The impetus appears to be President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act which labeled four East Hartford schools as being in danger of failing. Under the act, the schools must implement a plan to address shortcomings or allow parents to pull their children out of the school and enroll them elsewhere. That shoe has not fallen yet on local school systems. But the law has educators and parents concerned everywhere.

UPTC plans to meet Feb. 24, at 7 -9 p.m. in Room 122 at East Hartford High School to vote on a proposal to re-organize and expand its membership. If the proposal is passed as expected, then the name of the organization will change to United Parent Teacher and Community Coalition, says Stan de Mello, UPTC president.

"The impetus for this proposal is the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act," stated de Mello in a letter to the Gazette. "That established both an Annual Yearly Progress standard that tests students' proficiency in mathematics, reading, and writing, and an accountability standard for the school/district with consequences for failure to improve student performance."

UPTC relies on the involvement of active, outspoken parents to carry forth in addressing issues before the Board of Education, Town Council and on other issues such as school bond referenda. UPTC typically lobbied for the bonds, and their activism increased the public awareness of the needs in town schools. UPTC was noticeably absent in the debate over two school bond issues in 2003. Both were defeated by voters in November's elections.

de Mello failed in his bid for a seat on the Town Council last summer. But he stepped in as UPTC was going under. de Mello's new mission is not necessarily as much political as it is in rallying East Hartford parents and educators to address important school issues. One is sure to be that population demographics and diversity, by itself, is not necessarily the "town's biggest asset" politicians tout it to be. Diversity and parental involvement could be, is now lacking and sorely needed.

"A key component of the NCLB is parental involvement. The challenge lies in the reality that parental involvement in East Hartford has been on the decline for a number of years as the demographics of our community have changed," states de Mello. "Diversity in culture and language, education levels, work experience, and income have become barriers to parental involvement."

de Mello noted: "Some parents do not know how to become involved with their children's learning, while others do not get encouragement and support from schoolteachers and administrators. Still, other parents struggle to balance family life with work or professional careers. The make-up of the family has also changed. Single moms or dads, or grandparents may be the head of household. No longer can we assume the presence of both the mother and father."

de Mello said the school's only vehicle for parental involvement has been its local PTO/PTA. But that role has been limited to simple fundraising activities or sponsorships of special events. PTAs/PTOs have to do more, he suggests, and perhaps UPTC can help share its combined school organizational ideas and resources.

"The proposed expansion of the UPTC will build on its traditional role as an advocacy organization by increasing its capacity to provide training and resources to the local PTO/PTA so that they can help increase parent skills to support their child's learning," writes de Mello. His proposal recommends expanding UPTC's membership by inviting up to 8 members of the community-at-large who reside or work in East Hartford to serve on a steering committee that links the UPTC to outside resources and expertise.

Some of the agencies that the UPTC hopes to collaborate with include the Child Plan, Youth Services, Town Health Department and the School Business Partnership.

UPTC also plans to design a leadership program aimed at nurturing and developing leaders for parent organizations so that the schools can experience the natural turnover of leaders without risking the sustainability of the PTO/PTAs.

"An important agenda item Feb. 24 at EHHS will be the review of the proposed education budget that will be led by Superintendent Marion Martinez. Each PTO/PTA leader will receive a copy of the budget and have an opportunity to review the section of the budget that is relevant to their school site. Members will also be updated on the planning for a Magnet School Information night to be scheduled in the month of April."

Failure of PTAs/PTOs to get budgets under past administrations has inhibited parents from speaking out to advocate for the school budget. Those complaints to the Board of Education were heard every year at budget time.

"Our meetings are open to the public. I urge parents and teachers to attend, especially if there are student needs that are not addressed in the budget," writes de Mello.