Graham Hill Elementary

Keith — your creative energy is fantastic, and I'm excited by many of your ideas.

I'm going to post some impressions that I'm sure will stir up some emotions. I feel strongly about this, I'm dashing it off, and I'm broadcasting — three ingredients for email disaster, so I hope none of it comes across as terse. Maybe this message will hit people's email boxes in time to build interest in Keith's Tuesday fundraising meeting, and hopefully it'll get some discussion going here.

I'm concerned about a general hesitancy in the PTA when it comes to fundraising at Graham Hill.

I think I understand the basis — after all, our school has families from all walks of life. The Graham Hill community has been through a bruising fight to accurately define ourselves in the public eye. We're sensitive to differences within the school. The funny thing is — after beating back school closure and winning that fight, we never really evaluated about lessons learned. I worry that we've settled on assumptions about unity that are somewhat apologetic and self-punishing.

Graham Hill succeeds on many levels. One of its successes is that it draws families who have the skills, the financial means, the time, the stability, or the connections to help make bold things happen. Another success is that it draws from families who face great challenges to surmount language barriers, to transcend cultures, to overcome poverty, or to break cycles of violence. The result is a fine-grained mix of children and parents with a depth of experience to share.

But we also have a range of responsibilities, based on what we can offer. In the name of school unity, it's my sense that the PTA has deliberately limited itself. For instance, we've canceled fundraisers and de-emphasized cash donations because we're concerned that it might alienate families unable to write a check.

I think we should integrate fundraising into everything the PTA does. There shouldn't be any clear distinctions between organizing events, building community, having fun, and fundraising.

We should be deliberate and forthright about asking people for money, clear about what we'll do with the funds, and expressly thankful when people are generous with their cash.

It doesn't hurt to ask people directly, politely, and personally to help pay for their children's education. After all, our parent community are all adults — we're pretty good at recognizing our financial limits and to handle our own pursestrings. If I were to ask someone for too much money, I expect they'd be able to tell me as much and adjust my expectations. As a gracious fundraiser, I would make it clear that a smaller donation can be just as meaningful.

Sure, we have to be sensitive to one another. But by not asking people directly and personally to take part, I think we miss a great opportunity to invest parents in our parent organization and in the great things that we can achieve as a school community.

So for a start, I'd like to put another plug in for Keith's brilliant tax rebate stimulus challenge from a little while back. Take a look, and please pledge to it.

All that said, I am interested in taking part. Tuesday night I'm tied up in a public meeting for work. Thanks, Keith, for making your list of ideas so available. I'm looking forward to reading what ideas this group raises.

S.