The Art of Sharing Power

SharingPowerCo-authored by Ethan Clark.

Lights! Camera! Action! Check out the following dramatic script to see an example of how arts education can be limited and one parent who wants to make a difference.

Colors for Timmy: A dramatic play about sharing power
by Sherri Wilson and Ethan Clark

Cast:
Timmy Wilson

Mrs. Wilson
Principal Clark

Late one evening at the Wilson’s dinner table…

Mrs. Wilson: “What was the best part of your day today, Timmy?”

Timmy: “I liked the painting we did in art class but we only had two colors to choose from and all of our pictures looked the same.”

Mrs. Wilson: “What? Only two colors? Why don’t they have more?”

Timmy: “Mr. Clark said they didn’t have any money in the budget to pay for more paint.”

Later that week, at the principal’s office…

Mrs. Wilson: “How can we get more colors of paint for the children?”

Mr. Clark: “The budget decisions were made by the committee last year.”

Mrs. Wilson: “How can I get on the committee? I’d like to make sure that all the kids get all the colors they need!”

Does this dramatic script resonate with you? Do you think your school needs more arts education? Ask your friends to role play this with you so you can practice having a voice in decisions that affect children. For inspiration check out The Quest, a national award winning film production from Reflections participant Ansel LaPier of Liberty, WA.

The PTA National Standards for Family School Partnerships were developed by leading researchers and practitioners to empower PTA leaders, parents, educators, community members and students to work together for the educational success of all children. The fifth of the six standards Sharing Power. Families and school staff should be equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence, and create policies, practices, and programs. Families and school staff should be equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence, and create policies, practices and programs.

Share power and advance arts learning in your school, with these 3 steps:

  1. Create a PTA taskforce of student, teacher and other school leaders. Welcome community arts professionals.
  2. Assess your school’s arts in education needs: Survey school leaders identify school policies that support arts teaching and learning (e.g. arts learning standards, arts instructional requirements, assessment of arts learning, licensure requirements for arts teachers, etc.). Use the Arts Education Partnership’s State of the States Arts Education State Policy Summary to compare school policies with state laws. Identify areas needing improvement.
  3. Develop an action plan with recommendations to school leaders on how update, adopt, or implement art education policies. Include your “shared power” strategy in official school documents such as a school improvement plan.

The arts — and the National PTA Reflections® program, in particular — can be a valuable tool for building stronger partnerships in your school community and meeting the Standard for Sharing Power.

Read more to learn about each of the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and the steps you can take with PTA Reflections to meet them. Also, consider enrolling in the National PTA School of Excellence program to gain new ways to engage all families in each of the standards. National PTA School of Excellence is a recognition program that supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students. Contact excellence@pta.org or call (800)307-4782 for more info.

Fifth in a series of blog posts co-authored by National PTA’s Senior Manager of Family Engagement Sherri Wilson & Manager of Arts in Education Ethan Clark.

 

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