H T T P : / / W W W . P A L O A L T O P T A . O R G /

Palo Alto Counci l o f PTAs

COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT: 2012-2013

ADDENDUM TO CA STATE PTA EXHIBIT D8:

COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT FORM

S u b mi t t ed to

T h e C a l i f o r n i a S i x th D i s t r i c t PTA

(San ta C la ra County, Ca l i f o r n ia )

Ju n e 2 0 , 20 1 3

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Palo Alto PTAC Mission..............................................................................................1  

Strategic Goals: 2011-2012...........................................................................................1  

Financial Overview 2011-2012....................................................................................2  

Key Accomplishments (by Officer/Committee)......................................................2  ADVOCACY...................................................................................................................................................2  PRESIDENT...................................................................................................................................................2  EXECUTIVE VP ...........................................................................................................................................4  PARENT EDUCATION..............................................................................................................................4  COMMUNITY OUTREACH......................................................................................................................5  COMMUNICATIONS..................................................................................................................................5  SCHOOL BOARD OBSERVER ................................................................................................................6  PARLIAMENTARIAN.................................................................................................................................6  MEMBERSHIP...............................................................................................................................................7  TRAFFIC SAFETY........................................................................................................................................7  LEADERSHIP SERVICES ....................................................................................................................... 10  SPECIAL EDUCATION........................................................................................................................... 10  

Addendum B: Unit Programs...................................................................................11  

1

1

C O U N C I L A N N U A L R E P O R T : 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3

PALO ALTO COUNCIL OF PTA’S (PALO ALTO PTAC)

PRESIDENT: Sigrid Pinsky HISTORIAN: Melissa Racz

PALO ALTO PTAC MISSION

The Palo Alto Counc i l o f PTAs works wi th the d i s t r i c t s ta f f , the Board o f Educat ion , communi ty par tner s and the PTAs at the 17 s choo l s to suppor t the s tudents and fami l i e s o f the Palo Alto Uni f i ed Schoo l Dis t r i c t and to improve the educa t ion , hea l th and we l fare o f a l l ch i ldren and youth .

STRATEGIC GOALS: 2012 -2013

1. Advocate For, Promote, and Support Student Social/Emotional/Physical Health

a. Advocate for: i. Student emotional health and well being; ii. The understanding of learning differences; iii. Efforts to help each child to maximize his/her potential through individual definitions of success;

b. Use PTA programs and channels to: i. Inform parents and community about trends/programs/issues; ii. Sponsor parent education presentations on relevant elementary and secondary topics; iii. Improve internal communications and foster strong working relationships with school board and district staff; iv. Connect PTAs to relevant community service organizations such as Youth Community Service (YCS), Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), and Adolescent Counseling Services, et al;

c. Encourage program emphasis on social/emotional learning; d. Work with PAUSD to promote stress reduction, good nutrition, fitness, sustainable schools,

emergency preparation, and school commute safety.

2. Advocate For, Promote, and Support PAUSD Strategic Goal A ("create an exceptional learning environment that engages, challenges, and supports all students" including recent work on writing, math/science, civic, and arts education):

a. Advocate to ensure high academic expectations, curricular and instructional challenge, and support for all students;

b. Use PTA programs, communication channels, and Executive Board to: i. Inform parents and community about participation opportunities, trends, programs issues, reports, surveys, and survey results; ii. Sponsor parent education presentations (Elementary topics different from Secondary; iii. Foster strong working relationships with school board and district staff; iv. Connect PTAs to relevant extracurricular resources and programs; v. Participate, early and ongoing, in district discussions on instructional materials, standards, vision, and philosophy; vi. Gather input from PTA members to help inform actions.

2

2

3. Maintain and Enhance a Strong, Effective Palo Alto PTA:

a. Promote benefits of PTA programs and encourage volunteering; b. Foster inclusiveness and diversity in our membership and add active and passive members;

i. Recruit student members and volunteers; ii. Recruit teachers and administrators as members; iii. Recruit community members and past PAUSD parents to join the PTA;

c. Build leadership through consistent PTA unit training and support; d. Facilitate sharing of best practices between schools within and outside the district; e. Meet our statutory obligations; f. Work with Partners in Education to enhance the relationship and leverage both organizations to

benefit our community.

4. Advocate for All Children Using PTA Local, State, and National Advocacy Networks:

a. Continue to strengthen and broaden our communication network to keep our community informed and to keep PAUSD informed of parent views and concerns;

b. Evaluate local, state, and national legislative issues and determine which ones should be pursued and brought to the attention of our Council;

c. Stay current on state and national education policy and law, and participate where appropriate; d. Increase the role of advocacy within the Council and units.

(See Addendum A for additional details and progress on Annual Goals relating to our Strategic Goals)

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW 2012 -2013

Each year, the 17 units in the Palo Alto Council raise over one million dollars to support programs for their school communities. Sums vary depending on school size, membership, and other factors. Sources of funds are direct appeals (the major source of funds at the secondary schools), auctions, book fairs, gift wrap and other product sales, kids’ art cards, eScrip, festivals and carnivals, pancake breakfasts and spaghetti dinners, running events, t-shirt sales, and many other events. The funds are spent over a wide variety of uses, including: technology, teacher grants and student scholarships, principal discretionary funds, parent education and student assemblies, hospitality/community building/staff and teacher appreciation, site beautification, homework clubs and after-school enrichment activities, scholarships for students and teachers for field trips, science programs and foreign language trips, library books, math workbooks, core literature books, grammar workbooks and teacher resource material, promotion and graduation parties, science fair support, classroom funds for teachers, children’s theatre, art supplies, compostable supplies, noon exercise programs and recess equipment, college fairs, playground structures, leadership training for students….and more.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS (BY OFFICER/COMMITTEE)

ADVOCACY (NANCY KROPP)

PTAC Advocacy assisted Gunn and Terman PTAs organize a School Board Forum at Terman Middle School. Advocacy, in a support role, held committee meetings, communicated with the candidates, solicited questions from the community for the candidates, and worked the event. organized a School Board Forum at Terman Middle School. Advocacy held committee meetings,

3

3

communicated with the candidates, solicited questions from the community for the candidates, and hosted the event. PTAC Advocacy formed a PTAC Buena Vista Advocacy committee regarding the potential displacement of 103 PAUSD students living in the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park . The PTAC committee researched the situation, PTA precedent on helping students facing losing their homes, and advocacy options.

Upon finding precedent to support the 103 PAUSD students, in the PTA state resolutions, the Committee worked with other organizations assisting the Buena Vista families, meeting regularly with Friends of Buena Vista, the Community Working Group (“CWG”), and the Buena Vista residents.

PTAC Advocacy assisted with the Proposition 38 signature gathering drive to place the state PTA co-sponsored Prop. 38(raising funds for pre-school and K-8) on the ballot. Advocacy did slideshow presentations throughout PAUSD at multiple school sites and 6th District locations, educating parents about the state of CA and local school funding, Proposition 30 and Proposition 38.

PTAC Advocacy advocated for, and passed a PTAC motion supporting the 103 PAUSD students remaining in the PAUSD through affordable housing options. The Buena Vista PTAC Advocacy Committee continued to hold regular meetings, and meet with the other organizations advocating on behalf of the Buena Vista students and their families.

The Committee worked with the PAUSD School Board, educating each School Board member individually on the situation, and obtained a School Board resolution supporting the 103 PAUSD students.

PTAC Advocacy did Post- Proposition 30 school funding slideshow presentations in PAUSD and 6th District, discussing the Governor and Legislature’s proposals to address school funding for the 7 year duration of the Proposition 30 funds, and how such proposals will impact Palo Alto and California schools.

PTAC Advocacy attended various conferences throughout the year related to school funding issues and advocacy, including a 2-day Sacramento conference, a 1-day San Ramon conference, and 4-day San Jose conference, and several ½ day school finance seminars. That information was then incorporated into the Advocacy presentations to PTAs and parents throughout the year.

PRESIDENT (Sigrid Pinsky)

In the fall we co-sponsored League of Women Voters Palo Alto School Board Candidates Forums. We also spent much time lobbying for Prop 38. As PTA Council President, Sigrid sits on the Project Safety Net Steering Committee. Sigrid worked to promote Developmental Assets at all units and across the community through communication, Parent Education Events, sponsoring Project Cornerstone classes at most units and sponsoring QPR training. Traffic Safety accomplished a great deal of important work. Health and Wellness worked mostly on school lunches and effected some real changes. Our Council supported CAC events and efforts. Our Communications were strengthened, expanded and improved through the website, enews and meetings. Our Communications team has also worked with units to develop unit websites. We placed Advocacy at the center of our year: we had speakers from Sixth District and State come to several meetings to discuss PTA Advocacy history and focus. We worked with the units to raise the profile of advocacy and how central it is to our work. PTA Council was an active participant in the PAUSD Strategic Plan Refresh work this year. Sigrid attended many working meetings, provided input on the survey and helped organize and facilitate the community meetings. Sigrid worked with Racing Hearts to install the AEDs we had already purchased and to secure funding to install additional AEDs at each school This was very rewarding progress on an important issue.

4

4

Our Council continues to collaborate closely with PiE. We worked together on developing a new joint PTA PiE brochure and asked PiE to present to our leadership several times this year. We continue to have a strong cooperative relationship with District staff. In addition to our regular monthly meetings with Superintendant Skelly (and his regular attendance at Presidents and Executive and General meetings) this year Sigrid worked very closely with Brenda Carrillo, Cathy Mak, Ann Dunkin, Diana Wilmot and Charles Young among others to work through issues as they arose. Sigrid also met with individual PTA presidents and principals regarding unit and site specific issues. Sigrid attended many unit PTA meetings and worked individually with Executive Board members on a regular basis.

EXECUTIVE VP (Susan Usman)

In the early fall Susan scheduled all of the meetings for the Executive Board, General and Presidents meetings. Susan helped Sigrid with fall training for incoming unit presidents and executive vice presidents. Susan put together power point presentations for several executive board meetings and most of the General meetings. The first Wednesday of the month she had Executive Board meetings. On the second Wednesday of the month, Sigrid and Susan met with Dr. Skelly. The third Wednesday of the month she had General meetings with the exception of November, December, April and May (our by-laws call for 5 General meetings per year). On the fourth Wednesday she had Presidents meetings. In between all the official meetings, Sigrid and Susan met on a semi regular basis to keep each other abreast of each of our endeavors.

Early in the year Susan began working with Cindy Wenig and Rebecca Scholl to understand their mission of bringing healthier lunches and greater variety of choices of lunches to our school district. We have had several meetings during the school year with Cathy Mak, the district’s Chief Business Officer and Alva Spence, the district’s food service manger, to effect changes in district food offerings. Despite the district’s constraints, they have achieved many changes.

Susan was the question sorter for the League of Women Voters forum and the forum held at Palo Alto High School. Also, during the election time, much time was spent via email on Nancy Krop’s advocacy presentations on educating people about Prop 38.

In December Susan helped Ellen Shell organize the Staff Appreciation Brunch. In January Susan volunteered to be on the Nominating Committee and ended up being the

committee chair. She met weekly for 5 weeks with much emailing and phoning in between to find people to fill PTAC positions. The slate was presented at the February 20th General meeting. She is still working on filling open positions.

Ellen Shell, VP of Hospitality, and Susan began work in the fall looking for and researching several venue ideas for this year’s HSA event, but she didn’t begin to meet consistently until January. Susan enticed Barb Spreng, Rebecca Fox, Roxanne Mehta and Mercedeh Sheik to be on the committee with. They hit the ground running in late January and didn’t stop until at least a week after the May 10th breakfast. Because it was PTAC’s 90th anniversary, Susan spent a great deal of time reviewing our historical records and put together a slide show with highlights of our past. Susan has also been the Paly PTAC representative and attended all the Paly PTSA meetings. She is the liaison to the PiE Board and attends monthly meetings. She is on the Developmental Asset Initiative, a sub-committee of Project Safety Net, as the PTAC representative and attends their monthly meetings. She has attended almost all of the Project Safety Net general meetings this year. Susan helped Sigrid with spring training of the unit incoming presidents and EVPs. Sigrid and Susan just had a budget meeting with outgoing treasurer, Laura Mifflin, and incoming treasurer, Ken Shark. Susan also will be meeting in June to review our by-laws that are up for renewal this year.

PARENT EDUCATION

(Nirmala Patni and Hemla Makandullabh)

In the 2012 - 2013 school year the Palo Alto PTA Council Parent Education chairs

5

5

concentrated on the social and emotional well-being of our students and parents. They strongly advocated for utilizing local resources whenever possible. Nirmala and Hemla were able to present three sessions this year to community members throughout the city, through in-person events, and also offer smaller session in the local schools.

The “Sounds Minds, Sounds Bodies” event was a collaborative effort with Gunn High School to help increase parents awareness and also offered tools to address various mental health issues. The event was an integrated approach to promote teen mental health and happiness. The event was held January 23, 2013, 7-9:00 pm at Spangenberg Auditorium - Gunn High School The event was a panel discussion on teen mental health and well-being, moderated by Dr. Shashank Joshi, with particular emphasis on: The role of the primary care physicians to help identify and address teen mental health needs, and how to navigate the health care system when specialty care is needed, and how we can improve these processes in our community. The importance of sleep and its impact on academic performance and stress. The romance of adolescent risk in the Digital Age. Mindfulness to decrease stress and enhance well-being. The speakers included: Shashank Joshi, M.D., psychiatrist and Stanford University assistant professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and education. He is actively involved in the ROCK program (for "Reach Out. Care. Know."), and he is now directing the Sources of Strength program as it rolls out at Gunn High School. Sources of Strength is using peer networks to help support fellow students and to connect with caring adults. Meg Durbin, M.D. , internist and pediatrician at PAMF since 1996. She is the co founder of the HEARD Alliance, which is working to improve mental health care for teens and all ages in our community. Dr. Rafael Pelayo, MD., associate professor and physician specializing in the treatment of sleep disorders in children and adults, Stanford University. He has served as chair of the Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board of the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Heart Lung Blood Institute at the NIH. Gloria Moskowitz-­‐Sweet, LCSW, PPSC, school social worker, educator, program developer, and university lecturer since 1981. She was the coordinator of Parents Place Community Education and Bullying Prevention Center on the Peninsula for five years and a lecturer in the graduate program of social work at San Jose State University for 20 years. Amy Saltzman, M.D., internist and expert on holistic medicine. She has conducted research studies with Dr. ess instruction to children and adults. http://www.stillquietplace.com/about_dr_amy.html

Project Cornerstone’s work with the 41 Developmental Assets was a big focus for parent ed. It was extremely important to make sure as many units had the opportunity to participate in the “Take It Personally” six weeks workshop. Project Cornerstones presentation on the 41 Developmental Assets and then the 6 week “Take it Personally” workshop was held at several morning sessions at several local units.

In partnership with Project Safety Net we were able to present a QPR training event for the community. Project Safety Net Parent Ed was held Nov. 15, 2012 7-9pm, Ask a Question Save a Life! Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) is 90 minute training is designed to equip participants with the necessary tools to recognize the warning signs of suicide. It taught the three-step QPR method – Question, Persuade, Refer. After completion of this training participants will have the knowledge, resources and courage to be a QPR Gatekeeper. For the parents of 6th-12th graders.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH (Sara Woodham Johnson)

The PTAC Community Outreach team sponsors outreach and community building events for underrepresented minority parents: (a) to provide resources and skills to help parents help their kids succeed academically in school; (b) to encourage greater participation in school district activities and events; and (c) to improve communication between parents and teacher(s). Events:

6

6

3/4/13 and 3/19/13 Partnered with PAUSD to drive up enrollment numbers for summer school among underserved minorities. Events held in EPA, and we perhaps tripled enrollment over 2012. 1/21/13: MLK Day Participation with tables at EPA YMCA and Lytton Plaza working with YCS 1/30/13: Participation at Jordan Middle school Parent Outreach Event for struggling students Fall Newsletter: Newsletter focused on district change of graduation requirements and district efforts to support improving stats for students not meeting A-G requirements. Meetings with PAUSD Admin: Meetings in Oct 18 2012, Nov 20, 2012, and May 2, 2013 with Mike Milliken, Judy Argumedo and Kathleen Meagher (not always with all 3 of these District Admins - Mike M. was at all meetings) to discuss efforts of the district and provide feedback re experiences from community re struggling students or underserved minority students.

COMMUNICATIONS (Jean Znidarsic)

This year Jean worked with several dedicated volunteers to renovate the PTAC website. Please go to the website at paloaltopta.org to see the new design which will enable users to more easily access and update information.

The Communications team also provides PTA communications channels, such as eNews and newsletters, to parents for Project Safety Net-related topics like 41 Development Assets. Jean works with the PTA units to submit possible articles of interest to local papers.

This year, the Communications team worked to document the process for communicating information and publicizing events. Having this process documented helps organizers understand the best ways to publicize their events using the many channels available such as pony fliers, eNews, and press releases.

SCHOOL BOARD OBSERVER (KIM BOMAR AND KAREN SUE ROLPH)

The school board observers attended Board of Education meetings and wrote up detailed summaries that were distributed to PTA Council and Presidents and forwarded to general membership. The School Board Observersc Communicate key information about the district and BoE to parents, including topics such as budgets, funding, board agenda and action items. Details of how parents can get involved, and when and where discussions will take place will also be included.

PARLIAMENTARIAN (BARBARA SPRENG)

The parliamentarian’s main goal was to train and assist unit parliamentarians, which was accomplished at the Fall Training and throughout the school year. Another goal this year was to keep all 17 schools as current as possible with their bylaws and to support them to the fullest extent possible. In addition, Barbara provides assistance for all the schools with the nominating committee process over the last several months of the school year.

7

7

MEMBERSHIP

TRAFFIC SAFETY (PENNY ELLSON)

PTAC Traffic Safety Committee Goal: To sustain our Safe Routes to School Partnership with PAUSD, City of Palo Alto, PABAC and other community groups to reduce risk to students en route to and from school and to encourage more families to use alternatives to solo driving more often. Our Annual Goals are aligned with Strategic Goal 1. d. Work with PAUSD to promote stress reduction, good nutrition, fitness, sustainable schools, emergency preparation, and school commute safety: • AG 1-5. Sponsor walk, bike, carpool, and other alternative mode encouragement programs,

pedestrian/bike safety education, and partner with the City of Palo Alto (CPA) and PAUSD to promote safe routes to school.

• AG 1-6. Support the review, development and release of a planned update to the Palo Alto Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Plan (last update 2003).

• AG 1-7. Coordinate with the City of Palo Alto (CPA) and the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) to promote and schedule TS101 courses and connect graduates to League Certified Instructor (LCI) Certification seminars, with the goal of developing and maintaining a pool of LCIs to support district-wide bicycle safety educational programs.

• AG 1-8. Collaborate with City of Palo Alto and PAUSD on engineering and enforcement projects to further improve safety of school commuting children. Advocate for funding of such projects.

• AG 1-9. Work with City of Palo Alto on improving Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program performance measurement to be consistent with national SR2S data collection standards.

2012-13Accomplishments relative to goals and 5 E’s (Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Enforcement, Evaluation): • Recruited and trained 27 Traffic Safety Reps (TSRs), providing representation at all 17 PAUSD

school sites. • Updated and maintained Palo Alto PTA Safe Routes to School website

http://saferoutes.paloaltopta.org/index.shtml.

8

8

• Work with City of Palo Alto and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to coordinate League of American Bicyclist TS101 class, a prerequisite course for bike safety instructor certification. Collaborating to train trainers to address instructor shortage.

• Provided support for revision of the City of Palo Alto Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Plan. Reviewed and commented on drafts at various stages, distributed bike survey to PAUSD families, helped to publicize related public meetings to PAUSD families and staff.

• Assisted City of Palo Alto Police Chief in getting annual letters with traffic safety information to all schools.

Traffic Safety Education: • Collaborated with City of Palo Alto Transportation and PAUSD Staff on implementation of in-

school traffic safety education: o Kindergarten “Safe Moves” pedestrian safety class seminar and practice o 1st Grade “Safe Moves” pedestrian safety participatory assembly o 2nd Grade “Safe Moves” pedestrian safety participatory assembly o 3rd Grade Bike Programs (3 lessons: bike safety basics, key traffic skills for cyclists (grade

level assembly), on-bike “bike rodeo” event covering controlled riding, scanning, driveway skills, intersection skills, and helmet fitting

o 5th Grade Bike Safety Refresher (assembly: PowerPoint and “Bicycle Zone” video) o 6th Grade “Drive Your Bike” (making safe choices)

• Collaborated with City of Palo Alto Transportation and Parks & Recreation Departments to offer outside of school: o Middle School Bike Skills (after school program for children age 10-14) o TS101 bike safety skills for older teens and parents.

• Coordinated three “Bringing Up Bicyclists” Parent Ed. classes, this year sponsored and hosted by PTAs and TSRs at Palo Verde, Ohlone, and Barron Park Elementary Schools.

Encouraging Alternatives: • Organized two district-wide events to encourage more families to use alternative transportation

modes for their school commutes through fun community events that also educated students and parents about the health, safety, community and environmental benefits of alternative mode choices. o October: “Walk & Roll” o April, Earth Week Walk / Bike / Scoot to School Event, “Drive Less Challenge”

(DLC2012) http://drivelesschallenge.com/, and other Earth Week events in conjunction with Sustainable Schools Committee and school site PTA Green Teams

• Continue to organize the successful “Pedaling for Prizes” program throughout the year at Gunn and Walking/Biking Wednesdays at some elementary sites.

• Coordinated with PTA TSRs for several school sites to implement improvements in bike parking, including a VIP ribbon cutting ceremony as a highlight of the Barron Park Elementary School Earth Day celebration

• Supported City of Palo Alto implementation of $660,000 Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Vehicle Emissions Reductions Based at Schools (VERBS) non-infrastructure grant activities that will benefit Palo Alto Safe Routes to School education and encouragement efforts. These include: o School site commute shed assessments o Adult Crossing Guard Establishment Criteria & Evaluation o Development of a new CPA Safe Routes to School web site

– community resources on safe school commuting – safety guidelines – improved site for reporting problems/contact info. – link to PTA Safe Routes to School site

o Walk & Roll to School Maps for each site

9

9

o Schoolpool & Rideshare Programs – web site content and tools to connect parents – information on how to organize walk/bike trains

o Scheduling & Encouragement Activities o Evaluate and expand 3rd Grade Bicycling Skills curriculum o Review and update Middle School Bike Education Program o Improve Parent Education Curriculum & Program—and expand reach o Surveys

– for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measures – mode shift—automated bike/ped count stations – Transportation Survey to comply with federal requirements

Engineering Safer School Commute Routes -Collaborated with PAUSD, CPA, Caltrans, and County of Santa Clara on school route engineering projects, including: • North California Avenue SRTS traffic calming project • Arastradero Restriping • Oregon Expressway Intersection Improvements • Review transportation plans/routes for summer school • Stanford/El Camino Real Intersection Improvement project (crosswalk ribbon cutting ceremony

in October 2012) • Facilities Master Planning Transportation Elements for multiple school sites. • Supported City of Palo Alto Transportation Division in the development and release of an

update to the 2003 Palo Alto Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Plan. • Continued coordination with VTA to fine tune routes and scheduling around Gunn schedule. • Recruited volunteers to maintain VTA notification list to keep Gunn bus riders apprised of VTA

bus schedule changes.

Enforcement Collaboration with PAPD • Meet monthly with PAPD Traffic Team representative and share information re: enforcement

needs and efforts on school commute routes. • Worked with PAPD on spot enforcement issues as they arose. • Collaborated with PAPD and their Explorers team to implement school site bike

licensing/helmet fitting events at request of site PTAs. • Watching City of Palo Alto budget process for possible cuts to funding for PAPD Traffic Team

(ongoing). Evaluation • Conducted annual transportation mode survey and bike counts

o Survey indicates continuing decline in percentage of students coming to school by single-family car, bucking the national trend toward driving to school.

o Bike counts were at a ten-year record high at Gunn and Paly (again). o Middle school bike counts continue on upward trend.

• Citywide Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation Plan was completed with excellent Safe Routes to

School components, and the city has begun implementation in collaboration with SRTS partners. • Walk & Roll Mapping at most PAUSD sites is done or well underway with a few remaining sites

to be completed in the fall. • District-wide October Walk & Roll and April Earth Day encouragement events, amongst many

other encouragement activities initiated by individual reps at their sites. • K-6 education programming implemented while beginning work on an update of our traffic

safety curriculum and materials. PAPD Traffic Team positions funded again with new assignments forthcoming.

10

10

LEADERSHIP SERVICES (HAZEL WATSON)

o Fall Leadership Training: On September 19, 2012 we held the following training workshops for all 17 units, which were lead by members of the PTAC Executive board. From 75 PTA unit officers attended the workshops. 1) Presidents 2) Treasurers and Auditors 3) Parent Education 4) Communications 5) Community Outreach 6) Parliamentarians 7) Secretaries

o o Spring Leadership Training: On May 15, 2013, we ran training workshops for the incoming

and continuing Unit Presidents, Treasurers and Communications chairs including eNews and website. We combined this with a Staff Appreciation Coffee for all PAUSD Central Office staff members.

o o Created Leadership Services section of the paloaltopta.org website. I created a small section

on the website as a resource for pta officers to refer to find PTA e-learning modules and also the presentation materials from the Fall training workshops.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

(MARY VINCENT)

o This has been a very busy and rewarding year for Special Ed/Inclusion. We hosted many

events this year. o In the fall we worked on candidates forums and had the Media Center video tape them. o In December we promoted Inclusive Schools Week and encouraged all units to participate

with recommended activities. In January we were asked by PAUSD to provide hospitality for Dr Villa's presentation. Dr. Villa, a world renowned expert on inclusion, was invited to Palo Alto by two Barron Park parents. The District co sponsored the Barron Park event and arranged for him to also meet with all principals. Also in January we held and ADHD event.Our annual Sweetheart Awards ceremony as held in February. This event, as always, was well attended and very powerful. In March we hosted a showing of "Dyslexia". We bought the public performance rights so we can show the movie as many times as we like for years to come.We hosted the Bus Driver Appreciation Brunch in May. We did an extensive presentation on Inclusion to Project Safety Net. This event had three moving speakers and was very well received.

11

11

ADDENDUM A: UNIT PROGRAMS

Addendum B lists programs available at the units, which include social-emotional learning, fitness programs supported at each school, enrichment programs at the elementary schools, and community-building events held at each school. K-12 school programs related to social-emotional learning Addison Lifeskills, Students Offering Solutions (SOS) for 5th graders Barron Park Second Steps (K-2) and Steps to Respect (3 – 5) Briones Second Steps and Steps to Respect Duveneck Peaceful Playgrounds, WOW – Working Wonders El Carmelo Tools of the Heart, monthly Character Assemblies, Peaceful Playgrounds Escondido Second Steps (K-2) Steps to Respect (3-5) Fairmeadow Second Steps and Steps to Respect Walter Hays Steps to Respect (not sure yet if all grades are involved), 6 Seconds,

Primary Social Skills), Core Values program Hoover Steps to Respect (3 – 5), Peaceful Playgrounds,

Conflict Resolution (Walk, Talk and Rock) Nixon Lifeskills Ohlone 6 Seconds, Social Inclusion assembly, Cyber bullying pilot program Palo Verde Lifeskills/Character Traits JLS: Panther Camp Terman: Tiger Camp, Terman has an active program promoting social kindness and

positive behavior among all students. Each grade level has a series of lessons with follow through activities starting at the beginning of the year. Staff actively discourages mean or bully type behavior. Our student group, Tigers Achieving Social Kindness – TASK – works with 6th graders to promote a safe school environment.

Palo Alto High School: Living Skills class: provides students with knowledge and preventive skills that will enable them to: 1) make informed, responsible decisions about issues that affect personal health and well-being, 2) establish and sustain healthy, rewarding, interpersonal relationships, 3) manage life crises, and 4) cultivate the understanding, appreciation, and practice of democratic values and behavior appropriate for a responsible community member.

Gunn High School: Living Skills class: Major topics include individuality, influences on teens, smart decision-making, communication, conflict resolution, personal organization, physical and emotional health, substance abuse, sexuality and life lessons. Sponsored parent education events on Teen Academic Stress.

Explanation of Programs:

• 6 Seconds – teaches about emotional intelligence • Lifeskills – character education and responsible self-management. • Peaceful Playgrounds – covers conflict, not bullying. Provides for a structured play

yard and getting kids involved in play

12

12

• Talk It Out – conflict resolution • Second Steps – teaches K – 2nd grade concepts social/emotional skills related to

empathy, respect, how to make friends, and showing kindness • Steps to Respect – teaches kids to recognize bullying and harassment. Provides

tools that enable kids to recognize, understand, and deal with bullying in a supportive environment, within the context of daily school life.

• Students Offering Solutions (SOS) – students may apply to become part of the SOS team, which takes conflict resolution training and then resolves conflicts on the playground

• WOW – Working Wonders – teaches kids they have the power to affect positive change in the community.

Elementary school programs related to fitness Many of the elementary schools have fitness programs that take place during recess. Below is a summary of fitness programs offered: Addison Noon Walking and Noon Yoga Barron Park Noon Running, Zumba, YMCA Games Duveneck Noon Dance, Noon Sports El Carmelo 10-Mile Club, Noon Sports, YMCA Games Escondido 10-Mile Club, Noon Sports Fairmeadow Walking Club, Noon Sports Hoover Run, Walk, and Jog Club, Noon Sports Palo Verde Walking Club, Noon Sports Elementary school enrichment programs Each elementary school has a variety of enrichment programs that enhance the curriculum, such as overnight field trips for the 4th and 5th grades and school-wide assemblies. Below is a summary of the highlights of each school: Addison Balclutha and Coloma overnight trips, Day trips to California Missions,

Noon Art, Noon Chorus, Noon Science, Noon Yoga, Composting, Green Team efforts, Student Council Activities, Inquiry Fair

Barron Park Noon Art, Noon Running, Zumba, Open Garden, Hidden Villa field trip, San Francisco Zoo trip

Briones Monterey day trip, Fort Ross day trip, Balcutha overnight trip, Young Authors Day, Assembles: Street Beat, Wildlife Associates, Theater of All Possibilities, Green Team Committee,

Duveneck Noon Activities: Chorus, Art, Gardening, Science, Table Games Science Fair, Junior Great Books, Astronomy Nights, Math Nights

El Carmelo Book Exchange, California Explorer, Great Books, Monet Art, Revolution Play, Rock Musical, Tall Ships Trip

Escondido Green Team, Audio Systems Program, Ship Trip, Theater Works, Poetry in Motion Trip, Student Leadership Council, Math Tutor, Math Lab, Visiting Author, Noon Art, Game Cart, Reading Specialist, School Library Reading

13

13

Club, School Library Newspaper, Reading garden, 5th Grade Walk Through the American Revolution, Science Fair, Talent Show

Fairmeadow Math Lab, Science Lab, Balclutha Overnight Boat Trip—5th Grade, Colonial Day—5th Grade, Gold Rush Day—4th Grade, Sacramento Trip—4th Grade, Discovery Day, Noon Art, Checkers Club, Chess Club, Wildlife and Water Resources Assemblies, Children’s Musical Theatre Student Plays, Science Fair

Walter Hays Ocean’s Week, Co-Op with 4th grade “Monsters, Mondrian and Me” Hoover Noon Games, Student Council, Book Exchange, Opera in the Schools

performances, Balclutha day trip for 5th grade, Walk Through the American Revolution Reenactment for 5th grade, Sacramento day trip for 4th grade, Palo Alto History trip for 3rd grade, Invention Convention, Visiting Poet, Geography Bee, Noon Board Games and Robotics, Noon Garden Club

Nixon Hiller Aviation, Tech Museum, Soil Shoppe Associates, Roaring Camp, Lawrence Hall of Science, Noon Art, Noon Science

Ohlone Noon Farm, Art, and Board Games, Native American Storyteller for 2nd and 3rd grades, Opera performances, after-school foreign language program, Book Swap, Children’s Theatre production

Palo Verde Writing Club, Reading Club, Noon Art, Noon Games, Green Team, Math/Science Night, Science Fair

K-12 school programs related to building community This year, many of the unit PTAs focused on community building activities. These activities enhance the asset building opportunities for adults and children in our community. Below is a summary of some of the community-building activities sponsored at the schools: Addison Back to School Coffee on the first day of school Barron Park Newcomer Treasure Hunt, Heritage Potluck, Spring Family Fun Day, Pizza

and Ice Cream Social, Ice Skating Party Briones Newcomer Treasure Hunt, Back to School Party, First Day Party, Harvest

Festival and Auction, Math or Science Night, International Potluck, Ice Skating Party,

Duveneck All Harvest Carnival, Ice Skating Party, Earth Week Family Picnic, Spring Social and Talent Show, book and bake sales for charity donations

El Carmelo Bingo, Ice Skating Party, Ice Cream Social, International Day, Pancake Breakfast, Pumpkin Project, Spaghetti Dinner, Stories Under the Stars,

Escondido Community Party, International Fair, Family Ice Skating Party Fairmeadow Healthy Breakfasts for students, Monthly pizza potlucks for each grade

level, Welcome Back Picnic, Kinder Ice Cream Social, New Family Coffee, Welcome Back Coffee, End of Year Coffee, Spring Art Fair, Ice Skating Parties, Harvest Fair and Carnival, Movie Nights

Walter Hays Back to School Popsicle Welcome, Back to School Cultural Potluck, Fall Fest, Pancake Breakfast, Ocean’s Week

Hoover Pizza and Ice Cream Social, Ice Skating Party, Family Games Night, International Festival Potluck, incoming Kinder family playdates

14

14

Nixon Back to School Coffee and Picnic, Pumpkin Festival and Halloween Parade, Ice Skating Party, Family Math Night, International Night, Field Day

Ohlone Ice Skating Party, Bingo Night, Harvest Festival, International Night, Spring Fling and Talent Show, incoming kinder parent coffees

Palo Verde Back to School Ice Cream Social, Back to School Potluck, Harvest Fair, Ice Skating Party, International Fair, Kindergarten Welcome

JLS Back to School Pizza and Ice Cream Social, Many Faces of JLS Jordan Back to School Barbecue, International Festival Terman International Fair, Breaking of the Bread, Juana Run (co-sponsored with

Gunn Sports Boosters), Spring Fling Gunn High School Juana Run (co-sponsored with Terman PTA)