Enlisting and Providing Support Module 4

I am beginning to wonder if my advocacy plan makes any sense at this point. I always feel like I understand what is expected of me, but somehow, I always turn up too short. This is really affecting my confidence.

Do any of you guys have any suggestions? Do you see any holes I may not be aware of? I plan on meeting with a parent from the PTA, another parent from PAC, two teachers, and the parent coordinator. Do you think that is enough people? I don't want it to be too many. I also want it to be as informal as possible, but it doesn't feel informal. It feels like a very big deal. I do not know these people that well, and it just seems....stiff. PLEASE give me any suggestions you may have!

I am seeking any local (Chicago) resources that cater to parent volunteers. Of course I have PTA, and PAC, but I am looking for something more on the grassroots levels. Every schools handles it differently. I can not seem to find anything that connects the school volunteers here in Chicago, and more specifically in my community. I guess that is why I am here!

I am also seeking any ideas or connections to volunteer programs in Chicago schools. It does not have to be limited to public schools. I just really want to know how they are going about it. I need to understand how they handle volunteers, how they coordinate with the school staff.

I found this:

http://www.projectappleseed.org/abc.html

which is a site dedicated to having more parents involved with schools. I absolutely love it.

I also have been using these three sites the most:

http://www.longwood.edu/staff/churchap/Sample Action Plans.htm

http://www.genv.net/en-us/dream_it/selection_panel/presenting_plan_selection_panel

http://www.bonner.org/resources/modules/modules_pdf/BonCurActionPlanning.pdf

I have found a lot of helpful hints and examples of advocacy plans. I recommend them to you guys. I hope we can all do this. This is one of those times I wish this wasn't an on line class....so I could cheer you all on in person :)

WHERE THE ACTION IS: BLOG JOURNAL (Module 3)

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

My advocacy plan has changed since I posted on this plan, so let me fill you in. I was really struggling with it, even in my last post you can see it. It just felt too big and was scary. I kept thinking about how to strip it down, what would be the advocacy that would lead to this advocacy. I thought about how in world did I even have all this information in head. And it hit me. I learned all about Chicago Public Schools and daycares from being in them! Once my children started going to daycare I sat in the classrooms, eventuallly volunteering and even working there. I was in school for teaching and changed my major to Early Childhood Education. I even learned about Kendall from those teachers. That is when I understood where my advovacy had to be, it had to be with parent volunteers.

The thing that excites me most is getting parents involved with their children. I often encourage my friends to go to their children's classrooms. When they call and complain about their schools, I always ask if they have been in the classroom. I just really believe it makes a big difference. I see how proud my own kids are when they see me in their school. I also see form the other end how beneficial it is for the the teachers.

One of my worries is not being able to get parents to the school. I also worry about personality clashes among teachers and parents. I am also worried about not getting others on board with my advocacy. I get nervous and shy about talking to others, and I do think this can hold me back. To get over this I just have to do it. It is nerve wreaking, but I have given myself a timeline, and I am sticking to it. I make all types of list and I look at them to be inspired and to keep myself on track. I also have talked to those I am comfortable with, and it really helps me get my head together.

To encourage others I will be a listening ear, and offer suggestions on how to carry things out. I can also offer them any resources I may have. I would love to have the same in return. Sometimes I just need a soundboard, a written plan, a set of goals and a schedule. This has helped me a great deal so far.

eeeeeek!

So I know there is not any blog assignments due, but I kind of need a sound board. Not sure if anyone out there will respond, but I thought this may be good to keep my own head organized. I keep changing my mind and really need to stay focused.

So last quarter my research paper was "The City of Neighborhood Schools - Where Will Preschool Go?"

My questions were, "How Did it Begin?", "What Happened?", and "What Now?"
I went through the history of how public school began here in Chicago, through the history that not only change the world, but our communities and in turn our neighborhood schools. I closed the paper asking what we are to do now. Chicago has neighborhood schools closing every year with the No Child Left Behind act. On top of this housing projects have been closing as well. This shifts thousands of families, low income families into different neighborhoods, sometimes rivaling areas.

This is where this becomes bigger then me. My head explodes into thousands of directions. I wonder if it is because it is too close to home.

In these neighborhood schools there are preschool programs Head Start and State Preschool for All (previously known as State Prekindergarten Program). These programs served the community as well as the children. They not only provided education, but job opportunities, public services, professional services, and community comradery.

This is where I wanted to start my advocacy plan. But there is also another point I seem to loose focus on. There are even private preschools, many of them also suffer. They way they differ from neighborhood schools is they are a preschool during school hours and a daycare/after school facility after school hours. The school day portion is funded by Head Start or State Preschool for All. These parents work and pay for the daycare/after school facilities on a sliding scale.

Since I am writing on an advocacy for neighborhood schools in particular, because,I am thinking of them as a whole, and not just for preschool purposes. I can enter the private school in a section that talks about options and why these do not work in the long run.

So this is what I am thinking now....literally while writing this.

Introducing my issues with neighborhood school as a bigger issue, how they are in low attendance, being shut down, etc. Then focusing on how the neighborhood school preschools, and how they are affected in troubling schools, well off schools, private schools, and even daycare facilities. Then introducing what has been done about it thus far. The budget cuts, the threats, the protesting.

And then my plan.......

So this is it.

This is my official blog for EDU 412.

Much more to come :)