The Bell PTSA is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization and is part of the largest volunteer, child-advocacy group in the country. The Bell PTSA has advocacy at the core of everything we do.

 

What is Bell PTSA currently advocating for? 

 

  • The Bell PTSA works with WSPTA's advocacy team to encourage our legislators to make policy and legislative changes that directly impact students. 

  • Top 5 Legislative Priorities for 2023-2024
    • Addressing the Student Mental Health Crisis
    • Addressing Critical Gaps in Education Funding
    • Preventing and Reducing Gun Violence and Suicide
    • Addressing Funding, Inclusion and Supports in Special Education
    • Building and Maintaining Safer School Facilities
  • 2023-2024 WSPTA-Supported Issues
    • Creating a Diverse and Effective Educator Workforce
    • Expanding School Construction Funding Options
    • Harnessing the Benefits of Mastery-Based Learning
    • Improving Equitable Identification and Access for Highly Capable Students
    • Increasing Education Equity by Closing the Digital Divide
    • Increasing Support for Equitable Family Engagement
    • Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change
    • Supporting and Meaningful High School Diploma


      2023 Final Legislative Scorecard Available

      How did Washington State PTA legislative positions and resolutions do in the 2023 session? Take a look at the 2023 Legislative Scorecard created by legislative consultant Marie Sullivan. The scorecard includes the major policy bills and budget information related to adopted legislative positions and resolutions. This is the finalized version now that the Governor has signed bills and budgets.

       

       

In addition to our advocacy work with the legislature, we also focus on issues specific to Bell and our district. Below are a few we will continue to work on this year (our focuses evolve throughout the year as issues/concerns arise in our community):

  • Working to improve sustainability efforts in our schools. Bell PTSA relaunched our food donation and composting programs in 2021-22. We launched a food-share program in 2022-23. For the 2023-24 school year, we will continue to work with other community advocates and push LWSD to prioritize climate change/sustainability work. We want to see LWSD launch these types of programs across the entire district (not just a few pilot programs being run solely by volunteers). In order for this to occur, the district needs to prioritize sustainability work, create a policy, develop a roadmap, and provide the necessary funding and resources to reduce our carbon footprint and prioritize climate change. We continue to meet with key stakeholders in our efforts to drive this change forward.

  • Creating equitable, inclusive, and safe play spaces. Bell PTSA worked diligently to have a new playground installed at our school (see below). We are continuing our work in this space by advocating for an ADA compliant and inclusive playground for our preschool students. Additionally, we are advocating for a new soccer field at our school, since the gravel field results in a number of injuries (both on and off the field, e.g., gravel in eyes, the loose gravel causes issues with the falls on the sidewalk/blacktop). 

 

What are some recent Bell PTSA advocacy successes?

  • An accessible and inclusive playground. A few years back, we had a student at Bell who was in a wheelchair. This student was not able to access the large playground because it was not ADA compliant. After multiple years of advocacy efforts, the Bell PTSA succeeded. The district installed a new ADA compliant playground in the summer of 2022, and they honored our request for a more inclusive play-surface (rubber tiles versus wood chips). Bell is the pilot school for the district for this new play surface. After doing the pilot project at Bell, the district changed the play surface standards for the entire district going forward! 

  • Advocating for the needs of Bell students and teachers. We conducted a Q&A with Dr. Holmen, LWSD's superintendent, where we asked hard questions (submitted by families, students, and teachers) about the lack of sufficient staffing and inclusion practices that fail to provide the needed support for the student and classroom. A number of follow-up meetings with LWSD's leadership team occurred after we provided this visibility, resulting in a number of positive changes.

  • Reducing food waste in our schools.   
    • Bell PTSA worked with King County Green Schools, LWSD, and Sodexo (LWSD's contracted food service provider) to obtain all the necessary approvals needed to relaunch a food donation program at Bell (quite a bit of red tape to get through, but we are finally up and running). During each lunch period, food-collection bins are set out. The donated food is refrigerated and taken to the food bank at the end of each week.

    • Bell PTSA expressed our concerns about excessive food waste to our legislators, the school district, and to Sodexo. Sodexo recently made a simple change across the entire district (i.e., no longer REQUIRING students to take certain foods, while still meeting USDA requirements). This change has had a substantial impact. Early estimates indicate that this has resulted in 4K pieces of fruit not being wasted every day (across the district).

    • Bell PTSA relaunched our food composting program, reducing our landfill contribution by approximately 50%. 
  • Functioning laptops for students. During remote learning, we advocated for all Bell students to be issued functioning laptops. Bell PTSA spoke at a LWSD School Board meeting and reached out to the district about the sub-par laptops provided to many Bell students (many were 5+ years old). The school board and district listened to our concerns and replaced the oldest HP models and the devices with the slowest processing times. We still have work to do in this area and are continuing our advocacy efforts.

 

 

How to get involved: