October
26,
2011
Paul
Lee
President
ABC
Entertainment
500
S.
Buena
Vista
Street
Burbank,
CA
91521-‐4581
Dear
Mr.
Lee:
I
am
writing
about
two
ABC
Network
(ABC)
television
shows,
Desperate
Housewives
and
Suburgatory,
that
recently
aired
episodes
focusing
on
Parent
Teacher
Association®
(PTA)
members
(parents)
in
a
negative
light.
We
understand
the
comedic
attempt
to
poke
fun
at
the
everyday
lives
of
some
families
but
the
reality
is
that
there
are
millions
of
involved
parents
and
families
across
the
country
that
fight
for
the
rights
of
all
children
and
ensure
they
have
the
high-‐quality
education
they
deserve.
Consider
this:
out
of
34
countries,
American
students
ranked
14th
in
reading,
17th
in
science
and
25th
in
math.
Now
consider
that
decades
of
research
shows
that
parent
involvement
is
the
leading
indicator
to
student
success.
In
fact,
the
magnitude
of
the
effect
of
parent
involvement
equals
more
than
$1,000
in
spending
per
pupil.
While
parents
are
working
to
help
children
succeed
and
return
the
United
States
to
a
global
leader
in
education,
ABC
is
mocking
them
and
their
efforts.
As
a
major
network
with
enormous
reach,
ABC
has
a
responsibility
to
its
viewers
and
the
American
public
to
call
positive
attention
to
everyday
champions
of
children
and
the
state
of
education.
Instead
of
providing
a
platform
to
ridicule
families,
ABC
should
take
note
from
one
of
its
competitors
like
NBC
and
the
network’s
week-‐long
programming
of
Education
Nation.
We
think
this
is
a
great
opportunity
for
ABC
to
educate
its
viewers
about
PTA,
as
well
as
the
significance
and
positive
affects
of
family
engagement.
We
are
happy
to
join
ABC
on
any
programming
the
network
may
have
coming
up
or
on
any
daytime
television
talk
shows
to
demonstrate
what
millions
of
parents
and
families
are
doing
to
ensure
all
children
make
their
full
potential
a
reality.
Sincerely,
Betsy
Landers
President
National
PTA
The Bath Elementary PTA supports the Dike-Newell and Fisher-Mitchell schools through fundraising, advocacy and volunteer efforts.
