1. WE CAN DO MORE! WE as teachers are advocates for our students.
WE must give a voice to these children who may otherwise not be heard.
WE do not forget about our students when class time is done.
WE have the power to change their lives for the better.
WE CAN DO MORE!

2. This school year we are beginning to start a new initiative and will concentrate on three areas of advocacy as a school unit. Every staff member of our school, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, custodians, bus drivers, lunch staff and everyone in between is encouraged to be involved in this project. We all care about our students and want to help and encourage them to grow into wonderful people, so please won’t you make this commitment to be their advocate?

3. Concentrated Areas of Advocacy for the 2017-2018 School Year
After gathering information from parents, faculty, and staff, and doing our own research on the subject, we have chosen three areas to concentrate on this school year. The areas of concentration are: Childhood Obesity Prevention, Anti- Bullying, and Parental Involvement. Each of these issues are important to our students and we need all hands on deck to make this a success!

4. Childhood Obesity Prevention
According to the website the national childhood obesity rate among those 2-19 years of age is 18.5%. This number is incredibly high for something that has such dangerous health risks and is preventable. The webpage gives a list of reasons for the drastic number of obese children. Some of these include poor diet and lack of exercise. Our mission this school year is simple, get our students moving and eating better!

5. Childhood Obesity Prevention
How are we going to get the kids eating better and exercising more?
Free intramural sports throughout the year
New nutritionists who are working with our lunch staff on new menus
Bi-monthly cooking classes available to our students and their families
“Happy Feet” walking program with prize incentives
Morning “Dancersize” in class

6. Childhood Obesity Prevention
Sample Video for Classroom “Dancersize”

7. Anti-Bullying
Bullying is a real problem even in the elementary grades. If we begin prevention efforts earlier, the likelihood of substantial impact increases exponentially. Long gone are the days where excuses like “kids will be kids” are acceptable defenses for the bullying behavior of our youth. The website is a wonderful resource with facts and statistics as well as being a “global movement of 5.5 million young people making positive change”. Some of the numbers are staggering when it comes to the amount of children who are negatively affected by bullying. The list on the right is from this webpage and is titled “11 Facts about Bullying”.
Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year.
Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.
17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester. Take a stand in your community by hosting a Bullying Policy Makeover event customizing your school’s anti-bullying policy.
1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time.
By age 14 less than 30% of boys and 40% of girls will talk to their peers about bullying.
Over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.
71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.
1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying.
As boys age they are less and less likely to feel sympathy for victims of bullying. In fact they are more likely to add to the problem than solve it.
Physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant.

8. Anti-Bullying What can we do at our school to prevent bullying?
Buddy Program for younger students (Pairs an older student with a younger child)
Open Door policy for reporting bullying behavior and for counseling services
Teacher workshops for spotting and stopping bullying behavior
Stricter punishment for bullying behavior
Required counseling for bullying perpetrators

9. McGruff Bullying Video for Students
Anti-Bullying
McGruff Bullying Video for Students

10. Parental Involvement
What makes a parent an “involved parent”? Do parents really need to be involved in their child’s schooling? Parents who take an interest and invest in their child’s schooling are considered involved parents, and yes it really does make a difference in the child’s schooling. The website states “Two-thirds of teachers surveyed (Public Agenda, 2003) believed that their students would perform better in school if their parents were more involved in their child’s education, while 72% of parents say children of uninvolved parents sometimes “fall through the cracks” in schools (Johnson & Duffett, 2003).” Parents are individuals and with that individuality comes differences in schedules and availability. This does not mean that a parent who works should feel discouraged and not try to be involved because they cannot dedicate the same time as a stay-at-home parent. The same can be said for a parent who feels they cannot compete with others who donate funds to their student’s school activities when they are not financially able. Our mission this year is to find a way to become more inclusive and find a way to involve each and every parent in whatever way they are able.

11. Parental Involvement
How can we get more parents involved in school activities?
Monthly meetings are available for parents
All membership fees are waived for PTA/PTO participation
Fundraisers are community events as opposed to individual packets
Room Parents and W.A.T.C.H Dogs positions require no long term commitment
Access to homework and testing materials is easily accessible to parents
Homework help hotline available for parent and student use 4-8pm

12. Helpful Video Highlighting the Importance of Involvement
Parental Involvement
Helpful Video Highlighting the Importance of Involvement

13. Together we WILL make a difference!
When we break it down into parts, advocating for our students is not a hard task to accomplish. I am confident that each and every one of you will find your place on this advocacy journey we are taking together and you will make a difference in the lives of these children. Let’s have a successful year with our advocacy program and get this annual program off to a great start!

14. Reference Websites and Videos
Reference Websites Related Videos