New National PTA president Betsy Landers: 'We cannot balance the budget on the backs of families and children'

ONLY ON THE BLOG Answering today’s six OFF-SET questions is Betsy Landers, of Memphis, Tenn., who will become the National PTA’s 52nd President when she is installed on Sunday, June 12, 2011.

As the largest volunteer child advocacy association in the nation, National PTA is composed of 54 state congresses and nearly 26,000 local units in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Department of Defense Schools in Europe and the Pacific.

First of all, congratulations. I imagine one the biggest issues you're facing is that many states, fighting huge deficits, must balance their books and they're cutting funding for schools and letting go of teachers and support staff.  What can parents and teachers do in the face of harsh economic realities?

Thank you Jay! I'm honored to have this opportunity to make a real difference for our country's families and children. You're right, funding for schools is being cut everywhere and it has to stop.

Every year schools are asked to do more and more with less and less. Parents fundraise to fill funding gaps so that a school has everything it needs to help their children succeed, but to what end?

As much effort as parents place in fundraising, they should put double the effort into flooding their elected officials' offices with phone calls, letters and personal visits to say "enough is enough." We cannot balance the budget on the backs of families and children.

Far too many children in the United States are obese and suffering ill-health. What work are you doing in this area?

Late last year we lobbied Congress and helped pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which among many great things will improve nutrition standards for foods sold in schools throughout the school day, including vending machines, school stores and a la carte menus.

This is the first time nutrition standards for "competitive foods" in schools will be updated since 1979. We believe this will make a big impact on the childhood obesity epidemic. There is a whole list of positives from the bill in the National PTA fact sheet.

We're also addressing child wellness through our Healthy Lifestyles program which encourages and rewards local PTAs that promote nutrition and physical activity. National PTA celebrates Healthy Lifestyles Month each November and offers Healthy Lifestyle Grants of up to $1,000 to local PTAs to engage parents, schools and families in activities that encourage the school community to be active and to eat healthier foods.

Since the program began in 2007, PTA has given grants to 107 PTAs in 34 states, impacting over 67,000 students. In 2009 alone, 45 PTAs contributed nearly 4,000 volunteer hours and impacted over 20,000 students in their communities. CLICK HERE to learn more.  

At the same time, are how many children in the U.S. are counting on schools as their main source of nutrition? What is happening to the funding for school breakfasts and lunch?

Did you know one-fourth of American youth are at risk of hunger, according to the Institute of Medicine?

Again, the passing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act I mentioned earlier addresses this. The legislation makes a big investment to attack hunger in a several ways. It increases school lunch reimbursement rates, which by the way, is the first increase in reimbursement rates other than inflationary increases since 1973.

It connects more eligible low-income children with school meals by streamlining the certification process for families and states. The bill also automatically enrolls foster children for free school meals. Again, there is a lot more info in this National PTA fact sheet.

The Family Engagement in Education Act (H.R.1821/S.941) was introduced on May 10, 2011 and "incentivizes schools and districts to meaningfully engage families to close the achievement gap." What does the bill actually mandate? Would it demand that all school districts have a written parent involvement policy?

Actually, No Child Left Behind already has mechanisms in place to ensure that schools have policies to engage parents and families. 

The Family Engagement in Education Act makes improvements to the law by incentivizing school districts to use research-based policies and practices to bring the written policies to life using money that already flows from the Federal government.  All too often, schools lack the know-how to meaningfully engage parents, and the current law lacks supports to build the capacity of schools to move beyond paper compliance to true partnership. 

The bill also seeks to improve and safeguard the Parental Information and Resource Center, or "PIRC" program, to ensure that schools, districts, and states have the technical assistance and access to best practices on family engagement in education.

Is the Engagement Act now moving through Congress?

Absolutely!  PTA members from across the country are urging their Members of Congress to support the legislation by becoming cosponsors.  Additionally, PTA is working closely with both the Senate and House of Representatives to ensure that the proposals within the Family Engagement in Education Act are influencing family engagement in education provisions as Congress works to fix No Child Left Behind through the reauthorization process, which is a top priority of not only Congressional leaders, but also of President Obama.  We're confident that momentum around the bill will continue to build. Policymakers are taking notice!

What is the most important thing a parent can do to improve a child's education?

It's simple. Be a parent! Be involved! It's been proven by decades of research again and again. There is a direct link between family involvement and student achievement, regardless of how much money you make or your background, religion or anything else.

If you ensure your child goes to school ready to learn, communicate with your child's teacher, visit the school for more than just the parent-teacher conferences or report card pick-ups, and of course join the PTA, your child will have a much better chance of succeeding academically and in life.