800 Parents “Learn the Law” at Annual United Parents Association Conference
By Tom Kertes

There was one thing crystal clear about the 81st Anniversary Conference of the United Parents Association (UPA): its purpose. “I know why you’re here,” Steve Sanders, the chair of the Assembly Education Committee, said in his opening remarks. “You’re here because you care about public education and the 1.1 million students attending public schools in New York City.

“We–those interested in serving, benefiting, and improving public schools–are going through a particularly difficult time right now exactly because there is an array of strong, powerful forces out there who want to divert our public tax money in order to serve the interests of private or parochial education.

“Now there’s nothing wrong with private schools–but we all know that, no matter what happens, the reality remains that 80-90 per cent of our children will go to public schools,” Sanders added. “So our commitment must be to doing anything possible to support and improve public education.”

UPA, the advocacy group consisting largely of parents involved in PTAs, school leadership and other parent groups, profoundly believes that “the best parent is an informed parent,” according to conference participant Juliana Alvarez, who has a 14 year-old son on the honor roll in Brooklyn’s Thomas E. Dewey High School. “An all-day meeting such as this serves as an excellent tool for parents to get informed –and get even more involved.”

The 700-plus attendees, though generally enthusiastic about the new laws giving the mayor the power to run public schools–and prohibiting the cutting of public school funds in order to balance the budget–exhibited understandable confusion, and an enormous hunger for information, throughout the days’ workshops. “We can no longer afford to just sit back and complain,” said Robin Brown, co-chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council. “Those days have passed. That is no longer the conversation. We now have to inform ourselves on the issues, ask questions–and then do whatever we must to get satisfactory answers.”

Brown led the important “Parent Involvement Policy” workshop, informing participants about the most salient points of the new policy passed by the Board of Education last June 19. “For the first time ever, there is an official acknowledgement on paper–in fact, in contractual form–of the importance of parent involvement,” she said. “Truth is, research shows that the best schools are the ones where the parents are profoundly involved. So this document aims to change attitudes, first and foremost. Parents now must be welcome in schools, instead of being looked upon as a necessary inconvenience. Schools now must develop specific communication plans. On the other hand, now it becomes our responsibility to educate ourselves on the details, and learn how and where and whom to communicate with in the most effective manner within your child’s school.”

The day’s other most popular workshop was aimed at educating participants on the small print in President George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” federal legislation. In particular, “we must gain an understanding as to which schools are entitled to Title I funds under the law,” said Ailene Thompson, Chairperson, Title I, Region 2. “It must be a SURR school, or a school designated for improvement, and/or corrective action.” Title I entitles these schools to Federal funds for supplemental services such as afterschool activities and tutoring. “But, in order to benefit from the funds, the particular children also must be below a certain income level,” warned Thompson. “So we must be careful.

“Look at the details. Study the law. Get on the Department of Education website (www. NYSED. gov), do your research, do whatever else you need to do to get informed. The services are out there. But, without a doubt, the more you know about the law, the more your child will have a real chance to benefit from it.”#