It’s a cold damp night in Issaquah and a shadowy PTSA president figure is sitting on the overpass looking down on Front Street as the traffic rushes pass on the I-90 the scene below is not too rosy, and the person is wondering if it was all worth it . Then this Clarence character sidles up and says what you see is an Issaquah community without the support of PTSA where;
- Parents have no thoughts on how they can understand the latest events in the world of schools and how it affects their students.
- Popular topics such as internet use and homework go un-discussed as a community.
- Schools have empty rooms where books should be. And tables are free of computers and trollies are empty of laptops. Textbooks are old and tatty or nonexistent.
- There are science classes with little or old curriculum and empty spaces on the walls with broken down chalkboards.
- Children are in their homes as they have no directories to arrange study groups and play dates.
- Technology has not advanced from the 70’s and children are not LOLLING as they use slide rules for their math and science problems.
- Student’s lives seem drab without color and art in their lives.
- There are students huddled around a fire experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
- Youths are wandering around directionless looking how to channel their time into community service.
- School buildings are surrounded by a barren waste with no play equipment.
- There is a deafening hush from parents.
Clarence then carries on BUT this is what Issaquah is like without PTSA so let me show you where you have made a difference………………
- Parents speak up for their student and advocate for them based on programmes and support provided to help them understand our education system.
- There is a student in art school spurred on due to the Reflections programme where they won a prize.
- A wizz kid is at Digipen writing great apps to save lives or just make them easier.
- A student who volunteered with a community group who now has found a calling working with disadvantaged kids.
- Healthy kids who have no idea how to smoke a fake cigarette in a school play because they have never tried for real.
- Who knows which athletes got to play in our beautiful playgrounds that allow kids to develop physical social and motor skills.
- There are teachers rounding out their curriculum and teaching with books, software licenses and equipment made possible by grants from PTSA.
Oh so BTW “It’s a wonderful life with PTSA in Issaquah for our students, staff and parents”