Most voters are not very hands-on with school affairs.
They have little time to research candidates.
So how does a voter know who to believe, and who to vote for?
People who have kids in Berkeley Public Schools haven’t had a chance to raise their voices as a collective unit to support until this election. A parent-based endorsement could go a long way to making sure that voters take into consideration the opinion of those whose kids are directly impacted by the policy and funding decisions School Board Directors approve.
Mission Statement
The Berkeley Parents Union endorsement is to inform Berkeley voters whom Berkeley public school parents support as elected School Board Directors.
Purpose
As parents of public-school children, we are grateful to the residents of Berkeley who wholeheartedly support initiatives which ensure our children thrive. Recognizing that many voters never had, or no longer have children in Berkeley Public Schools, this organization is specifically designed to offer our collective voice to your decision making for Berkeley Public School Board Directors.
Values
— We believe in the mission of the Berkeley Unified School District to enable and inspire our diverse student body to achieve academic excellence and make positive contributions to our world.
— We believe together, we can elect officials who will be accountable for prioritizing the needs of students.
— We value the diversity of our community. Parent Union members have a variety of viewpoints — all with the same goal — to ensure all children receive a quality public education.
Membership is open to current parents/caregivers of BUSD students. Because many students graduate with parents who have institutional knowledge to support their understanding of the type of school board director BUSD needs, the BPU includes any caregiver that has had a student in BUSD within the last three years. We also hope this will help caregivers of graduating students develop relationships with current parents which can provide much needed mentoring support that will ultimately benefit student outcomes.
The BPU welcomes all caregivers of current BUSD students as reflected above. Many BUSD educators are parents, and our collective voice is what the Berkeley Parents Union supports.
This is a grass roots parent-led initiative. The founding collaborators include current caregivers of BUSD students who serve on a variety of leadership committees that engage parents in the Berkeley Public School System: BSEP; SBAC; BPTA; PAC; SSC; PTA Boards. In addition, caregivers that support our schools through classroom, schoolyard supervision, and other acts of volunteerism helped form this initiative. The Berkeley Parents Union is neither affiliated with any national organization nor any large political movements. It's a local initiative.
This is a completely new organization that welcomes all parents that want to participate and meet the criteria (any caregiver that has had a student in BUSD within the last three years).
The grass roots organizers of the BPU represent a variety of ethnicities who offer diverse perspectives, experiences, and socio-economic status. Through targeted outreach to all BUSD families, the BPU is confident it can maintain a membership that reflects the many diverse intersectionalities of its organizers and the BUSD student body.
In our review of the PTA rules, we don’t believe there is a conflict of interest to be involved with the PTA and the BPU. In fact, because the PTA’s can’t provide a collective endorsement, organizations such as the BPU are expanding rapidly throughout school districts across America.
We do not take positions on specific policies or issues. Our goal is to inform Berkeley voters who we believe will best serve our students as School Board Directors. Based on what candidates have shared, the BPU will market candidates it believes will best serve the diverse needs of the Berkeley Public School Community.
Many of us know firsthand the benefits unions provided to our own families as children, and currently as adult members of labor unions. Labor unions play a critical role in improving working conditions and increasing compensation. The work of unions is an essential driving force in expanding the middle class in the United States.
We need and deeply respect teachers. Caregivers of Berkeley Public schools have raised thousands of dollars to support teachers' needs outside of the classroom. We will continue to do so as we are grateful for the support they provide our children throughout their educational journey. The faculty of BUSD are critical to realizing the mission of Berkeley Public Schools which directly impacts life outcomes for our kids and our nation.
We are pleased to be accepting donations under $250 at our secure page https://donorbox.org/donate-to-the-bpu. These donations will support the mission of the BPU and allow us to reach a wider audience. We continue to run mostly on volunteer power, and are not being funded by national organizations or business entities, including the National Parents Union.
