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There are few decisions more agonizing for parents than to let their children go. In our family, that process began early. We fretted mightily over the first baby-sitter. We researched dozens of day-care centers before settling on one (then promptly pulled our daughter out when we became dissatisfied with the level of care). Finally, we decided to simplify our lives so one parent could stay home. But the fretting and anxiety began anew when it was time for our eldest daughter, McKenzie, to enter the public schools. That's when we got involved with a group of parents who were starting a cooperative school in the Portland School District. However, we backed out when we decided that 30 kindergartners were just too many for one teacher. We decided to send McKenzie to a private school where two full-time, certified teachers tended to the needs of 20 children. The following year, we visited our neighborhood school, but were dismayed to find the walls drab and the leadership uninspired. In one fit of parental hysteria, we even discussed home schooling our children, not out of any deep philosophical commitment, but because we couldn't find the "perfect" match. We did, however, find a magnet school with progressive leadership and innovative teachers where we enrolled McKenzie, who is a thriving third-grader today. McKenzie's kid sister, Maggie, has benefitted from the path we cut and is following in McKenzie's educational footprints. What I've learned in eight years as a parent is that there is no such thing as the "perfect" match between child and school. What that means, though, is that I must advocate for my children. There are a lot of avenues for doing so. Some are the sweet acts of parenting: Listening to the stories my daughters tell provides insights into how engaged they feel at school, how close they feel to classmates, how inspired the teachers are in their approaches. Helping with homework is another way of engaging myself with my daughter and her classroom. There also are classroom visits to make, committees to volunteer on, kids to tutor, and organizations to join. But there is a more difficult side to advocating. This occurs when I feel that a classroom practice, a schoolwide activity, or a district policy is not in the best interest of my daughters. These disagreements also must be addressed, and require parents to be aware of and informed about what's happening in their children's schools. This issue of Northwest Education looks at advocating from the smallest unit —the family— up to the regional efforts of that old war horse, the PTA. I hope you find the stories stimulating and the information useful. As always, I encourage you to drop me a letter or send me an e-mail message with your comments and observations. —Tony Kneidek
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Date of Last Update: 9/28/01 
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