Definition: a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially: one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession

"The PTC believes that its members should…"

COMMUNITY

Respectfulness

• Be civil and respectful towards one another
• Seek to understand before seeking to be understood
• Speak directly, clearly and honestly with one another
• Act cooperatively, in the spirit of team-work and consensus-building

Inclusiveness

• Value every child and family in our community and provide equal opportunities and experiences
• Create ways to embrace and include new families into our community
• Create and maintain inclusive decision making models
• Create opportunities for parents to be involved
• Seek ways to increase the size of the active PTC community
• Seek assistance from and collaboration with the larger local community
• Include children in decision making processes where their input is needed

Supportiveness

• Support local businesses
• Decrease staff workload
• Support the curriculum
• Adopt an attitude of service

Communicativeness

• Facilitate ongoing communication between teachers and parents
• Advocate the role of teachers as the definitive source information
• Help parents stay informed in a timely and convenient manner
• Create a safe, open environment for parents to express their opinions
• Stay as informed as possible on school status and activities
• Use or create reliable channels of communication to provide or obtain accurate, updated information

Joyfulness

• Provide a model of enthusiasm and joy for the children
• Select activities that are fun to organizers and participants alike
• Celebrate the diversity of our community and what holds us together

STEWARDSHIP

Volunteerism

• Provide volunteer time
• Help other parents find ways to volunteer
• Emphasize that parental involvement is encouraged but voluntary

Responsibility

• Be answerable for their actions
• Follow-through with issues that have been entrusted to them

Dynamism

• Be responsive to the needs of staff, parents, students and local community
• Decide quickly and act decisively to address issues and needs
• Appoint subcommittees to define and implement courses of action when needed
• Be proactive in addressing anticipated needs
• Be flexible and adaptive in ideas and actions

Reflection

• Reflect and debrief after every major event
• Act in way that reflects the values of the school, academically and socially

SUSTAINABILITY

Finances

• Create fundraisers that raise money, awareness, connections, and opportunities
• Make decision for the long term
• Help raise money to pay for activities and resources related to the curriculum
• Manage finances responsibly

Environment

• Reduce waste
• Strive to have a low negative impact environmentally in all our events
• Patronize local businesses in order to promote environmental stewardship through a sustainable, localized economy
• Advocate sustainable gardening as educational tool and provide community support

Morale

• Select activities that are not physically or emotionally exhaustive
• Select activities that bring the staff, parents, children and community together
• Maintain a positive attitude in planning and acting
• Select activities that emphasize team-work, fair play and internal reward

Legacy

• Document processes well so that new PTC members can follow them successfully
• Make plans and take actions that will have a far-reaching, positive impact

Actions

The actions listed here are some of the actual tasks that we agree to do in support of the above tenets and core values. They represent a sample of existing and emerging actions by the PTC. This is not an exhaustive list, nor does it mean that all parents must participate in all of the actions:

• Sell and buy scrip and e-scrip.

• Help drive and supervise activities during the Fall and Spring outings to Tou Velle Park, including the river crossing.

• Welcome new families at a picnic in the Spring or Fall. Organize a pot luck dinner with a welcoming environment.

• Carry out maintenance projects, including during the Summer, e.g., courtyard and stream bed upkeep, repair of classroom risers, Cob wall and climbing wall maintenance.

• Provide and use various communications methods such as parent/teacher liaisons, contact people for new families, e-mail contact, phone trees, school directories, a website for the PTC, an information bulletin board in the Parent Corner.

• Define and use an agreement for procedures to be used during PTC meetings and for decision-making processes.

• Document each event so that any parent group might be able to execute it. After each event, archive detailed documentation that includes pre-planning steps through post-event steps and a financial statement.

• Plan and carry out a 2 night sleep over at Box R Ranch. Drive students, cook meals, supervise children activities and over night in teepees.

• Using teacher wish list and related budget, create a fun(d)raiser that meets the financial section of the Core Values document.

• Maintain the John Muir community garden year round if possible, providing opportunities for children to prepare, plant, maintain and harvest a garden space. Provide community members in need with food from the garden. Use the harvest for classroom projects, e.g., cooking, creating, teaching pantry arts, selling produce.