Dear Challenge Program Families,

The Challenge Parents Association (CPA) welcomes you to a new semester! Our primary role is to support gifted education at Terrace Park School. As parents of Challenge Program children, you are already members of CPA. There is no membership fee. We advocate for and support highly capable students, their families and teachers. Our main goals for the 2010-2011 school year are:

Communicate

We aim to keep you informed about events and changes you may not hear about through usual channels. We regularly update the Challenge Spot, www.challengeparents.org with news and information of interest to our Challenge Program families.  Please make sure you are subscribed by email or RSS feed to stay informed.

Participate

Your participation in your child’s education happens on many levels. There will be opportunities for you to help out in the classroom, on field trips, around school, and at the district and state levels, and participate in discussions at our meetings. Please become as involved as you can.

Advocate

CPA advocates for the needs of gifted children at the school, district, and state levels. We invite you to attend CPA general and board meetings, the Edmonds School District board meetings, and Gifted Education Day in Olympia. The students need programs that meet their unique needs, and you can help to keep funding in place and continued critical legislative support by letting your voice be heard. Call, email, or write to your District Officials, Edmonds School Board members, and your local, state, and federal representatives.

We’re all in this together!! As parents and primary advocates of highly capable children, we need to be more involved socially, politically, and financially in the support of our gifted learners’ needs.

It is essential that we work to ensure the continued success of our Challenge Program.

We know every family’s budget is unique, so we’d like to offer you flexibility in how frequently and how much you contribute to CPA. We’ve had a suggested donation of $90 per semester ($180 per year) for families with one student in Challenge and $150 per semester ($300 per year) for families with two or more Challenge students. But, we appreciate any amount your family can contribute. We also are happy to accept your donations annually, each semester, monthly or whenever is convenient for you. We will send out a donation form each semester but you can pay what you can, whenever you can. You will receive a tax receipt from CPA in January of your total donations from the previous calendar year. Every bit counts! We will keep you informed of how your dollars are being spent to enrich your child’s educational experience.

Our fund drive goal for 2010-2011 school year is $10,000, and ask for your support to reach our goal.

If your employer matches donations, use this opportunity to double your contribution to CPA!