Va. Principal Offers Ideas For Inclusion

At Key Elementary School in Arlington, 47 percent of students are Latino and 46 percent are non-Hispanic white. Slightly more than one-third come from low-income families. Principal Marjorie Myers describes efforts to involve parents:

"Tuesday night was the monthly PTA meeting, where a portion of it was spent on explaining to parents how to get the most out of the parent-teacher conferences that would take place on Thursday and Friday. About 45 parents attended. After the PTA meeting ended at 9 p.m., I sat in the parking lot until 10 p.m. talking to the PTA president about future activities, staff and plans for the year.

"On Wednesday night, we held our annual Fall Fiesta, where we have an international potluck dinner, a DJ who dances and Hula Hoop contests for each grade level, pre-kindergarten to fifth. Over 500 people attended. We had to buy 30 pizzas to supplement the potluck dinners. This event is one of the best for bringing in both the English- and non-English-speaking parents. All of the expenses for this extremely successful event come from the PTA.

"During the Fall Fiesta, we also sponsor a clothing exchange, where folks bring in gently used clean clothing and shoes, and needy families can help themselves to whatever they can use. This is run by parents. At the same time we have the annual English Book Fair that is run by parents as well. The PTA gives us about $500 worth of $5 coupons so that the children who might not be able to afford a book can redeem the coupon for one. In the spring, we host a Spanish Book Fair and do the same thing. So when parents came to the fiesta or the parent-teacher conference they can stop by the clothing exchange, the book fair or the computer lab for information on Web sites where they can get extra help for their children at home."

-- Jay Mathews