PTA Focus Day is Feb. 21 | Island Forum

Published 2:52 pm Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Have you noticed some budget issues mentioned in the news? Have you noticed how full classes are even after so much successful fundraising? Nothing can hide that public education is facing a crisis statewide and things are about to get even more challenging as our legislators begin to chisel a difficult budget. Have you heard the talk of shortening the school year? Or perhaps you have heard a rumor of a disappearing kindergarten. No matter what side of the aisle you vote on, the facts remain that our government needs our support. We have pro-education legislators in office who are already writing and supporting legislation for our kids, but they need to hear from us and they need their colleagues to see how important these issues are to us, their constituents.

PTA Focus Day comes only once a year and Monday, Feb. 21, is a perfect opportunity to show our kids/grandkids the capital (and the capitol). The Washington state PTA schedules this event every year on a day when school is not in session. The hope is that we, the members of the community, will take the opportunity to show our kids, and remind ourselves, that we think their education is important enough to take time out of our busy schedules.

Although this is a wonderful opportunity to teach the kids and their attendance does get the attention of our legislators, we will welcome your support if you can join us without the kids. We want to make the biggest impact and our strength is in numbers. So if the kids are with the grandparents or if you are a teacher/retired teacher or just in general support of education reform and/or protection of our kids’ right to a decent education that will ready all of them to compete in global commerce … (whether overseas or here in Washington), we can’t wait to rally at the capital with you.

The day’s events will get started around 8:30 with events like face painting, button making and other crafty activities — you can also make your own signs and noisemakers there. There will be a legislative update and bag lunches available around 11 a.m. for those who preorder ($13.95 and $6.25 for adult and kid lunches via wastatepta.org, or bring your own lunch). Around 12 p.m., the kids and adults will march up Capitol Way and rally on the steps of the capitol. Legislative advocates from around our area are organizing meetings with our legislators after the rally. If your schedule doesn’t permit the full gamut of activities, stop in for what does fit with your schedule.

These are defining moments in the educational career of tomorrow’s leaders, and our current legislators are opening their doors to the kids on Monday, showing them that education is important to them, too. Many of us simply can’t get out of work and that’s OK, but maybe a neighbor would be willing to take your son/daughter along with theirs for this field trip to the capital. Some Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops are rallying to attend, and you might even see your teacher there. It’s not too late to register online at wastatepta.org, and even if you don’t register or preorder a lunch, you can walk up to the event as well.

Let’s come together as a community to support the initiatives and legislation that in some instances have already passed and just need funding — funding we can get if we continue to tell our representatives that we want it. We have the framework, and we have senators and representatives and proposed bills in place to make changes. Let’s rally our support behind them by showing up in Olympia for PTA Focus Day on Monday, Feb. 21. You won’t regret it, and quite possibly, you’ll get more from it than you expected.

Summer Ellwood is the West Mercer PTA vice president of advocacy.