Parents United for Public Education

(Photo: Philadelphia Inquirer)

Founded in Spring 2006, Parents United for Public Education is a parent-led citywide organization focused on engaging parents with the budget process in order to ensure a baseline level of resources, services, staffing provides every child in every school a stable, quality and nurturing school environment. Today, the work of Parents United is more important than ever. We provide strong parent voices to challenge perceptions of disengaged parents or “broken” families and school communities. Our parents have testified on budgets and tax policy, we’ve challenged abusive disciplinary practices, improved ethics and transparency, and called for collaborative partnerships with teachers and parents. We’ve secured millions of dollars in funding and made sure public education remains a top priority in Philadelphia and in our state. In a city segregated by class and race, we’re working to build multiracial coalitions of parents to improve school practices, fight for renewed funding, and build public support for our schools. We’ve shown that an independent, organized and engaged parent body can clarify budget priorities and rebuild a sense of collective responsibility for all our children. We invite all people concerned about Philadelphia’s future to join us in this effort.

Leadership Collective

: Robin Roberts is the mother of three children in the public schools and is the past president of the C.W. Henry Elementary PTA. She serves on the School Advisory Council for Carver Engineering and Science. She is a frequent spokesperson for Parents United on issues of school funding, supporting the opt-out movement against high stakes testing, and improving school facilities.

: Sabra Townsend left the corporate engineering sector after her son (now 21 yrs. old) was born with a physical disability, then later diagnosed with Autism. Currently managing an AmeriCorps program that serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition to consulting in the human services field, Ms. Townsend has presented at numerous conferences on issues affecting people with special needs. She served as group leader on the DPW statewide PA Autism Task Force and works with the city, state and private organizations to improve services for children and youth with special health care needs.

: Marissa Post spent over 20 years in corporate sales and marketing. Mrs. Post left the corporate world to dedicate her time to raising her three sons who now attend McCall Elementary and GAMP where she currently serves on their SACs Throughout her life, she has worked in numerous nonprofit organizations in a variety of volunteer, committee, and executive chair roles Currently, she works with families in need of assistance and with other parent advocates to help share her knowledge of best practices in special education, IDEA law and inclusive classrooms.

: Laurie Mazer is a proud Philadelphia public school parent. She has served on her neighborhood school’s School Advisory Committee (SAC) and as the Treasurer of Friends of Jackson, a fundraising and advocacy group for Jackson E.S. She is current member of the steering committee of the Philadelphia Healthy School Initiative . When not spending time on public education advocacy she works developing of solar energy projects and enjoys biking the streets of Philadelphia with her family.

: Zoe Rooney is a Philadelphia School Teacher and proud Mom to 2 Philadelphia public school sons She is a talented web designer and can often be found advocating for issues that impact her students and children.

Past Contributors

: Tonayia Coffer is the mother of four children and is the Chair of the Advocacy Sub-committee of the Fox Chase Home and School Association. As advocacy chair, she shares information and promotes opportunities for parents to engage and become stronger advocates for their children. At Parents United, she has helped anchor outreach and organizing efforts throughout the Northeast and writes about parent engagement for the Parents United blog.

: Helen Gym is the mother of three children in the public schools and is a co-founder of Parents United. She is a frequent writer in local and national education circles and writes commentary for the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, where she was its first full-time editor. She is a former school teacher; a founder of a charter school serving many immigrant families; a board member at Asian Americans United; and serves on the editorial board of Rethinking Schools, a social justice teaching journal.

: Maurice Jones is president of Henry Lea Home and School Association, where he has a son. He helped anchor a safe school merger between Wilson and Lea Schools this year and has focused on safety issues in school closings. He serves as an officer for Garden Court Community Association and is a member of the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools. He writes about parent engagement and District accountability for the Parents United blog.

: Rebecca Poyourow is the mother of two children in public school and is a spokesperson for Parents United. She has advocated on local and state levels for public ed funding and has organized Roxborough/Manayunk community forums and lobbying efforts. Her advocacy helped eliminate the majority of 100 split grade classrooms in 2014. She has served on the HSA and SAC of Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School.

: Amara Rockar is the president of the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools, a community organization supporting investment in local neighborhood schools and specifically Henry Lea Elementary. WPCNS believes in walkable, diverse local schools supported by focused community and parental involvement. The group has invested in greening efforts and enriched music programs for all Lea students.

: Sophia Saunders migrated from Haiti to the U.S. and was educated in the Philadelphia public schools. She is the mother of a second grader at J.F. McCloskey Elementary School, where she and other parents organized a successful opposition to the proposed closure of their school in 2013. Sophia also has two nieces in their senior year at Bodine and Engineering and Sciences. She is focused on quality public high schools and future opportunities for her second grader as a District student.

: Cecelia Thompson is the mother of a public school student living with autism. She is the Chairperson of Special Needs for PARENT POWER, and works as a monitor for the state Bureau of Special Education. She is past chair of the Philadelphia Right to Education Local Task Force IU26, and spent seven years at the Arc of Philadelphia advocating for the rights of individuals living with disabilities.

: Leslie Tyler is the mother of two children and is co-president of Meredith Home and School Association. She has supported quality public schools through P.O.W.E.R., an interfaith clergy group, and as a board member of the Queen Village Neighbors Association, where she started a Schools and Youth Activities Committee. Leslie is married to the Rev. Dr. Mark Tyler, pastor of historic Mother Bethel A.M.E.Church, where she serves as Communications Director.

: Gerald Wright is a founding member and spokesperson for Parents United. He is the father of two children in the public schools and is a past president of John Story Jenks Home and School Association. His work has focused on issues such as contracts and procurement, transparency and accountability, and school funding. He is a regular commentator for Parents United on 900WURD.

: James Wright is the father of three children, two of whom attend E.M. Stanton Elementary School. As an active member of the Supporters of Stanton, he helped lead the 2012 opposition to a proposed closure of Stanton. He now serves on Stanton’s School Advisory Committee and is a founding board member of Stanton Community Partners, a cross-sector group mobilizing broad community support for the school.

: Terry Pittman is a former SPAC representative for the Phila School District and Home and School representative for several years for Hill Freedman World Academy. He is a member of the IDD Talent Acquisition team for Merakey. He has nine years as an entrepreneur and four years preparing youth for career and college readiness as the Manager of Youth Programs at The Urban League of Philadelphia.

Our Founders

Helen Gym is the mother of three children in the Philadelphia public schools. As a parent at Powel Elementary School, she and other Powel parents organized around split grades (a practice the District ended in 2007) and support services. She writes commentary for the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, where she was its first full-time editor.

Alison McDowell is a past president of the Meredith Home and School Association. As a founder she was active around statewide equitable funding, District support for the arts, and a rich academic curriculum.

Aissia Richardson was a founding member of Parents United as past president of the Powel Home and School Association. As a founder, she led the fight for busing and transportation access and helped anchor Parents United’s Healthy Foods Campaign.

Bryan Robinson is a founder of Parents United, informed by the experiences of four children in the Philadelphia public schools. He is an active member of the Germantown Clergy Initiative, which was a leading community partner at the former Germantown High School. As a founder, he focused on safety and climate issues, leadership stability (Germantown High School had seen nine principals over a decade), and investment in neighborhood high schools.

Rev. LeRoi Simmons is a business leader and head of Germantown Clergy Initiative, which led a long term effort to invest in and build the former Germantown High School. GCI was a community partner in overseeing $10 million in Dept. of Labor grants and has been active in safety, mentoring and leadership development at the school. GCI also raised $100,000 to rebuild Germantown High School’s library. Rev. Simmons has been a leading voice around high school reform, particularly academic achievement and equitable funding.

Cecelia Thompson is the mother of a public school student living with autism. She is past Chair of the Philadelphia Right to Education Local Task Force IU 26, a citywide parent-led group representing the interests of special needs children and families attending public and charter schools in the District.

Gerald Wright is the father of two children in the public schools and past president of John Story Jenks Home and School Association. He is former Chair of the Father’s Day Rally Committee, Inc., a 20-year old organization promoting responsibility for and among families, fathers, and men in Philadelphia. Recently, he helped stop the closure of a local pool due to city budget cuts, saving a swim program for 70 swimmers.