PALOS VERDES PENINSULA COUNCIL OF PTAs

Supporting the PTAs Within the Palos Verdes Unified School District

PVP Council of PTA Legislation & Advocacy Programs

PTA Leaders Are Advocates!

 

Have you ever spoken to a teacher or principal about a problem you wanted to help solve or issue you wanted to help address? That is advocacy.

PTA helps you gain the skills and get the resources you need to advocate to improve the lives of children in your school and in your community. Whether you’re a new parent or experienced leader, your school's Legislative VP (7th VP at each school site) or the PVP Council Legislative VP can help you make a difference in the lives of children!  

One of the most important roles of PTA at all levels - National, State and Local - is to create and support laws that improve the lives of all students and children. 

There are several ways you can get involved in State and Local advocacy efforts to help make a difference:

There are several advocacy programs that the PVP Council of PTAs coordinate in our area to help parents, teachers and students advocate for local and state legislation:

  1. Capitol Convoy
  2. Capitol Comes to Campus
  3. Mock Elections on Campus
  4. District and State Legislative Conferences

See more information below regarding each specific activity.

PTA Legislative Leaders:  For more information about how you can help conduct PTA Advocacy, click here.

 

Capitol Convoy

Capitol Convoy provides parents, teachers, administrators and select high school students with the opportunity to take issues important to them, along with the skills they have learned as part of the program, to Sacramento to advocate for education issues and to learn more about how to be effective advocates for themselves and others. 

Capitol Convoy is an annual Spring event when parents, students, administrators and teachers travel to Sacramento to meet with decisionmakers, to learn more about how government works and how to be an important part of it. Our students help identify issues important to them to take to Sacramento for advocacy, which are then approved by both PTA Council and the PVPUSD Board of Education. The students research each of the advocacy points – which have ranged from budget issues to arts education to how to pay for school facilities – before boarding the airplane for two packed days in Sacramento.  

When in Sacramento, the group of students, parents and school administrators hear from a variety of  speakers involved in education, legislation and advocacy in Sacramento, learning about pending and planned legislation; observe, and sometime paticipate in legislative committee hearings; observe Assembly and Senate sessions; and more. In smaller advocacy teams, each of which is headed up by a PTA Council or Unit Leg Rep, participants meet with individual members of the Legislature and/or their staff to discuss the advocacy points.

 

For more information about the Capitol Convoy program, please contact the PVP Council of PTAs 7th VP.

Capitol Comes to Campus

 

Capitol Comes To Campus brings elected officials to our community to meet with high school students to discuss how government works, the various levels of government, issues impacting our students and our community, and the importance of civic participation now and as our students fully develop into mature participants in our society.  Students at the high school and middle schools levels, along with parents and other community members are brought together with elected officials from all levels of government – local, state and federal.  Attendees hear from each representative about the current topics in each area as well as the importance of civic engagement and participation. Participants in the Captol Comes to Campus program have included U.S. Congressmen, State Senators and Assemblymembers, County Supervisors, City Mayors and City Councilmembers and member of the Board of Directors of Special Districts including the local Library District and Water Districts.   

 

For more information about the Capitol Comes to Campus program, please contact the PVP Council of PTAs 7th VP.

Mock Elections

Student Mock Elections are non-partisan, educational events that help teach students about being an informed voter, civic responsibilities and critical comparison and decision skills.  School sites can conduct Mock Elections during Presidential and local issue campaigns.  

 

School PTAs can choose to work in concert with the California Student Mock Election program, click here for more information about that program, or conduct Student Mock Elections that fit the needs of their specific site. 

 

For more information about the PTA Mock Election program, please contact the PVP Council of PTAs 7th VP and/or your site PTA 7th VP.