Parents of African American Children—We Need Your Help We must believe, everything will and can go our way, if we work as a team for the benefit of our families, especially the children in the city of Saint Paul. Last summer a group of concerned parents and district staff met to create an Advisory Council. The Council was established by Dr. Delores Henderson, Dr. Fatima Lawson, Dana Abrams, and Aquanetta Anderson. Monthly meetings have been held for the council called Parents of African-American Students Advisory Council, (PAASAC). 

The Vision of the Council is to support the District in the creation of a learning environment, teaching and learning structure that functions so that every African-American child in Saint Paul Public Schools, Pre-K- 12th grade will achieve educational excellence. The Mission is to establish a working partnership with SPPS teachers, administrators, support staff, families, and community organizations by advocating for and ensuring that each African-American child receives the full benefit of public school education that permanently eliminates low performance; replacing it with academic and social high performance and achievement. The Purpose is to promote partnership between the parents, community organizations and SPPS to ensure the academic success of African- American students.

PAASAC is requesting each school to recommend at least one member to be a possible candidate to serve on the Parents of African-American Students Advisory Council.  They have a membership set for 21 members. If you are interested or would like to know more, please let me know by March 13. Thank you for your support to make sure everything works for the betterment of the children.

Are you feeling empowered to serve others? Has President Obama’s call for service connected with you?  The Family Service Committee has put together its Family Volunteering Opportunities Newsletter – Winter 2009 edition to provide inspiration in getting your family started.  Be sure to check your child’s backpack for details! 

Post your list on your refrigerator and check off the projects your family completes.  Please turn your form in by March 27th to the school office and we will recognize each act of kindness on The Giving Tree located in the school lobby.

Optional recess project:  Next week, children will have an option to complete a simple project before heading out to recess.  On Tuesday, grades K, 1, 2 will decorate bags and write a letter for first responders - soldiers, K9 units, firemen, veterans and police.  On Wednesday, grades 3 & 4 and on Friday, grades 5 & 6 will assemble and decorate whisper phones to be used to help beginning readers in the St. Paul School District.  Parents, please consider giving one hour to help build a foundation for service learning for our children.  Any questions, please email chrisbillaerts@comcast.net.

Warm Hearts and Warm Hands The Girl Scout mitten project was a great success. They collected 56 pairs of mittens that will be donated to the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery and Jacob's Coat. They would like to extend their thanks to those who donated mittens.

2009 School Input Our website has a new link at the top main menu. By clicking on 2009 School Input, you can get the latest information on the proposed district budget cuts, you can learn the latest news on our school budget and improvement plan, and you can provide feedback on the budget and improvement plan. The more feedback that is provided the better decision I can make.

Elementary Application Deadline- Parents of any new students in Grades K-6 please turn in your application for 2009-2010 by Thursday, March 5 to the Student Placement Center or our school office.

Budget Engagement Opportunities at the District Level If you are concerned about the budget cuts proposed by District Administration, here are some opportunities to give your feedback to the School Board.

• March 11 - April 10: Web feedback on Budget Shortfall Solutions 2009-2010 - via the web site
• March 26: Board Listening Session (no topic - open forum)

Ways to Stop Bullying by Yer M. One way to prevent bullying is to tell them to stop and if they don’t stop, tell the teacher. When people try to bully, you just walk away. When people hit you, don’t hit back because it’s just going to make the problem worse. If you are getting bullied, tell your parents. Your parents can call the school. The person who bullied you would probably go to the principal’s office. The person that bullied you might not bother you again because they probably don’t want to get in trouble.

Where in the World is Horace Mann School? Don’t forget to turn in your weekly reading minutes during the Readathon. We’re converting minutes to miles. So far our journey has taken us from Mexico to somewhere between Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden. We have 81,000 minutes towards our goal of 400,000 minutes. Let’s see how far we can get!

Does it really matter if students read? Research shows that students who spend time reading for pleasure make greater academic strides than those that don’t

Anderson, R. C., P. Wilson, and L. Fielding. 1988. Growth in reading and how children spend their time outside of school. Reading Research Quarterly 23: 285–303.

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