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Families Get A Taste Of Student Life

Tribune photo by JAMIE PILARCZYK

Assistant Principal Maryann LaRosa, teacher Melody Burke, Andrew LoPinto-Spruill and his mom, Tina, join a drum circle.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com

Published: February 25, 2009

EAST TAMPA - There was drumming coming from the multipurpose room, a French cafe set up next to one of the classrooms, and the seventh-grade orchestra filled the courtyard at Williams Middle School.

The fanfare culminated PTSA Take Your Family To School Week, celebrated nationally from Feb. 8 to 14 but spread over a month's time locally due to the FCAT. Williams' PTSA hosted events including a Middle School 101 workshop for siblings of Williams students and a pep rally and informational meeting on the functions of PTSA locally and nationally.

Williams' PTSA President Melissa Erickson said that as an International Baccalaureate school, many of the students commute from other areas of the county. Activities such as the ones during Take Your Family To School Week help parents meet each other and see what their children do at school.

"Cultures of Our World, Cultures of Our School" was the theme of the Feb. 13 event, which included teacher- and student-led mini-workshops on topics such as Intro to Mandarin Chinese.

More than 300 students and family members participated. Williams' PTSA was chosen as one of 32 nationwide for a grant from National PTA and AXA Financial for its innovative ideas on increasing family involvement at the school, 5020 N. 47th St.

The award was $1,897, an amount made in honor of the year PTA was founded, and presented by National PTA President-Elect Charles "Chuck" Saylors, the first man to hold the volunteer position.

"We need to do everything we can to engage parents on every level," said Saylors, who will be sworn in to the position in June. He cited the use of multimedia tools such as Facebook and Twitter to reach parents, "who don't want to sit in a two-hour meeting to discuss which gift wrap to sell. They want us to fine-tune it."

"This isn't my mother's PTA," said Saylors, 48.

Of the PTA's 6 million worldwide members, Saylors said only about 10 percent are men - a statistic he would like to change.

"I see that as an outstanding opportunity," said Saylors, who got his start selling hot dogs at a fall festival when the oldest of his four children, who now range from 10 to 24, was in the first grade in South Carolina. "I've been going ever since."

During his visit to Williams, Saylors said he was impressed.

"This is a group of young parents who are extremely energetic and active," he said. "It's inspirational to see how wide-ranging the activities are."

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661.

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