I needed votes the other day

I attended my first PTO meeting last month and was determined to find a way to get involved in my children's school. I listened to the options intently some of which were:

help sort cans for the weekly can collection - laudable but no

volunteer to be a recess monitor - I work during the day

plan extra art activities - again, very important but it required being at the school during the day.

Then, an option appeared. Being a parent representative on the school council which meets during the evening. This legislatively mandated body is required in every school in our state to work with the principal and three teachers to adopt educational goals, identify education needs, and create a school improvement plan. According to folks "in the know" usually the parent seats are hard to fill. So, after explaining that I didn't want to participate in a "popularity contest" I signed up for one of the three seats on the School Council.

Along with 5 other parents. I found myself in an election. An election one parent said to me "pits you against the usual 5 people. The same, five, people."

Now I know how to run an election. I've coordinated a legislative campaign to increase taxes statewide (think about that for a minute) and countless state budget initiatives. I know how to message, create materials and focus efforts on those most likely to vote. But I don't have the energy or inclination to run a "campaign" for the school council at my kids' elementary school.

Then the PTO co-President asked that all the candidates email her a paragraph about why we wanted to be on the Council. So this is what I wrote:

I am excited to have my family join the ----- School community. My twin sons are both first graders at the school. I attended public schools from K-12. Immediately after college I spent a summer teaching in Los Angeles then taught for a year in a New Orleans elementary school. I know how important it is to have parents who are engaged and care about the quality of education their children receive. Having (briefly) been a public school teacher I understand that parents need to be allies with the faculty and that everyone who works in the school, regardless of their job title, is creating a positive and stimulating environment for our children. Thank you for considering me for the School Council.

The election was last Thursday. The vote count was Friday. I got a call from a friend that it was a close vote but I didn't win.

So while I would have been a very good member of the School Council, I hope my kids learned it is o.k. to stick your neck out every once in a while. You may lose, but you may also win.

***

So we're hitting the road again - just me and the kids. We're packing our weekend bags and getting on a plane to visit a dear, dear friend. I'll be back in blog-land next week.

The kids are looking forward to singing this as they land in the airport:

Give me a chance
'Cause when I start to dance
I'm a movie star
Oh, oh, oh
Something inside of me makes me move
When I hear that groove...

Where are we going?