At first glance the Bulldog Parent Committee plans ‘the fun stuff’. Our dedicated group of parents plan and successfully execute two dances, a schoolwide carnival and is adding a schoolwide movie night this year. Beneath the surface, however, we are continually striving to identify needs within our ACA community and try to fill those needs. We do this through parent surveys and partnering with staff and administration.
These post Covid years we identified the need for our school to become a community again. We needed to open the campus, focus on parent teacher communication and community building activities. We are constantly collaborating with administration as well as other committees such as PBIS and the Interact Club. We brainstormed with administration ways we could open re-open the campus to parents. One outcome of those meetings is the monthly lunch with parents. This has been a huge success making the parents feel connected to the ACA community again.
The dances and carnival are specifically designed to bring our ACA family together. During the last father daughter dance, I heard multiple dads setting up playdates with their daughters as they were making connections as parents for the first time. It’s moments like these that cultivate community building not only staff to family but also family to family.
Another facet of our group is the parent connection within our group. We have grown to support each other through parenting and major life events. Having a platform for parents to discuss homework, teachers, and parenting frustrations allows parents to work together to positively problem solve and help each other which in turn helps with the retention of our families. In fact, many of the parents in our group end up working for ACA in some capacity, an added unexpected bonus of our committee.
Through all the events, fundraising and meetings what shines the most in our group is the true passion and love for ACA in each of our members. The pure desire to continue to make ACA a thriving community. When I asked the members what the group meant to them, they simply said, “family”. There is no truer statement.
