[TNS-list] Why you should run for the PTA Exec

[Matthew K. Gold]

Hi All,

In yesterday's PTA meeting, the current PTA Exec shared some of the reasons
we hope that some of you will volunteer to lead the PTA next year. Since
not everyone could attend the meeting, we wanted to share our thoughts with
you via the listserv.

We hope that you will consider leading the PTA because our school and our
community are in need of care. As a public school with few resources, we
all need to pitch in collectively to keep TNS afloat. The PTA of the
Neighborhood School is a strong organization, with a long history of
providing support to the school. As you know, the PTA funds some of the
basic services that help make the TNS student experience special, including
Art classes, some aides in the classrooms, trips to the farm and camp, and
so much more. We need a strong PTA Exec to keep all of that going and to
ensure a well-rounded education for our kids.

Perhaps more importantly, we think you should consider TNS, and the PTA
Exec in particular, as a place for your activist work. At a moment when so
many of us are protesting the many wrongs we see in the world, we can make
that work local by bringing our activism to our school. Joining the PTA
Executive Committee gives you a chance to help shape the direction of our
community, and to take a vocal stand against DOE policies that
systematically discriminate against people of color, such as a reliance on
standardized testing as a measure of individual or school-wide achievement.
There are other places for that activism, of course, but the PTA offers you
a chance to root your activism in the space where your children learn, and
to put pressure on DOE and elected officials to improve the current
situation.

At this moment, at the end of a long school year, it's hard to think about
donating *more* time on a volunteer basis to another cause, but you should
know that *none* of us on the current Exec have or had time for this,
either. We've *made* time because we're committed to the school and to the
teachers and staff who run it. There is no group of people out there who
somehow have a large amount of free time on their hands -- we're all busy.

You should also join the PTA Exec because it's a chance to work
hand-in-hand with an amazing team of fellow parents. Those of us on the
current PTA Exec are so grateful to have had the opportunity to work
together and learn from each other -- and it has been a fun and deeply
rewarding experience. Two members of our current Exec, Joy Gabriel and
David Stadler, are running for the PTA again, and hope to carry forward the
work the Exec has done this year, building on the work of PTA Execs before
us. The rest of us on the current Exec are committed to staying involved
and offering support, guidance, and help as needed.

We've already started hearing from others who have volunteered to join this
team, but we need others to join -- we need you! You don't need to know
what role you want to run for -- we can put you in conversation with our
current Exec and those planning to run next year to figure out what is
best. You also don't need a special expertise -- people contribute in so
many different ways to the team. What's important is that you are willing
to commit yourself for the sake of our school.

Please consider volunteering. If you have questions, the Nominations
committee will hold a Q&A zoom session today at 5pm (info below). If you
miss that or want to chat separately, please reach out with your questions:


Topic: PTA Elections Q&A
Time: Jun 19, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73439963579?pwd=ME1ieU5IQ2IzbzJzdmYyWEdDUmVsZz09

Meeting ID: 734 3996 3579
Password: 2cjpad


Best,

Matt
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