Statement of the Burlington Coalition for Community Schools on Poverty and Education in Burlington

The problem of poverty in the Burlington Schools is real. Close to 50% of students in the schools live in families who don't earn enough to consistently meet all basic needs. As we have been participating in discussions about poverty and the schools over the past year, it has become clear to us, both from reading numerous studies and from our own experience, that the underlying issues of low wages, poor housing, inability to pay for healthcare, lack of transportation, and insufficient government safety nets make it incredibly difficult for many students to learn in the schools.

We do not believe that any proposals that consist only of reconfiguring the distribution of students from low-income families will address any of these underlying issues. While economic heterogeneity clearly has benefits, we believe that there are ways to accomplish this while maintaining and improving the existing six neighborhood elementary schools.

We do believe that the school district, city and community have an obligation to address the underlying issues of poverty, and therefore we suggest the following approaches:

We call upon the Burlington School District to:

• Foster PTOs and other forms of parent involvement, recognizing that differences in wealth between schools will require greater resources be invested in fostering parent involvement in some schools;


• Maintain neighborhood elementary schools, so that all parents have a chance to be involved in their children's school;


• Working more actively with PTOs from schools in lower-income areas to recruit families who have choices;


• Encourage schools to be open for parent enrichment and development;


• Demonstrate a commitment to economic justice by paying livable wages;


• Play a leadership role in educating parents about the school district's ability to educate all students by taking firm public stands in support of:
  
  1. Universal Health Care;
  
  
  2. Federal spending that adequately funds education and antipoverty efforts;
  
  
  3. Repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act
  
  
  4. The need to increase the State's per pupil base education grant as enrollment declines state-wide, and move from regressive property taxes to progressive income and wealth taxes as the primary funding source for our schools.

We call upon the City of Burlington to:

• Continue facilitating the construction of family-friendly affordable housing in Burlington and to increase enforcement and penalties for landlords who do not keep their apartments safe and healthy for families.


• Play a leadership role in coordinating city, nonprofit and school efforts to
  
  1. provide after-school and summer learning and enrichment opportunities for all students, regardless of family income;
  
  
  2. address underlying issues of poverty.


• Play a leadership role in educating citizens about the school district's ability to educate all students by taking firm public stands in support of:
  
  1. Universal Health Care;
  
  
  2. Federal spending that adequately funds education and antipoverty efforts;
  
  
  3. Repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act;
  
  
  4. The need to increase the State's per pupil base education grant as enrollment declines state-wide, and move from regressive property taxes to progressive income and wealth taxes as the primary funding source for our schools.

As the Coalition, we recognize that the involvement of parents and community members is critical to the success of any effort, and we are committed to integrating our schools more into the community, fostering greater parent involvement, and working with parents district-wide, nonprofit organizations, and the city and school administration to address the underlying issues of poverty in our community.

PTO Goals: Attached is a list of goals developed by members of the Barnes community. We believe that pursuing such goals in the context of broader commitments by the city and school district will make all of our schools attractive to families who live in the neighborhood. We believe that attempts to increase economic heterogeneity of the schools will not be successful if mandated from above, but only if the schools, parents and city work together to make every neighborhood school a place of learning and community.

Lawrence Barnes School PTO Goals

To improve academic achievement for all of our students, we, the members of the Lawrence Barnes School PTO, assert that we will strive to identify and access the resources needed to strengthen Barnes’ learning environment by meeting with parents, teachers, administrators, staff, after-school staff and other school PTO leaders to review our existing PTO and school activities and plan the upcoming year's events and activities, such as:

• Provide on site, free parenting classes.


• Form a partnership and share resources with a PTO from a more economically-mixed school.


• Sponsor ongoing neighborhood community and cultural events jointly with Wheeler, or other schools.


• Work towards goal of having at least one PTO parent leader in each classroom.


• Ensure vital teacher participation at all PTO meetings and school events by circulating a sign up sheet prior to the event.


• Survey teachers to better identify ways that parents can be involved in the classroom


• Survey parents to better identify ways that they would like to be more involved in school


• Coordinate trainings for parents interested in volunteering in the classroom.


• Coordinate “How to” sessions, for parents wanting guidance in helping their child with homework


• Organize and implement a culturally-sensitive “Welcome Baskets” program for new families and families with preschool aged children in the neighborhood, which would include:
  
  • Welcome to the neighborhood brochure
    
  • Information on the Barnes School
    
  • Coupons & freebies from downtown and ONE businesses
    
  • Free passes to ECHO, the movies, or local museums
    
  • Handout of upcoming community events
    
  • Personal invitation to Barnes’ next Open House and PTO meeting


• Coordinate Barnes Open House for new neighborhood families


• Make the necessary connections to ensure that Barnes students have the opportunity to participate in a school play or chorus


• Work closely with Somali Bantu liaison and VRRP to ensure that all events are adequately promoted throughout our ESL population.


• Collaborate with After School Program Coordinator to expand upon enrichment programs offered and to explore possibility of offering late-afternoon activities that parents and children can participate in together.


• Organize and implement Family Reading Nights, and other special events focusing on academic achievement.


• Work with local businesses to offer incentives for those parents committing to become more involved in their child’s schooling.


• Organize possible speakers for Barnes student assemblies.


• Coordinate summer programming on site at Barnes, promoting food gardening, music, good nutrition, and the arts.


• Coordinate at least one PTO meeting over the summer, to oversee summer programming and to plan for strong showing in September ONE parade.


• Actively seek out Big Brother/Sister mentoring opportunities for students.


• Coordinate on site job fairs for families.


• Coordinate Health & Wellness fair for families, showcasing local resources and services.