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Providing ways for parents to better support the growth, development and learning of their children and teenagers is the core purpose and value of PTA.

Setting up a Family Engagement Committee for your PTA ensures inclusion and gives parents ready access to the information, skills and training they need to support student success.

To build family engagement on campus, a good first step is to develop a year-long Action Plan. That way, you can organize, implement and assess your outreach efforts, programs and activities for family engagement more effectively.

5 Steps for an Action Plan:

• Survey parents, staff and students to identify the needs and priorities of the school community
• Create a family engagement team with parents, teachers, students, administrators and community partners to work together to support student success
• Design a family engagement Action Plan to reach and engage all families in the school community
• Present the programs budget for the Action Plan to the PTA board and association for approval
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the Action Plan, using a year-end survey or an evaluation sheet filled out at each event/activity

As part of your Action Plan, offer Parent Education Nights on a variety of subjects including:

To Boost Parenting Skills – Focus on topics such as child development, health and wellness, multiculturalism and diversity, bullying and gangs, substance abuse, the arts, family life/sex education, social media, cyber safety and the other tough issues facing parents raising children and teenagers today.

To Boost Student Achievement – Focus on topics such as school policies, homework help, curriculum, reading, writing, math, STEAM, standardized testing, school safety, campus climate, student engagement and school improvement.

To expand your outreach efforts, follow up by using your PTA newsletter, website and social media postings to provide more information and resources on these topics.

Founders Day is a perfect time to renew the dedication to the Purposes of the PTA that were defined by PTA’s founders more than a century ago. Each year in February, PTA honors the three founders as well as past and present PTA leaders. Through special programs and events, PTA also attempts to increase the awareness of its members and the community by highlighting achievements, activities, projects and goals.

The Founders Day celebration was created in 1910 by Mrs. David O. Mears, a charter member of the National Congress of Mothers founded by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst in Washington, D.C., February 17, 1897. The Founders Day observance has continued through the change of organization names in 1925 to the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the uniting in 1970 with the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, founded in 1926 by Selena Sloan Butler, to become the National PTA (A Brief History: Working Together for Children Since 1987).

Issues concerning immigrants, homeless children and families, the unemployed and the uneducated, and numerous health and safety concerns still need attention. However, through PTA advocacy to enact and enforce laws, children’s health is better protected and children are better fed, housed and educated, with parents more involved in their upbringing. The vision of PTA’s founders has been realized in many ways, and now it is up to present PTA members to continue the vision.

 

Revised January 2011 – Community Concerns

PTAs have a responsibility to identify and promote awareness of safety problems in the school community and, in collaboration with others, to help develop solutions.

Safety is a growing concern for the public. Preparedness for emergencies and disasters, as well as the prevention of unintentional injuries, is a serious concern of those who care for children in the home, at school, and in the community.

Activities to promote safety are related closely to and can be incorporated in all PTA efforts.

Revised May 2013 – Health

National PTA and California State PTA believe that health education and student wellness are critical to student success and are the responsibility of every member of the community.

Promote Physical, Mental and Emotional Health Education

Educate parents on how to recognize and respond to the health and nutrition needs of their families.

Encourage compliance with health and physical education directives in the curriculum.

Advocate for the improvement of health care facilities and services in the school and community.

Advocate for the implementation of the recommended school nurse-to-student ratio of 1:750.

Stress the concepts of wellness and prevention.

Partner in the development of, implement, update and evaluate school district wellness policies.

Emphasize the importance of healthy lifestyles and modeling these lifestyles for children.

Promote a school environment that is consistent with health education being taught in the classroom.

Build awareness and engage parents to be responsive to environmental issues and hazards that may jeopardize the health of children and families.

Establish a comprehensive school health program that integrates activities and services designed to promote the optimal physical, emotional, social and educational development of children and youth.

For additional topics see the “Job Description for Health.”

See “Health” in Advocacy Topic Index for related resolutions, position statements and guidelines.

California State PTA believes it is important for parents and community members to be knowledgeable about education issues affecting student learning and achievement. PTAs should participate actively at all levels of the decision-making process and the implementation of the legally-required parent involvement policy, Education Code 11500-11506 and the State Board of Education 1994 Parent Involvement Policy. Parent participation should include but not be limited to:

• School Accountability Report Card (SARC), an instrument to inform the local community about the conditions and progress of the school, including holding public forums to share results with the community.
• School Budget
• Curriculum
• Assessment
• School Site Council/Governance
• District Advisory and Community Advisory Committees
• Other matters affecting the outcome of education.

The local PTA education chairman and committee should promote understanding of the purposes and needs of public schools and encourage participation by parents and community members in working toward any necessary improvements in public education. The education chairman and committee should highlight and promote the importance of parents’ involvement in their children’s education.

For additional details on the responsibilities of the Education Chairman, see “Job Description for Education Chairman.”

See “Education” in Advocacy Topic Index for related resolutions, position statements or guidelines.

Local PTA Advocacy for Children and Youth

Laws enacted by local, state and national bodies are primary sources of public policy. Securing adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth is one of the purposes of the organization. Therefore, PTA maintains an active legislation program.

PTAs can and must participate actively in the process through which public policy decisions are made. Any unit, council or district PTA may recommend action on legislation to the California State PTA Board of Managers.

Unit, council and district PTAs are responsible for taking action on local issues originating in school districts, cities, regions, or counties.

For details on the responsibilities of the legislation chairman see “Job Description for Legislative Advocacy Chairman.”

Study the Issues
State and Federal Issues
Communicate with Your Elected Officials
Public Appearance
Organize a Rally