2011 2012 THEME: Bridging Achievement; Empowering Communities A message from the Hill PDAC Liaisons

The mission of the Parent Diversity Advisory Council is to positively impact the academic achievement of a diverse student population through school-specific outreach efforts and initiatives that focus on and directly address disparate academic performance. The Parent Diversity Advisory Council is: A volunteer group comprised of parents, teachers, school board members, community leaders, and administrators from the District 204 community. Diversity acknowledges each individual with respect to race, ethnicity, culture, gender, religion, social class, immigrant status, sexual orientation, economic status, special needs, urban/suburban, language, learning styles, and family structure. PDAC promotes learning about and understanding, embracing and celebrating differences and commonalities. The PDAC meets on a monthly basis and all meetings are open all District 204 community members. What is happening this year: From our first meeting we learned: There is a preponderance of Evidence that shows Parent Involvement Improves Student Achievement Children with involved fathers who live in two-parent families are more likely to get mostly As, regardless of the level of the mothers involvement. Many parents do much less than they should, and many schools engage in practices that limit parental involvement in school decision-making. As your PDAC liaisons, we want to look at our school and PTA practices to ensure we are facilitating an atmosphere that advocates parental involvement. Questions? Contact: Cathy Piehl: piehl1409@wowway.com. All are welcome to attend future PDAC meetings. We want to ensure Hill students are inspired to achieve their potential. Please put these dates into your calendar. For more information visit: PDAC Website 2011-2012 PDAC Meeting Dates Location and time: 7:00 pm in the CEC, 780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora October 18: PTA, PDAC & Your School- Strengthening the Home & School Bond Guest speaker: from National PTA November 15: PDAC World Caf & Equity Champion Recognition December 13: Diversity in Stem Fields/Education Guest Speaker: Alka Tyle, Chair STEM204 January 17: Diversity Initiatives Across our District & Community Guest speaker: Mario Lambert, President NAACP, Dupage Co. Branch

Parent Diversity Advisory Council

February 7: The Impact of Self-Image on Achievement & Motivation Guest Speaker: Dr. Mark McKee, Psy.D. March 13: Positive Self-Image & Academics April 10: Dialogue Circle May 8: Sharing & Celebrating our Success in District 204