Over the summer, fall, and winter, parent leaders have put in the WORK that led to this very moment: the release of their Statements of Beliefs on their 2021-2022 #ParentPriorities: School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) supports and Out-of-School Time (OST) programs! Included in the Statements are a key set of solutions that parent leaders recognize as critical to make their vision for these priorities a reality!
Both of these issues have been prioritized by parents in the past. Shifting systems takes time - and the systems surrounding SBMH and OST are no different. Parent leaders have done an amazing job advocating for more funding to be added to the budget for OST since 2017 and mental health since 2018, and both of these issues were included in parents’ comprehensive #DCSchoolsRecovery advocacy in 2020-2021. But the challenge is that parents’ vision for each of these priorities is not only about funding - though you’ll see in parents’ Statements there are dollar asks - it's about the way our system delivers services to families equitably and the way we do this work as DC.
To our DC leaders and policymakers: You have been champions of the funding asks parent leaders have made around each of these priorities in the past, but families are still not seeing SBMH supports and OST programs delivered equitably in our communities. Parents’ Statements of Beliefs on each issue are a roadmap for how to get these dollars to families fairly. We cannot wait to meet with policymakers next week during DC Parent Voice and Choice Week (DCPVCW) to discuss these proposed solutions further!
Read BOTH of parent leaders’ Statements of Beliefs to see the #ParentPower for yourself!
NEXT WEEK, 113 PAVE Parent Leaders in Education (PLE) Board members will come together around the (virtual) table in the “Room Where it Happens” to lead meetings with DC Councilmembers, Chairman Phil Mendelson, and Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn!
Parent leaders are so excited to discuss the policy solutions they wrote about in each of their Statements of Beliefs with their elected officials and policymakers, and to partner with our leaders to make their vision for SBMH and OST a reality. Follow along on social media next week to see the #ParentPower in action!
Join the #PurpleWave that our DC leaders can’t ignore: add your name to each of parents’ Statements of Beliefs to STAND WITH PARENTS!
