PTSA Mission & Vision

The PTSA Mission is to support an Edna Brewer Community of teachers, students, and families that nurtures the physical and emotional health of our children, promotes academic, social/emotional, and artistic excellence for lifelong learning, prepares our students to become outstanding citizens, supports the professional success of our teachers, and reflects core values of equity, mutual support and environmental stewardship.

Activities We Support

The PTSA partners with faculty and staff to:

  • Promote student success

  • Coordinate classroom, field trip, and school activities.

  • Promote a culture where parent and community involvement is welcomed and valued.

  • Communicate to our whole community about events and activities.

In order to help teachers focus on delivering outstanding education, the PTSA:

  • Provides support for classroom, artistic, and civic enrichments.

  • Provides healthy snacks to students in need: brains cannot fill when stomachs are empty.

  • Provides academic support to boost struggling students into the mainstream and to provide students achieving at or above grade level further academic challenges.

  • Helps provide a safe environment for students on the way to school, at lunch recess, and during school activities.

Additionally, so that we may support the educational efforts, classroom innovation, and professional satisfaction of the Edna Brewer faculty, the PTSA works to:

  • Coordinate fundraising which supports many PTSA and Edna Brewer programs.

  • Provide classroom supplies, IT support, and sport activities otherwise unavailable.

  • Partner to support during and after school academic and enrichment programs.

  • Support EBMS community and family efforts for student nutritional, emotional, and educational preparation for daily classes.

Focus on Equity

This section provides a quick framework and an overview of some of the specific actions we are already taking as a PTSA to bring a focus on equity to our work.

Increase diversity at all levels:

  • Reoriented PTSA general membership meetings to broaden participation:

    • Provide dinner for adults and children

    • Include movie and childcare for children

    • Develop agenda to include community-building activities

  • Expanded PTSA board to increase number of open leadership positions

  • Intentionally recruited with an eye to racial diversity and diversity in school communities

  • Reduced PTSA membership fees to minimum under statewide PTSA guidelines

  • Assertive recruiting plan at registration

    • Spoke and recruited membership from virtually every parent at registration

    • Translated recruiting documents and had Spanish speaking volunteers available

  • Strive to make all documents and materials available in multiple languages

Focus on structural inequities

  • Made fund sharing an explicit part of the PTSA budget process—currently 5% of operating budget is earmarked for fund sharing with higher need schools.

  • Created plan for alignment between PTSA and SSC planning processes

    • Working proactively with Assistant Principal who is leading SSC planning process to support that work

    • Two PTSA board members participate as non-voting members of SSC

    • PTSA board presentation on equity data from SSC meetings

  • Included segment on current policy issues in the district as part of all general meetings

  • Host informational meetings for parents on issues impacting equity within OUSD including:

    • OUSD budgets

    • State policy impacting school funding

    • Contract negotiations between union and district

Build capacity to integrate an equity frame into our work

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

  • Support for race equity lecture series

  • PTSA board and general meeting sessions focused on Equity

Support equity in opportunities

  • Ensure PTSA fundraising includes raising scholarship funds for activities that would not otherwise be open to all students

  • Make available emergency funds for staff or families in crisis

  • Structural analysis of which students will benefit from activities supported