By Daily Press staff
The Santa Monica-Malibu Council of PTAs held its annual installation and awards breakfast at the Boarder Grill in downtown Santa Monica. Besides eating, the purpose of the breakfast was to introduce next year’s slate of PTA council officers, including incoming council president, Laura Rosenbaum.
Local schools have been the focus of Rosenbaum’s volunteer activities in the time she’s lived in Santa Monica since moving from Cleveland. A professional in the financial services industry, she most recently has been moonlighting as co-president of the SMASH PTSA and co-first vice president of communications for the PTA Council.
As president of Santa Monica-Malibu PTA Council, Rosenbaum will promote the continuing unity of parents, teachers, students and the community at large to ensure that children are recognized to be everyone’s special interest.
“The student of today is called on to be an adult in a more complex and global world than ever before,” she said. “It will be through the combined effort of all of us, joining together with one voice on behalf of every child, in accord with the PTA mission, that our children — our community’s children — will be successful and important members of the world we will all inhabit.”
Rosenbaum in June will replace two-term president Maria Rodriguez. Rodriguez’s presidency has been marked by extraordinary accomplishments in community outreach, education and advocacy, school supporters say. She led a legion of PTA volunteers through a successful advocacy effort for 2003’s Measure S campaign for school funding. In 2004, the PTA Council partnered with Community for Excellent Public Schools in its signature-gathering campaign to qualify the Excellent Public Schools Charter Amendment on the city ballot. That effort resulted in an historic funding agreement between the city of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica- Malibu Unified School District. And in 2005, the Santa Monica-Malibu PTA Council, under Rodriguez’s leadership, provided key financial and logistical support for the statewide Caravan for Kids, which culminated in a PTA rally on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento.
Rodriguez’s presidency also has seen tremendous efforts in communication, during which time the PTA Council Web site was launched, www.smmpta.org. The PTA is distributing its third community newsletter next week as an insert in Santa Monica and Malibu newspapers, to students district-wide, and will be available in public locations throughout the cities. The newsletter highlights further news and accomplishments of the Santa Monica-Malibu Council of PTAs and its schools.
In 2005-2006, the Santa Monica-Malibu Council of PTAs has worked toward substantive goals in the following areas: ■ Regular monthly meetings and reports to enhance communication among the PTA Council, parent leaders, PTA units, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District administration, the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, SEIU and the SMMUSD Board of Education. ■ Published two community newsletters, which had distribution of 42,000 in the Santa Monica-Malibu community. ■ Organized with the League of Women Voters School Board candidate forums. ■ Hosted two events to celebrate successful parent/school partnerships among district administrators, site principals and parent leaders. ■ Coordinated the district-wide “Reflections” arts competition. ■ The Council’s Communication Committee kept the issue of public education in front of the public through press releases and articles. ■ The council’s Web site (www.smmpta.org) was launched as a resource of information to its members and the community. ■ In partnership with Community for Excellent Public Schools, organized hundreds of volunteers around the state to rally for education in Sacramento — Caravan for Kids. ■ Wrote a grant to pay for students to participate in Caravan for Kids. ■ The Council’s Legislation Committee met monthly with representatives from each school, and advocated for the health and welfare of all children. ■ Provided to all units legislative information and materials regarding local and state PTA legislative positions. ■ Registered parents to vote. ■ Represented Santa Monica-Malibu in the California State PTA’s 106th Annual Convention in Sacramento. ■ Made a financial contribution to juvenile camps for at-risk youth. ■ Made financial contributions for safe graduation celebrations at Santa Monica High School, Malibu High School and Olympic High School. ■ Provided scholarships for Santa Monica High School and Malibu High School graduates. ■ Co-sponsored with The Education Foundation of Santa Monica-Malibu the Summer School Adventure program and expanded the program to include middle school.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 27, 2005. Read the original PDF.