Parent Action Group

Creating a strong school community with engaged parents and guardians can make the difference between a good school and a great school. For an immersion school with a diverse set of families, a strong community is even more important. We hope to build supportive and effective relationships in service of our children’s academic, social, and emotional development.

The Yu Ming Parent Action Group provides important opportunities to bring our community together to best support our school’s and students’ needs.

Find out about past and upcoming Parent Action Group meetings …

Yu Ming Parent Action Group

The Yu Ming Parent Action Group serves as the parent association for Yu Ming Charter School and includes all enrolled and founding families. The goals of the group are to:

Engage and coordinate our parent community to support the needs of the school, and
Build community among Yu Ming parents through social events, parent education and other opportunities.

Yu Ming relies on parent-run committees to help manage many different functions of the school. The PAG provides a vital forum to bring people leading and participating in these committees together on a regular basis to ensure our parent volunteers are supported, to coordinate our efforts, and to fill gaps where more help is needed.

The PAG builds upon the spirit of parent engagement that has been a part of Yu Ming from the beginning, and it is a community that plays an important role in creating a thriving, highly successful school with engaged parents. All the current Yu Ming parents are automatically members of the PAG.

“Working group” meetings of all committee leads and key volunteers are convened monthly by the President and Vice President and open to all parents interested in contributing their time and ideas. Parents who have new ideas or activities in mind for strengthening our school and community are encouraged to bring those ideas to the monthly PAG meetings.

Note: While the Parent Action Group has been established to strengthen parent involvement in the School, it does not replace opportunities for parents to discuss concerns or interests directly with the principal, staff or Board of Directors.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Role	2011-12 Academic Year	Description	Selection process
President	Meng-Hsiung Kiangmkiang@yumingschool.org(for 2011-12, the President also serves as the parent-elected representative on the Board of Directors, after being ratified by the Board)	The President of the Parent Action Group is elected annually by all currently enrolled families, and serves a one-year term. The President works closely with the principal to address the needs of the school and families, and mobilizes the parent community to support the school. The President coordinates the Parent Action Group meetings. This position is anticipated to require from 15 hours of volunteer time per month.	Elected by parents
Vice President	Melissa Leemlee@yumingschool.org	The Vice President of the Parent Action Group is elected annually by all currently enrolled families, and serves a one-year term. The Vice President supports the President and acts on behalf of the President when not available. This position is anticipated to require from 15 hours of volunteer time per month.	Elected by parents
Volunteer coordinator	Melissa Leemlee@yumingschool.org	Works with the principal, Board and PAG President to determine volunteer needs, match them with parent skills/interests, and track/recognize parent contributions.	Appointed by principal
Immersion Support coordinators	Erin Coyne and Ying Lin	Educate parent community on immersion education, benefits and challenges, Provide support resources.	Appointed by/reports to principal
Fund Development	Matthew Sade Chairmsade@yumingschool.orgCo-chair available	Work closely with Board and Principal to develop and implement annual fundraising plan in support of the school budget, including grants, donations, events, etc.	Appointed by/reports to Board of Directors
Facility Search	Ener Chiu Chairechui@yumingschool.org	Work closely with Board and Principal to develop and facilitate a search process that informs Board decisions about future Yu Ming facilities.	Appointed by/reports to Board of Directors
Enrollment	Dave Cherry Chairdcherry@yumingschool.org Kelly Scribner, Co-chair	Coordinate volunteers around enrollment outreach, information sessions, public random drawing, etc.	Appointed by principal
Facility Maintenance	Ben Peters Chairbpeters@yumingschool.org	Work closely with Principal to ensure Yu Ming facilities are serving our students and staff.	Appointed by principal
Hiring	Julie Mikuta Chairjmikuta@yumingschool.org	Support Principal in recruiting, interviewing and processing paperwork for hiring new positions.	Appointed by principal
Sustainability and Health	Lynna Tsou Chair	Work across school to achieve mission of environmental stewardship in operations and curriculum	Appointed by principal
Technology	Chair available	Manage school technology infrastructure, services and equipment. Support staff on technology needs.	Appointed by principal
Communications	Chrissy Schwinn (outgoing) Chair or co-chair available	Support Principal, staff and Board on official communications to parents and broader community, including emails, website, social media, events, etc.	Appointed by principal

Committee Chairs

Any parent/guardian of an enrolled Yu Ming Charter School student is eligible to lead a committee.
If interested in participating in, leading or co-leading one of these committees, please contact the current representative or volunteer coordinator.

Relevant Skills and Experience

Committee leads, coordinators and other core PAG representatives are responsible for:

Working with the principal or board of directors to identify priority needs and activities in their area of responsibility
Coordinating the necessary volunteers, as needed, to implement these activities over the year
Attending monthly Parent Action Group meetings, in addition to the specific responsibilities of their roles
Serve a one-year term, and help cultivate and train their successor

Specific skills and roles needed in each area are listed below:

Communications Committee Skills

Web writing, editing and production (WordPress, HTML, MailChimp)
Online marketing and promotions
Public relations, including local media relations contacts / experience (including Spanish and Chinese language outlets)
Graphic design, photography, videography, production
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese fluency and translation

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Enrollment Committee Skills

Strong organizational skills to coordinate enrollment meetings and assessment interviews as needed
Oral and written fluency in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese and Spanish to assist with enrollment presentations/information sessions and enrollment material translation
Skills in Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Excel to assist with enrollment materials, information session presentations and other enrollment tasks
Experience with enrollment processes at other schools – public and/or private
Public speaking skills for presenting/translating at enrollment and information sessions
Sales and marketing skills for outreach into communities to attract students to Yu Ming

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Facility Search Committee Skills

Real estate, architecture, design, sustainable design and engineering experience desired
Knowledge of city approval processes and codes
Construction/contracting experience for public schools
Real estate development
Commercial lease knowledge and negotiating experience, esp. in Alameda County

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Finance Committee Skills

Finance and accounting experience either on a strategic level (forecasting and budgeting) or on implementing basic bookkeeping processes and procedures
Knowledge of school and/or not-for-profit finance
Experience in financial oversight and audits, particularly on a board level

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Fund Development Committee Skills

Grant writing experience
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Fundraising, sales or marketing background
Contacts with wealthy individuals or foundations, especially foundations with a strategic focus on the following:
- Foreign language acquisition
- Chinese culture dissemination
- Public charter schools
- Language immersion education
Online fundraising programs and/or grass-roots fundraising experience (e.g., eScrip)
Experience in foodservice catering and/or large-scale event production