How One Mom Brought the PTA to Life
Teresa is the mom of two kids. Her son Craig was a second grader at Paul Revere when Teresa became involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
The Problem
In the fall of 2003, there was very little parent involvement at Paul Revere. There was a PTA but it only had a few members. Teresa remembers complaining to the school's parent liaison about not receiving information about a school fundraiser in time to participate. The parent liaison explained that there just weren't enough parent volunteers to get everything done.
Making a Change
Teresa decided to try to get more parents involved at Paul Revere. She ran for secretary of the PTA, and then became president the following year. As president, she recruited more parents, teachers and staff to join the PTA and increased the number of events the PTA planned. PTA membership went from 16 members up to 73 members in just one year. The PTA held lots of community events and fundraisers, including a car wash, a carnival, an international potluck, movie nights, a talent show and an ice cream social.
Teresa also worked to make the school friendlier to parents who want to be involved. Teresa set up a beautiful parent room with space for parents to meet and bulletin boards for sharing information. She also started holding informal parent meetings at the school to give parents a chance to come together. These weekly morning meetings are now run by the school's parent liaison, but continue to provide time for parents to talk and help each other. They also often have guest speakers or workshops on topics of concern to parents.
The PTA is working to draw greater support from the neighborhood. Members held a welcome meeting for new kindergarten parents, and they are reaching out to attract neighborhood families to their school.
Getting Other Parents Involved
Teresa started by recruiting the parents she knew from her son's class, and went from there. She just talked with parents and asked them for help with projects. The school's parent liaison was also a big help in recruiting parents. Teresa has found that parents are drawn in to help by an interest in a particular event like bingo night, the school raffle, or the car wash and barbeque.
Working With the School
Teresa noted that she is still trying to improve cooperation between parents and teachers. She said that many of the teachers don't know how to be open to parent involvement and are afraid it is just going to mean more work. Paul Revere faces an additional challenge in this area because a large percentage of the school staff was new last year as part of an intensive school improvement program. Teresa noted that communication has sometimes been lacking between staff and parents as changes have occurred.
