10 steps you can take now to support your public schools

1. Get to know your local schools.

Talk to those who know first-hand: students, parents, teachers and other staff.
Arrange to visit a school. Attend an open house, concert, play or other event.
Attend public hearings on your district’s finances, buildings and other key issues.
Find specific financial, demographic and testing information for your schools at the Minnesota Department of Education’s School Report Card page.
For a better understanding of statewide issues affecting your school, visit the Parents United for Public Schools Web site and sign up for its E-List.

2. Volunteer at school.

Chaperone a field trip, speak to kids about your career, read with children, plan class parties, introduce students to your cultural traditions, help in the school office, fund-raise, spruce up the school grounds, and more. Contact your child’s teacher or your school or district volunteer coordinator to get started.
Work with your employer, service organizations or other groups to increase your impact. For example, state Supreme Court justices and other court employees volunteer regularly in a reading program at St. Paul’s Benjamin E. Mays International Magnet School.

3. Donate.

Schools can use cash, current technology, classroom supplies, musical instruments, in-kind services and more. Contact your district office to determine needs.
Donate money to your district’s nonprofit foundation, if it has one.

4. Work with other concerned parents and community members.

5. Get your business involved.

Form a partnership with a local school for mentoring, tutoring, internships, technology or other needs.
Encourage company leaders to take part in a Principal for a Day program, if your school has one.

6. Thank an educator.

Write letters to your child’s teachers, telling them how they made a difference. If possible, contact your own former teachers – they’ll be thrilled to hear from you.
Help organize educator appreciation activities at your local school during American Education Week in November.

7. Get the facts about education funding and school quality.

Attend your district’s annual budget and “truth-in-taxation” hearings to learn where the money comes from and where it goes. If your district has a citizen advisory committee that helps set budget priorities, consider serving on the panel.
For the most authoritative explanation of the intricacies of Minnesota school finance, read the annual guide written for legislators by the House Research Department.
Find additional resources at the Parents United Web Site.

8. Take a stand.

Call or write your elected representatives to urge support for public education. Find them at Education Minnesota’s Legislative Action Center.
Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Be specific and succinct (no more than 200 words).
Speak up at town meetings held by your elected officials.
Help organize legislative visits at your school.

9. Help parents provide a good learning environment for their children.

Volunteer with organizations serving single parents, high school dropouts, immigrants and others trying to balance parenthood with economic and educational needs.
Donate children’s books to local book drives for needy families.
Support learning in your own home by making school attendance and homework a priority, providing a quiet place to study, supervising television viewing and reading with children.

10. Educate your friends and neighbors.

Talk to people you know about the real accomplishments and needs of your public schools.
Speak up at public meetings. Counter false information and derogatory comments about schools with facts.
Encourage people you know to join you in supporting public schools.

September 03, 2009