universalism—a narrative framework that promotes using focused means to attain universal goals—can help communities overcome the racial wealth gap.
Beyond Equity: Targeted Universalism and the Closing of the Racial Wealth GapExcerpt from the Article:“Amid the upheaval caused by a global pandemic and the many inequities it has laid bare, the US finds itself at an inflection point. Before the nation lies a unique opportunity to build a more inclusive and equitable society. If the moment is not seized, the damage that follows could be irreparable.”
Click on the link for complete article
Beyond Equity: Targeted Universalism and the Closing of the Racial Wealth
Gap - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
In Cultivating Genius, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad presents a four-layered equity framework-one that is grounded in history and restores excellence in literacy education. Muhammad's Historically Responsive Literacy Framework is essential for all students, especially youth of color, who traditionally have been marginalized in learning standards, school policies, and classroom practices. The framework promotes four learning goals-or pursuits:
• Identity development; defining self; making sense of one's values and beliefs
• Skill development; developing proficiencies through reading and writing meaningful content
• Intellectual development; gaining knowledge and becoming smarter
• Criticality; developing the ability to read texts to understand power, authority, and oppression
When these four learning pursuits are taught together-through the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework- all students receive profound opportunities for personal, intellectual, and academic success. Muhammad provides probing, self-reflective questions for both teachers and students as well as bibliographies of culturally responsive text and sample lesson plans across grades and content areas (Scholastic, 2022).
NATIONAL PTA
Start your DEI journey in three steps! First, complete the diversity profile which asks you to reflect on who in your community is represented in the PTA and who is missing. Second, reach out and start talking with your community. The facilitator’s guide empowers leaders to start conversations with people who they have struggled to engage. Third, use the DEI action plan template to develop steps to become more inclusive (2021, National PTA website).
Click on the links to view/download these resources.
WSPTA RESOURCES
Well-informed, engaged parents make a difference for student success in school and beyond. Research shows that family engagement in a child’s education increases student achievement, improves attendance, and reduces dropout rates.
(2021, wspta.org)
For more information and resources visit:
Excellent Articles and Books on DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) and systematic barriers
Setting universal goals and pursuing them through specific methods is what targeted universalism entails. Universal goals for all groups are defined within a targeted universalism framework. To reach the universal aim, the tactics devised to attain those goals are targeted, based on how various groups are located within institutions, cultures, and across geographies. Targeted universalism is goal-oriented, with all activities aimed towards achieving the stated, universal objective.
The Promise of Targeted Universalism: Community Leaders Respond is a book that NPQ is co-publishing with Prosperity Now, a nationwide racial and economic justice organization. In this series, authors look at how targeted universalism—a narrative framework that promotes using focused means to attain universal goals—can help communities overcome the racial wealth gap.
Beyond Equity: Targeted Universalism and the Closing of the Racial Wealth GapExcerpt from the Article:“Amid the upheaval caused by a global pandemic and the many inequities it has laid bare, the US finds itself at an inflection point. Before the nation lies a unique opportunity to build a more inclusive and equitable society. If the moment is not seized, the damage that follows could be irreparable.”
Click on the link for complete article
Beyond Equity: Targeted Universalism and the Closing of the Racial Wealth
Gap - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
In Cultivating Genius, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad presents a four-layered equity framework-one that is grounded in history and restores excellence in literacy education. Muhammad's Historically Responsive Literacy Framework is essential for all students, especially youth of color, who traditionally have been marginalized in learning standards, school policies, and classroom practices. The framework promotes four learning goals-or pursuits:
• Identity development; defining self; making sense of one's values and beliefs
• Skill development; developing proficiencies through reading and writing meaningful content
• Intellectual development; gaining knowledge and becoming smarter
• Criticality; developing the ability to read texts to understand power, authority, and oppression
When these four learning pursuits are taught together-through the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework- all students receive profound opportunities for personal, intellectual, and academic success. Muhammad provides probing, self-reflective questions for both teachers and students as well as bibliographies of culturally responsive text and sample lesson plans across grades and content areas (Scholastic, 2022).
Revolutionary Mothering
Alexis Pauline Gumbs - editor (Author), China Martens - editor (Author), Mai'a Williams - editor (Author), Diana Blue (Narrator), Tantor Audio (Publisher)
“This collection is a treat for anyone that sees class and that needs to learn more about the experiences of women of color (and who doesn’t?!). There is no dogma here, just fresh ideas and women of color taking on capitalism, anti-racist, anti-sexist theory-building that is rooted in the most primal of human connections, the making of two people from the body of one: mothering.”
—Barbara Jensen, author of Reading Classes: On Culture and Classism in America
Alexis Pauline Gumbs - editor (Author), China Martens - editor (Author), Mai'a Williams - editor (Author), Diana Blue (Narrator), Tantor Audio (Publisher)
“This collection is a treat for anyone that sees class and that needs to learn more about the experiences of women of color (and who doesn’t?!). There is no dogma here, just fresh ideas and women of color taking on capitalism, anti-racist, anti-sexist theory-building that is rooted in the most primal of human connections, the making of two people from the body of one: mothering.”
—Barbara Jensen, author of Reading Classes: On Culture and Classism in America
Origination Point
The author is Bill de la Cruz; "How do my prejudices hinder or help me to be real in my relationships?" "Finding the Origination Point," Bill's book, allows the reader to break free from the self-protective, seemingly subtle control and manipulation of personal prejudices, which we all have. Bill de la Cruz, the author, takes us through the step-by-step procedure he and his many clients have used to trace their prejudices back to their source in order to discover healing, development, understanding, and choice. "Finding the Origination Point" is about deconstructing prejudices so that they don't limit your encounters with individuals who share your biases, an unconscious process that guides our interactions.
The author is Bill de la Cruz; "How do my prejudices hinder or help me to be real in my relationships?" "Finding the Origination Point," Bill's book, allows the reader to break free from the self-protective, seemingly subtle control and manipulation of personal prejudices, which we all have. Bill de la Cruz, the author, takes us through the step-by-step procedure he and his many clients have used to trace their prejudices back to their source in order to discover healing, development, understanding, and choice. "Finding the Origination Point" is about deconstructing prejudices so that they don't limit your encounters with individuals who share your biases, an unconscious process that guides our interactions.
CULTURALLY SUSTAINING PEDAGOGIES
The author is Django Paris; In changing cultures, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies raises basic concerns about the purpose of education. This volume engages and extends the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP)—teaching that perpetuates and fosters linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of schooling for positive social transformation—by bringing together an intergenerational group of prominent educators and researchers.
The author is Django Paris; In changing cultures, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies raises basic concerns about the purpose of education. This volume engages and extends the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP)—teaching that perpetuates and fosters linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of schooling for positive social transformation—by bringing together an intergenerational group of prominent educators and researchers.
MULTICULTURAL CALENDAR
The rich diversity in our communities is reflected in the observances celebrated by various cultures and populations. National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement has created this Multicultural Calendar to highlight and celebrate the diversity in our PTA and school communities! (wspta.org)
2022-2023 Multicultural Calendar
The rich diversity in our communities is reflected in the observances celebrated by various cultures and populations. National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement has created this Multicultural Calendar to highlight and celebrate the diversity in our PTA and school communities! (wspta.org)
2022-2023 Multicultural Calendar
This is the time of the year when we all start planning for electing a Nominating Committee to find volunteers that helps in running PTA business effectively; Follow this link to a resource for achieving diversity in your Board!
PTA has the network to expand the use of transformative family engagement practices beyond pockets of excellence and innovation. The 24,000+ school-based PTAs, 55% of which are Title I schools, and over 16 million students, are an untapped resource in creating long-term systems change— from classroom to school to district, state, and federal policy—that leverages family engagement to ensure the success of each and every child. This is why we need more transformative approaches to our family engagement practices so every family is treated as a valuable partner in their child’s education(The center for family engagement, National PTA).
Click here to view/download the Transformative Family Engagement handbook.
Here is the tool kit that can help you bringing Dads in the PTA.
Many of our PTAs do fundraising to feed the local structure. All these funds help them to organize programs, grants to support classrooms, and other expenses. A strong marketing strategy helps in hosting successful fundraisers.
Identify your local footprint. There will be a wide variety of demographics to consider. Some are more concentrated in certain areas than others. Start by understanding your neighbors and your community. Provide fundraising materials in different languages can make a huge difference.
Use graphics representing all age groups, people with different skin colors, ethnicities, and children with special needs. It is evident that graphics make a powerful impact on the human brain than the written material.
All the answers are enclosed in this resource, prepared by National PTA.
Click here to view/download the document:
WHY to have a FACE/DEI chair or committee?
There are numerous benefits of having a FACE/DEI chair. If the PTA/PTSAs agree to have it as a board position then, the chairperson can overlook final decisions through a multicultural perspective. They can also help committee members to plan and transforming programs to open PTA/PTSAs platform for ALL members of the community.
If your PTA is planning to have a FACE/DEI chair and is not sure what would be his/her/them role in the organization then this document can help in identifying focus areas of this position.
As PTA leaders/members, we must communicate with inclusion and make a habit of using appropriate words. We care about everyone when we use inclusive language. It's a manner of recognizing, accepting, and celebrating personal characteristics including gender, color, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or other characteristics that contribute to a person's identity. To understand more, open the PDF file by clicking on the link.
Click here to view/download the Transformative Family Engagement handbook.
- How to involve Dads?
Here is the tool kit that can help you bringing Dads in the PTA.
- How to do multicultural marketing?
Many of our PTAs do fundraising to feed the local structure. All these funds help them to organize programs, grants to support classrooms, and other expenses. A strong marketing strategy helps in hosting successful fundraisers.
Identify your local footprint. There will be a wide variety of demographics to consider. Some are more concentrated in certain areas than others. Start by understanding your neighbors and your community. Provide fundraising materials in different languages can make a huge difference.
Use graphics representing all age groups, people with different skin colors, ethnicities, and children with special needs. It is evident that graphics make a powerful impact on the human brain than the written material.
- How to plan meetings, engaging speakers, and address the needs of diverse communities?
All the answers are enclosed in this resource, prepared by National PTA.
Click here to view/download the document:
WHY to have a FACE/DEI chair or committee?
There are numerous benefits of having a FACE/DEI chair. If the PTA/PTSAs agree to have it as a board position then, the chairperson can overlook final decisions through a multicultural perspective. They can also help committee members to plan and transforming programs to open PTA/PTSAs platform for ALL members of the community.
If your PTA is planning to have a FACE/DEI chair and is not sure what would be his/her/them role in the organization then this document can help in identifying focus areas of this position.
As PTA leaders/members, we must communicate with inclusion and make a habit of using appropriate words. We care about everyone when we use inclusive language. It's a manner of recognizing, accepting, and celebrating personal characteristics including gender, color, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or other characteristics that contribute to a person's identity. To understand more, open the PDF file by clicking on the link.
- What PTAs can do to support underprivileged students and families:
There is a lot PTAs can do to provide support and increase engagement of underprivileged families into the system by developing a structure to support afterschool cost-effective programs to enhance student’s learning.
These programs can support educational attainment and achievement, social, prevention, and wellness outcomes that contribute to in-school success. Planning programs and activities with minimum expenses is the key of increasing engagement for these disadvantaged students and families.
Some examples are:
Organizing clubs for reading, poetry writing, or drawing
Pottery/Candle/Origami classes
Grow your own food- where kids can learn and grow their own food.
Board / Math games
Preparing art from recycled materials
GRANT OPPORTUNITY
Everett PTSA Council now offers grants up to $150 to support local Everett PTAs in outreach and collaboration with families and community members who are traditionally underrepresented in PTA. Grants are available for hosting a FACE event, where family & community engagement is a primary goal & outreach efforts to diverse school populations are being utilized.
Download our Everett PTSA Council FACE Grant Application Packet.
COURSES AND TRAINING
National PTA
The first season of 10 Minutes to PTA the Transformative Way is dedicated to topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion! Tune in to learn from PTA leaders and experts in the field of ways you can make your PTA efforts more equitable. This page also has the training video for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Click here to view the session and subscribe for more:
https://www.pta.org/the-center-for-family-engagement/training
PLTI – Parent Leadership Training Institute: Click this link to enroll in the upcoming session!
Check out the PLTI flyer (English) or Spanish version!
Online classes will begin on September 18, 2021 and end on December 18, 2021.
Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) helps parents to build leadership skills. The twenty-week program teaches parents how to become practiced change agents for the next generation to improve the lifelong health, safety, and learning of children. PLTI host their classes on the property of Everett Community College. Each session is pilot by a team of local, experienced facilitators. Participation is at no cost to the parent. PLTI team provides breakfast, lunch, snacks and parking, depending on the timings of the classes. They keep tabs on attendance and prepare handouts for each student. The program solely depends on its donors. This twenty-week course strengthens connections among people of different backgrounds; it helps in understanding politics, policies, and the role of media. The graduation requirement is a local community project, which helps parents to get more involved in the community and work for the betterment of the people around them. This program also offers 5 college credits and a certificate of completion.
A leadership training program for participants' children, the Children's Leadership Training Institute (CLTI) is offered concurrently with the PLTI program. In this program, children learn about their responsibilities of being a community member. It sows the seed of community engagement from an early age. The grant will help the team in expanding their horizon.
Are you looking forward to hosting a FACE event? Or have you done one in the past? Are there creative ways you reach out to bilingual families, support them, and appreciate their differences?
E-mail FACE ideas and suggestions to Tiffany Nash and Anita Dhinakar, FACE/DEI Co-Chairs: everettcouncilface@gmail.com
We would be thrilled to share examples of FACE ideas around our school district.
Region 7 Service Delivery Team: Jen Hirman and Hai Evans - ptareg7@wastatepta.org
WSPTA FACE Director: Shelby Reynolds - ptafacedir@wastatepta.org
MULTILINGUAL FAMILY SUPPORT
STUDY SOUTH ASIAN LANGUAGES:
Language takes us beyond the world of apes and allows cultures to develop. Language frees us from the present, actually giving us a social past and a social future. That is, language gives us the capacity to share understandings about the past and to develop shared perceptions about the future. The language also allows us to establish underlying purposes for our activities. In short, language is the basis of culture. If you're willing to learn about the culture that inspires you, then begin by learning their language.
https://www.washington.edu/research/research-centers/south-asia-center/
https://jsis.washington.edu/southasia/programs/south-asian-languages/
https://jsis.washington.edu/southasia/people/nick-gottschall/
TRANSLATION SERVICES:
Information coming soon!
STUDY SOUTH ASIAN LANGUAGES:
Language takes us beyond the world of apes and allows cultures to develop. Language frees us from the present, actually giving us a social past and a social future. That is, language gives us the capacity to share understandings about the past and to develop shared perceptions about the future. The language also allows us to establish underlying purposes for our activities. In short, language is the basis of culture. If you're willing to learn about the culture that inspires you, then begin by learning their language.
https://www.washington.edu/research/research-centers/south-asia-center/
https://jsis.washington.edu/southasia/programs/south-asian-languages/
https://jsis.washington.edu/southasia/people/nick-gottschall/
TRANSLATION SERVICES:
Information coming soon!
Outreach Links:
WSPTA Family Engagement Webpage
National Diversity and Inclusion Page
National Diversity Toolkit
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EXAMPLES
Does your school have a FACE example? Are there creative ways you reach out to school families to make them feel welcome and support them? Send it to Tiffany Nash and Anita Dhinakar, FACE Co-Chairs, at everettcouncilface@gmail.com. We would love to share examples of FACE ideas around our school district.
Does your school have a FACE example? Are there creative ways you reach out to school families to make them feel welcome and support them? Send it to Tiffany Nash and Anita Dhinakar, FACE Co-Chairs, at everettcouncilface@gmail.com. We would love to share examples of FACE ideas around our school district.
F.A.C.E. ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
Everett PTSA Council: Book Drive
In partnership with Sno-Isle Libraries, and in cooperation with multiple schools and PTAs within Everett School District, we distributed over 3000 books for children in our community at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.
Everett PTSA Council: Book Drive
In partnership with Sno-Isle Libraries, and in cooperation with multiple schools and PTAs within Everett School District, we distributed over 3000 books for children in our community at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.
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Everett High School: Family and Community Engagement Evening
Everett High School staff, in collaboration with EHS PTA, hosted a Family and Community Engagement evening at the CRC to share school data, identify school needs, and brainstorm ideas from parents, students and community members on a variety of topics. Everett AVID students led small group discussions on ways that the school can make students and families feel welcome and strategies for partnering with community groups to create a strong, inclusive school community that supports student success.
Hats off to these AVID students for facilitating those discussions and sharing the ideas generated that night. What a terrific example of FACE in action within our schools.
James Monroe Elementary: Welcome Mat
Here is another great FACE example showing how schools welcome families from all different backgrounds and cultures. This welcome mat can be found as you enter James Monroe Elementary and includes the most common 20 languages spoken at their school. Working with staff and parents from the school, PTA Co-President, Jarucia Jaycox Nirula, used research from a Spring 2017 family literacy event to help design the welcome mat for roll out in August.
Jefferson Elementary School
A display was setup at Jefferson Elementary that says "Hello" in over 30 languages. Jefferson's Office Manager, Terry Tolpingrud, said "having this display hang in the entryway let's people know the different languages and diversity at our school."
James Monroe Elementary: Award Nomination Form
PTA Check out this Award Nomination Form at James Monroe Elementary PTA - in both English and Spanish! By providing materials in multiple languages you are reaching out to your families in the school community who may have English as a barrier to their participation. Need help in translating materials? Reach out to your school families to see if you might already have a PTA member who can help! Or if your school has a Natural Leaders program, those parents may also appreciate the opportunity to assist in this way to help connect your PTA with families from their home language.
Everett High School staff, in collaboration with EHS PTA, hosted a Family and Community Engagement evening at the CRC to share school data, identify school needs, and brainstorm ideas from parents, students and community members on a variety of topics. Everett AVID students led small group discussions on ways that the school can make students and families feel welcome and strategies for partnering with community groups to create a strong, inclusive school community that supports student success.
Hats off to these AVID students for facilitating those discussions and sharing the ideas generated that night. What a terrific example of FACE in action within our schools.
James Monroe Elementary: Welcome Mat
Here is another great FACE example showing how schools welcome families from all different backgrounds and cultures. This welcome mat can be found as you enter James Monroe Elementary and includes the most common 20 languages spoken at their school. Working with staff and parents from the school, PTA Co-President, Jarucia Jaycox Nirula, used research from a Spring 2017 family literacy event to help design the welcome mat for roll out in August.
Jefferson Elementary School
A display was setup at Jefferson Elementary that says "Hello" in over 30 languages. Jefferson's Office Manager, Terry Tolpingrud, said "having this display hang in the entryway let's people know the different languages and diversity at our school."
James Monroe Elementary: Award Nomination Form
PTA Check out this Award Nomination Form at James Monroe Elementary PTA - in both English and Spanish! By providing materials in multiple languages you are reaching out to your families in the school community who may have English as a barrier to their participation. Need help in translating materials? Reach out to your school families to see if you might already have a PTA member who can help! Or if your school has a Natural Leaders program, those parents may also appreciate the opportunity to assist in this way to help connect your PTA with families from their home language.