Soil flew and tiny shovels dug up weeds at Mount Si High School as a crew of 10 worked to spruce up the garden beds outside the main entrance Friday morning. The beautification effort was led by Beth Burrows, president of the school’s new PTSA.

“This is something that a large public institution wouldn’t be able to do, and we wouldn’t want them spending our hard-earned tax dollars on this. But this is perfect for parent volunteers to come in, and just give it that extra little polish,” said Burrows, who has a daughter, Maggie, at the high school, and a son, Sam, at North Bend Elementary.

Finding ways to connect parents with involvement opportunities at the high school is one of the many ways that Burrows contributes her time and talents to the school system, said Beth Castle, an assistant principal at Mount Si. “Typically, as kids get older, parent participation drops off, but Beth is there,” Castle said. “She’s really dedicated to success of students and Mount Si, and is willing to do the work to bring in parents. She asks, ‘How can we help you?’ and brainstorms ideas.”

Burrows has plenty of ideas for improving the school after years of experience heading PTSAs at Snoqualmie Middle School and North Bend Elementary, and serving as president of a district-wide council that started last year to help PTSAs share information and work together.

By reorganizing the high school’s parent organization, formerly called the Wildcat Inspiration Network, Burrows hopes to increase involvement. While the WIN acronym required some explaining, families are already familiar with “PTSA.”

“We’re hoping that now that name recognition gives us an extra boost in parent participation,” Burrows said.

The projects in need of help this year include an arts festival, which gives students a forum for exhibiting their creative works, ranging from bonsai plants to films.

“We want to make that into a bigger deal, so that the community will come in and make it more of an art gallery kind of a showing,” she said.

Also in the works is an “academic hall of achievement” to honor past scholars and dress up school hallways.

Most important to Burrows is sending out a regular e-newsletter, which will let parents know what’s happening in the school, from homecoming events to a “bragging section” highlighting student achievements.

“My main goal is to get parents informed. I want everyone to know what’s going on at this high school, and not have to rely on rumors and hearsay,” she said.

Burrows hopes getting parents in the loop will encourage them to get involved. “It’s important that whenever your children are involved in an organization, whether it’s Scouts, or sports, or school, that you contribute to that organization, too. You can’t keep dipping your cup in a well unless you fill the well,” she said, adding that volunteering even an hour a week makes a difference. A self-employed writer who recently went into real estate, Burrows knows people are often pressed for time.

“Still, it’s important for parents to give that extra little boost,” because one person’s efforts can mean little without the help of other community members.

“We have great staff, great parents. We just want to bring everything together and work as a tidal wave rather than little drops on our own.”

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