Advocacy

There are lots of ways to support Whittier's students, families, and teachers outside of school too.

The Local School Advisory Team is a group of Whittier parents, teachers, and staff that meets monthly during the school year. Parents are elected to the LSAT in the spring for the following year. The LSAT is separate from the PTO and makes decisions related to school budget priorities and will have a role in selecting the permanent principal. Parent representatives to the LSAT for School Year 2020-21 are Alicia Bolton, Carletta Hurt, and April York.

Ward 4 Education Alliance is an organization of community members, parents, and staff from Ward 4 public schools. Their monthly meetings are a good way to learn about the school budget process, policy updates, and other news in our neck of DC. They meet on the second Thursday of each month, virtually now and at different schools around the ward when we are back in-person. Email ward4edalliance@gmail.com to get on their mailing list for updates.

We announce hearings, comment periods, and other activities by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, State Board of Education, and the DC Council at PTO meetings and on our email list. The voices of parents are critically important and the experience of testifying before Council can be very empowering. We will help you prepare and answer any questions you might have.

Latest update on Modernization Campaign (Jan 4, 2024):

To ensure that all grades/classes are well-informed about how to get involved with advocacy efforts, the PTO leadership provides oversight and vision to the modernization committee, which in turn work through grade/class-level captains to get the full Whittier community involved in advocacy efforts. 

We’re actively recruiting for the following roles:

Modernization Committee - a group of teachers, staff and parents across grade levels with great ideas and the capacity to help execute them.  This group currently has eight members (see list below) and is open to others who would like to join.  No special talents or expertise is required, and members can be involved as much or as little as their schedules permit (e.g., your involvement can ramp up when it’s time to complete a specific task and then ramp down once the task is over).   

Grade Level/Class Captains - responsible for keeping parents in your grade and/or class informed about upcoming advocacy efforts/asks (e.g., testify at a public hearing, sign a petition, show up at a virtual ANC meeting, etc.). While the immediate focus is on advancing advocacy goals, we’ll also work with and through grade/class captains to support other PTO goals and activities (e.g., school/family events, teacher support, volunteering, fundraising, etc.).  Captains can be parents, grandparents or guardians with a student attending Whittier.  

If you’re interested in being a modernization committee member and/or grade level/class captain, please fill out this super short survey (english, español, አማርኛ). 

Also, please click here to opt in for text messages from the PTO through the platform Remind to stay informed about the latest developments.   

The Operations Lead for the modernization committee is Paul Strzelczyk (a Prek4 parent), who oversees the day to day work of the modernization committee.  Paul can be reached at pstrzelczyk@gmail.com with any questions you may have about the committee. Alicia Bolton (4th and 1st grade parent) and Angela Anderson (3rd grade parent) will continue to be involved as strategic advisors and thought partners who set overall vision for the advocacy work and collaborate with Whittier’s broad coalition of parents to advance the school’s swing space and modernization goals. 

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Current Modernization Committee Members:

1. Paul Strzelczyk (Pre-K)

2. Benjamin Margolis (Pre-K)  

3. Johnnel Lanham (Pre-K)

4. Susan Fridy (Pre-K)

5. Damel Dieng (Pre-K + 3rd)

6. Ms. O’Connell

7. Ms. Fuller

8. Ms. Lopez