Join The John Muir Elementary PTA!

By Gail Baugh

I don’t have kids, don’t own a house, so why should I care about the public schools here?

In a city with the lowest percentage of children per capita of any large city in the country, you have to wonder why we San Franciscans should concern ourselves with educating our City’s children. Well, you’ve heard the saying: “...it takes a village to raise the children...”? We’re all part of the Hayes Valley village.

You can join the PTA just because you are a part of our community - you don’t need to be a parent. That’s what we’ve done here in Hayes Valley. We members from HVNA and Hayes Valley Community Partners got together to establish a PTA for our local public school - John Muir Elementary School. We formed the PTA on Aug 24, with our school principal, some teachers and staff, and community members. It is the first PTA established in this school in over 50 years. We are now recruiting families whose kids go to John Muir. With strong community support comes more interest in John Muir, come energized teachers, come happy kids who like learning, come parents who are proud to help, and the circle begins again. Join us.

Photo: Michael Patton

We can choose to make public schools a part of our lives. As residents of the Hayes Valley community, we can choose to support the next generation, as we were supported by others during our years in school. You can choose to contribute to bake sales, help in the gardens, volunteer to read to kids, make coffee in the parent room, put up pretty bulletin board displays in the hall, assist in making tons of copies for the teachers...the volunteer list is long. You can choose.

Supporters of the John Muir Elementary School PTA include the California Public Utilities Commission. This group, long active with John Swett Elementary, has followed many of the children to John Muir. Last week they held a very successful week-long fundraiser, featuring lunches for the staff and a bake sale (see photo at left). Paxti’s on Hayes Street donated pizzas for one of the lunches, and PTA members Madeline Behrens-Brigham, Michael Patton and Paul Olsen were among those who assisted the wonderful CPUC staff. For information on joining the PTA, contact Gail Baugh, PTA president, John Muir Elementary, g.baugh@sbcglobal.net