PUBLIC ADVOCATE BILL DE BLASIO URGES PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS IN BROOKLYN TO SIGN A 'COUNT ON ME' PLEDGE

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio stopped by P.S. 67 in Brooklyn on the first day of school to urge parents to sign a "Count on Me" pledge and commit to being more involved in their children's education.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray talk with parents outside P.S. 67 in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

On September 8, the first day of school, public advocate Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane greeted parents at P.S. 67 in Brooklyn, urging them to sign a ‘Count on Me’ pledge committing to deeper involvement in their children’s education. The public advocate emphasized the importance of parental participation and outlined five simple ways parents can get involved in schools.

“My wife Chirlane and I are proud public school parents, and we know firsthand that an involved parent can make a huge difference in a child’s education,” said de Blasio. “The Department of Education has a long way to go before it treats parents as full partners in educating kids. As parents fight to get a seat at the table, we also need to volunteer, join the PTA, and get involved any way we can.”

The Public Advocate handed out flyers with five simple ways parents can contribute to a better learning environment for students. He urged parents to sign a ‘Count on Me’ pledge, inviting them to:

• Introduce themselves to their school’s Parent Coordinator
• Join their Parents’ Association or PTA
• Recruit other parents to join the Parents’ Association or PTA
• Volunteer in their school and at school-sponsored events
• Attend a Community Education Council (CEC) meeting

Staff and volunteers from the Public Advocate’s office also greeted parents with ‘Count on Me’ pledges at P.S. 19 in Queens with Assembly Member Francisco Moya, P.S. 50 in the Bronx, and P.S. 180 in Manhattan. The Public Advocate’s pledge responds to a growing need for parental involvement in schools. Fewer than 3,000 parents voted in this year’s Community Education Council elections, as opposed to 25,000 in the previous cycle.

Public Advocate de Blasio’s ‘Count on Me’ pledge is available online: 
http://advocate.nyc.gov/5-ways or http://advocate.nyc.gov/anoescolar (Spanish)