My Personal Favorite Sign of Spring

It was a very nice evening for a ride... (Link)

RAS News and Comment

First, the ZLE PTO meeting is at 6:30 PM on Tuesday. All parents and teachers are welcome and encouraged to attend !!! (even if you are not a PTO member) They are really nice people who are working hard to improve our school for our kids, please take this 'no commitment required" chance to get to know them and learn what they do... {link to my thoughts for ZLE 2009/2010}

Second, the 281 administration and board seems to be turning down free money and limiting educational choice in our community. See my comments in Speed's "What's happening with Pilgrim Lane Elementary" Please note Christine's hint at possibly needing PLE as a Kindergarten, seems Wold's assessment may be off a bit. (get a refund?) Also, see the Notes from the Working meeting. And as always, please drop the board an email if you support or disagree with this action. mailto:school_board@rdale.k12.mn.us

Thirdly, mark your calendar to meet the Superintendent candidates. (more info)

Finally, here is a link to the latest school transition letter. Please note the intra-district transfers are going to be a problem and all schools are doing great verbiage. Not sure if this will convince the doubting parents. The upside is the open invitation to set up a personal tour, which is a great improvement and should be taken advantage of. (ie give the schools a chance, see with your own eyes) Also, don't forget to signup for RAS E news updates at rdale.org. (E news)

Thoughts ?

Conservatives Answer the Call ?

I started this posting as a challenge to my fellow conservatives to "pry open their wallets" and be responsible. My belief was that:

• if you want to cut the government safety nets, you had better be there to catch the bodies...
• Conservatives are too tight to actually be giving...
• Liberals care and talk so much... So they must give a lot...
• the religious Christian conservative had best be giving 10% of their gains back to non-profits/community, or God will have a toasty spot waiting for them...

Well then I came across this article. Conservatives have Answered Obama's Call

It seems I had better start my preaching with the Liberals... Does this article make sense to you? Why or why not?

By they way, if you did not know. I am a Republican and a Lutheran who between dollars and volunteering has worked his way slowly up to giving almost 10%/yr back to the community... The volunteering portion is primarily thanks to my incredible wife's activities. (more on that in a future post)

Also, we still have a long way to go since it looks like people typically give less than 4% (other Giving Stats)

Public Education: A Three Legged Stool

R-Five (Speed) left a great comment regarding what will the district do with the extra money, if "Parents" start providing equipment ? I guess my answer has to do with a "3 legged stool" and relative levels of "Excellence".

The 3 legs of School Excellence are:

• Parent involvement and support
• Administration and teaching priorities, planning and execution
• Public involvement and support

From my viewpoint the Public is doing a pretty good job of supporting the financial aspects of the RAS schools. Sure it took some work, however the Federal, State and Community citizens are spending a lot of money on our schools/kids. Maybe not enough to make them incredible, however certainly enough to make them good solid schools that can provide a solid core and advanced curriculum. An area for continued improvement is volunteering as mentors/tutors for kids that a struggling...

The Board, Administration, Teachers and other employees are taking on the challenge of reducing fixed costs by closing schools and dealing with ever increasing expectations. There are still many productivity gains that can be made by holding personnel accountable and improving our focus on the core programs/deliverables. However RAS is definitely heading in the right direction.

The majority of parents however seem to have lost their way. I am not sure if it is all the 2 income families, folks lacking a sense of parental responsibility, the overloaded schedules, the need to "keep up with the Jones's", or what... However, financial giving and volunteering seems to be headed the wrong direction. My guess is:

• less than 10% volunteer outside their child's site
• less than 3% volunteer more than 40 hrs/yr
• less than .5% volunteer more than 100 hrs/yr
• less than 20% give 90% of the PTO's funding
• average donation = ~$50/child/yr

Unless the parents step up more, their school's will at best be "Good". (ie wobbly stool) Also, why should the public keep supporting the schools if the parents don't think it is important enough to make it a priority?

Time for a Video (Totally improper politically incorrect video that applies to many of us - even myself at times... Thanks to Freedom Dogs for the link) With this in mind, how do us men, women, black, white, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, etc stop waiting for someone to fix our communities and schools !!! So let the Public funds support the things to make the school's very good. And I hope the parent's money and volunteering can make them GREAT !!!

As always, all thoughts welcome ...

The Fun of being a SUPERHERO

Repeatedly I post things that someone should either agree or disagree with, I have many people hitting the site each day, and yet I receive very few comments. So I have to wonder if people are concerned regarding their anonymity being at risk... Well I am here to assure you again:

Your true identity is safe unless you disclose it.
Nobody incuding myself can see who you are.
This is the "from" info I receive: Anonymous (noreply-comment@blogger.com)

Just think, you can be a SUPER HERO when ever you choose. Imagine that you can help others to understand your viewpoint and possibly learn from your perspective. Or if you see my postings as an attack on somebody or something you care about, you can step in to defend what you hold near and dear. (ie To promote dialogue, I'll happily play Lex Luthor to your Superman)

I would prefer that people who leave anonymous comments sign their comment with an alias. This is so the other participants can get a feel for you, your background and beliefs. (anonymous: technical definition meaning you don't log in)

Now creating the alias is half the fun... I did it by considering the principles that I believe in, my concern that many Americans are becoming too self centered and avoiding their civil responsibilities, and robbing themselves of the happiness and fulfillment that is attained by helping others. (ie not just our kids)

With this in mind, here are some alias developing hints:

• what do you truly believe in and what words associate with this ?
• what are the names of fictional or real life role models that you respect?
• what animal, car, flower, hobby, etc do you just think is cool ?

Now join into the discussions and help people understand your differing viewpoint. Or just occasionally drop a note to cheer me on and help others understand I am not alone in my crazy ideas.... Remember: dialogue is the only way to build understanding and consensus.

As always: I am likely wrong or poorly informed at times, only YOU can help me learn !!! Save me "superhero" ...

Parents Pay for Public School Perks?

After years of listening to parent's commenting:

• "Why do we have so many school fund raisers ???"
• "Why do I have to pay all these activity fees ???"

My questions are:

• Why are parents so hesitant to give money to their school's PTO ?
• Why do parent's complain about school fees for "special/choice" curriculum and activities? (ie beyond what is needed to get kids into basic jobs, tech schools and universities) Or parking ?

Most of us modern middle class parents happily spend $5,000, $10,000 or more a year so that our brood can be in soccer, hockey, dance, piano, gymnastics, baseball, basketball, performing arts, etc. Now this is fun and good, yet the reality is that Billy and Suzy are not likely to make a career out of these activities. If they even continue them into High School....

However, you can move your child's school from good to great by giving $400 per child per yr to your local PTO. Imagine the technologies and other advantages you could provide all of the kids. Now that's an incredible value !!! Especially since it is tax deductible for most of us !!!

In my case, if on average ZLE parents wrote a check for $200 per child per year, the PTO would be able to invest over $100,000 per year in the school. And for PMS that would be $250,000+. Now, that's a lot of SMART Boards, computers, etc.... And it is a lot easier and faster than arguing for additional state funding... So get out your checkbook now and make an investment that will have an immediate payback while making you feel good !!!

By the way, remember this is PTO proceeds... So you will need to buy $800 worth of wrapping paper, or better yet just write out a check... And though I bought a trip to Arrowwood resort for $200+, the real charitable party was the one that provided the gift certificate. (ie I'm getting something of value for my money.) So thank the businesses and individuals that donate those goods and services.

For more on Pay for Perks, check out this blog string..
Speed RSI (or "shifted to pay for perks")

Parenthood, Patience Building and Fun

When I was younger, I was a TERRIBLE teacher. My technique for teaching my wife to downhill ski was to stick the skis on her and push her over to the chairlift. The result was predictably a pile of skis and a frustrated date at the other end of the lift...

Then came kids and training them to stay in their bed, teaching them to downhills ski and many other skills. I still had not figured it out.... It seemed they should be able to learn it faster and lord knows that was important !!! The result was again predictable, many power struggles and pointless disputes.

Well tonight we went roller skating and I have final figured out how to follow their lead and just enjoy the time that they NEED to hold onto me. After 45 minutes the youngest skated away from me happy and confident...

Amazingly, they seem to grow up fast enough. Make sure to appreciate the "present" and you will receive the best "gift".

Robbinsdale Blog Links

Speed Realty News (too big to succeed)
Speed RSI
Speed Education Monopoly

Friends and Politics

There is probably a good reason why friends often don't talk politics... I made known my identity to larger group of people and it has caused some stir. So, I want to make sure everyone knows my blogging rules:

• I only discuss things that are general public knowledge. (ie no privileged info)
• I only link to public / posted documents. (ie school and other websites)
• I do not post based on specific conversations or information. I only post after I have confirmed a trend or a common perception.
• If I use a specific example, I get that persons permission first. (I screwed up on this recently, deleted the blog and apologized to that individual)
• I have been in this district for 9 years... I think and read a lot... I talk to a lot of people... This generates opinions and ideas that I post...
• I know I will be wrong sometimes, therefore all comments are accepted and can be totally anonymous. Also, my email is give2get@live.com.

Please contact me directly if I you feel I have violated any of these rules. I will either apologize and learn from my mistake, or explain the real source of the blog. Not surprisingly many of us are discussing the same topics or similar stories. (ie this movie is not based on any real events or characters...)

My goal is to increase dialogue, not cause ill well. Hopefully my friends will allow me my beliefs as I happily allow them theirs..

ZLE 2009 Funding and Parent Involvement

ZLE Parents:
The next PTO meeting is March 17th @ 6:30 PM in the ZLE Media Center. Childcare is provided if you RSVP. See PTO distributed materials for the agenda.

The things on my mind are the 2009/2010 PTO budget and school year:

• Will ZLE find an energetic, organized and well spoken fund raising chair person that can help enable the fund raising teams ? (ie losing our current excellent chair at year end...)
• The age of the PTO provided school computers and when should they be replaced?
• How can we significantly increase the PTO funding? (ie ~$30K to $90+K) {$90K = ~$150 avg from ~600 children, seems like a bargain for the great school we attend(remember private = ~$3,500 to $12,000 per yr)} And no this is not $150 of product we would have bought anyway... it's $150 of cash or profit to the PTO.....
• Kaleidoscope and Focus programs (ie reinstating gifted programs)
• Will a group or an individual volunteer this year to organize the 2010 Spring school carnival? (ie was our largest and most enjoyable fund raiser, until no coordinator could be found)
• How can we raise extra funds to purchase SMART Boards? DVD players?
• Will parents volunteer, so we can reinstate the "Destination Imagination" program? (a great program for kids that was dropped this year due to lack of volunteers...)
• Do we want to fund additional Teaching Assistants? (ie art, help kids catch up, music concerts, etc)
• How can we raise some more funds yet this year to replace the cushion that was used when the playground was purchased?

Anyone else have concerns, fund raising ideas, ways to get more parents engaged, etc?

2008 ZLE PTO Budget
ZLE Mar08 Newsletter

RSI Parents Rock !!!

Now I know you think this seems like a strange headline coming from someone who is luke warm on the Spanish Immersion funding/payment model... However, let me explain why it is the truth.

Not only did the RSI parents raise enough funds to pay for foreign teaching assistants who brought with them their fluent Spanish and culture. They also volunteered to provide room, board and transportation to them while here. There have been 9 to 14 of them per year !!!

Their level of volunteerism and giving is excellent !!!!

JGW or Others, Did I miss anything? Any tricks we could all benefit from to driving this level of parent engagement?
RSI PTO Budget

Robbinsdale Schools: Changing? Improving ?

In another blog, the following comment was made:

"We as a community have called upon the board and administration to be
fiscally frugal and focused on "getting those test score ups" (which in my mind
DOES NOT equal academic excellence). That's what they are trying to do, I'm
convinced, though I don't always agree with the means or the desired end, for
that matter. It will be interesting to see if and how the community steps up now given the 180 degree turn we've made from this time last year."

I guess I am curious, has RAS changed in the past year? Are these improvements or degradations from your viewpoint? How would you improve things further?

All opinions encouraged as always !!!

Speed: Close 3 Schools
Speed: Eliminate education monopoly
Speed: Close Sandburg ?
Speed: WMEP
Speed: Libraries, ECFE, Community Ed
Speed: TERM paper

The Good Luck Note

Since political promises and good luck chain letters seem to work, let's see if it will increase our online community and gain more input/opinions.

I promise you excellent luck and good fortune in 2009 if you take just 10 minutes to email this link to 10 or more friends who are interested in improving the RAS community or MN education in general. ACT NOW !!!*

http://www.give2attain.blogspot.com/

* Only guaranteed when forwarded on the 6th Sunday of the month....

Robbinsdale Schools - PTO Funds

Why is it so critical that Parents raise additional funds ? Shouldn't the "District" pay for it all ?

Here are 2 budgets that are posted. (ie we can access them easily) You will note that most of the money goes directly to the classroom, teachers or programs. Please note: these "extras" would not exist if it were not for parent funding....

I am impressed by the RSI fund raising capability, and I guess this confirms they were allowed to fund the hiring of Teaching Assistants. This is a good thing that other RAS schools were not allowed to do. (ie deemed an unacceptable "white privilege") Hopefully other schools will be allowed to do this if it is deemed necessary by the parents...

You may also note that ZLE started 2008/2009 with no safety net. This is because the PTO replaced the broken playground structure in 2007/2008. (~$40+K) (ie costs exceeded revenues) Should safe modern play structures be a PTO or RAS expense? We thought it was a worthwhile "extra".

Thoughts?

ZLE PTO Budget
ZLE PTO Home Page
RSI PTO Budget
RSI PTO Home Page

Robbinsdale Schools Volunteerism

Last night I attended the Zachary Lane Elementary "Parents Night Out". This is an excellent opportunity for parents and school employees to get together in a social setting and have fun. This year it was held at the West Medicine Lake Community Center, which is a great site for such events. The activities included a silent auction, party games, a DJ, food/drink, a live auction and a lot of mingling.

As I sat there selling drink tickets, I pondered the group that was present and noticed that almost all of them were very familiar. First, they were the same core volunteers that make sure things happen at the school. Second, most of them had older kids. (9 yr ZLE veterans like myself) I then wondered what can we do to engage a larger group, and the newer parents as core volunteers. Hopefully someone is their to takeover for the veteran volunteers when they retire to middle school.

The interesting thing is that we can still find volunteers to help out at school events, in the classroom or to fill two hour shifts. The challenge is finding the core organizers who are willing to step up, make the time, and lead the PTO and its necessary fundraising events. These are the jobs that take 100+ hrs per year and are critical to organizing and funding the programs that make the school special. (ie playgrounds, academic offerings, computer equipment, library supplies, etc)

Next year we will lose the "most recent" incredibly dedicated and energetic fund raising coordinator. Hopefully, as the veterans move on the new players come up to the plate to carry on the tradition.