Central PTA News

Today through April 11, 2008, you can order your 2008-2009 school supply kits online. Just go to www.epipacks.com and enter our school code CEN185. Place your order online and pay with your credit card. Packs will be delivered to the school before the end of the school year.

This year, there are no paper order forms, and all orders must be placed online by April 11.

If you have any questions, please contact Jane Wilhelm (see directory for phone number) or email her at janewilhelm@sbcglobal.net.

Central Families;

Please note the following minor correction to the flyer distributed in the backpacks; the 4th grade school supply pack cost should be $51.00 (vs. the $30.00 noted).  The information is correct on the website. 

Starting today (3/31) through April 11, 2008, you can order your 2008-2009 school supply kits online.  Just go to www.epipacks.com and enter our school code CEN185.  Place your order online and pay with your credit card.  Packs will be delivered to the school before the end of the school year. 

This year, there are no paper order forms and all orders must be placed online by Friday, April 11.

Kindergarten  $27.00                  1st Grade  $35.00                     2nd Grade  $46.00

3rd Grade  $40.00                      4th Grade  $51.00                     5th Grade  $66.00

If you have any questions, please contact Jane Wilhelm at 447-3917 or email her at janewilhelm@sbcglobal.net

The following community news is being shared in regards to the Riverside Pedestrian Tunnel.

The BNSF has filed its formal petition to close the pedestrian tunnel under the railroad tracks in Riverside.  By going to the ICC website, http://www.icc.illinois.gov/e-docket, and looking under Docket # T08-0051, you can see all the filings.  A hearing date has been set for April 29, 2008 at the State of Illinois Building, 10:00 am, 8th floor, 160 N. LaSalle.  If you wish to post a public comment, either for or against the closing, you can do so by accessing:  http://www.icc.illinois.gov/docket/comment/

Be sure to come to the PTA meeting on Tuesday, April 1 at 9 a.m. for a presentation by the PTA/PTO Committee. The committee will be presenting their findings, followed by discussion and questions. All prior articles about PTA/PTO can be found at http://www.centralptanews.org/category/ptapto/. The following is a summary of the differences between an PTA and a PTO:

To see other articles in this series, click here.

*Central PTA convened a committee to investigate the trend of parent groups converting to PTOs. Members include: Jane Wilhelm, Anne Kodama, Nancy Hopkins, Mary Jo Robling, and Mary Ellen Meindl. Questions about this article can be directed to any of these committee members.

Article 5 in a series discussing PTA and PTO

When considering whether the Central parents group should continue its affiliation with the national PTA, it is instructive to ask: How well does our mission fit with that of the national organization?

Though incomplete, Central PTA archives show that the priorities of our group have changed over time. What started in 1893 as an effort to beautify the school, a few decades later had become primarily about parent education, and then evolved further to the group it is today. Indeed, the activities and programs of our PTA today make clear the following priorities:

1. To make possible academic, cultural, and recreational opportunities which are otherwise beyond the means of the school district;
2. To build a sense of community among parents and staff;
3. To educate and support parents in their role as advocates for their child’s education, and for the education of all children in the district;
4. To facilitate communication between parents, principal, and school board.

In other words, our focus is on the educational experience specifically in our school and district.

The national organization, by comparison, has a preference for advocacy on a broader scale, as reflected in the following official objectives, which are required to be in our bylaws:*

1. To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship;
2. To raise the standards of home life;
3. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth;
4. To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth;
5. To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education.

So the question becomes: do we want to continue to be part of an organization whose philosophy, though worthy, is largely out of sync with our own?

What would be possible as a PTO that isn’t as a PTA?
Complete autonomy and, potentially, more inclusivity. (For example: we could decide whether or not to require dues as a condition of membership.)

Is there anything possible as a PTA that we’d lose as a PTO?
“Reflections” is a PTA sponsored program in which we would no longer be eligible to participate. It may be possible to participate in similar programs sponsored by other organizations.

Isn’t parent advocacy important on more than just a school level?
Yes. But, if enough interest exists, our PTO could sponsor educational programs on how individuals can effectively advocate for their beliefs. Right now, your dues support the national PTA platform, whether you agree with it or not.

* For more information on national PTA mission and philosophy, visit www.pta.org.

*Central PTA convened a committee to investigate the trend of parent groups converting to PTOs. Members include: Anne Kodama, Nancy Hopkins, Mary Jo Robling, Jane Wilhelm, and Mary Ellen Meindl. Questions about this article can be directed to any of these committee members.

Note: There are large gaps in the extant PTA records, but based on what we do have, it is possible to piece together the following timeline.

1871: First public school formed to serve the children of Riverside

1893: Riverside parents form the Art League, a group dedicated to “beautifying the school and awakening in the children the love of art.”¹ The group gives gifts of paintings and sculptures to the school.

1914: Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association is formed. “The aim and purpose of this Society shall be to bring parents and teachers into closer co-operation in behalf of all the children in the community.”² Membership is open to all residents of Districts 95 and 96; dues are voluntary.³

1923: The Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association joins the National Council of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations, which, after a couple name changes, becomes the National PTA. Dues become a requirement of membership.

1923-1949: Ames, Hollywood, Intermediate (now Hauser) and Blythe Park schools are built. Ames, Hollywood, and Blythe establish their own parent groups. Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association becomes the Central PTA, and later the Central-Intermediate PTA.

1951: Intermediate parents establish their own, separate PTA.

1973: In a move to save dues money, Hauser parents separate from the national PTA and reorganize as a PTO. The new name is the Hauser Council of Parents and Teachers. This new group is, apparently, uninsured.

1987: Hauser rejoins the PTA because of insurance needs.

1994: The Central PTA executive board files papers with the Illinois Secretary of State to incorporate as a non-profit organization. The board desires to end its affiliation with the PTA to become a PTO, but insurance concerns prevent this from happening.

1996: Executive board again looks at becoming a PTO after the Illinois PTA objects to the planned two-year fundraising campaign for the Reading Garden. Again, concerns about access to affordable insurance prevent any change.

1999: PTO Today offers the first comprehensive, affordable insurance/policy outside PTA.

2006: Wall Street Journal story details trend away from PTA, toward PTO.

2007: Central PTA Executive Board forms a committee to perform a new review of the PTA/PTO debate.

2008: Report presented to membership.

¹ “Hauser School History”, by Joan Shurtleff, 1974
² Constitution of the Riverside-Brookfield Parents-Teachers Association; 1914 Secretary’s Minutes
³ ibid

*Central PTA convened a committee to investigate the trend of parent groups converting to PTOs. Members include: Anne Kodama, Nancy Hopkins, Mary Jo Robling, Jane Wilhelm, and Mary Ellen Meindl. Questions about this article can be directed to any of these committee members.

The next PTA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 1st, 9:00 am, Central School Library.  The meeting has a full agenda of great topics and updates as follows;

• Election of the Central School 08/09 PTA officers
• Central School Art Teacher, Mrs. Mathis, will be in attendance to review the art curriculum
• Central School update by Dr. Limperis and Teacher representative, Mrs. Lutz
• Spring Committee updates; Book Fair, School Supplies, Teacher/Staff appreciation week & luncheon, Pavers, Programs and more
• PTA/PTO Committee will be presenting thier findings followed by discussion and time for questions
• Child care will be provided, location TBD (you will be directed to the location that morning)
• Please click the following link to view a copy of the March 4, 2008 PTA meeting minutes March 4, 2008 PTA Meeting Minutes

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Linda LaBelle.  Enjoy Spring Break!