Founded Feb. 17, 1897, the PTA is the largest organization of its sort in the United States. The PTA is a national nonprofit organization; its primary goals are to support local PTAs and to advocate for legislation aimed at boosting student achievement. Among the issues that the national PTA and its 25,000 local units address are school funding, teacher quality, academic standards and school safety.
Local PTAs determine what issues need to be addressed at their schools or in their districts. At one school, for example, the PTA may want to emphasize school safety and ask parent volunteers to help enforce school parking, drop-off and pickup procedures. At another school, academic achievement may be the focus, so parents are asked to serve on the school improvement team. The national PTA can provide resources to help local PTAs identify and address local concerns.
Local PTAs determine their emphasis areas, but as chapters of national- and state-level PTAs, local units must elect a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Each state-level PTA has guidelines that identify the policies and procedures a local council must follow. Those guidelines also stipulate the dues that should be paid to the state; a portion of those dues are then paid to the national PTA. According to the national PTA, dues revenue helps provide resources, information and training programs to PTA members.
Among the important roles parents have in schools, fundraising is probably the most well-known job. Through book fairs, family pizza nights and community fun runs, parent volunteers bring in money to support local PTA initiatives. Events like these help supplement dues revenue.
Local PTAs have many ways for parents to become involved. Many of these groups have Web sites that list the many committees and jobs within those committees that parents are encouraged to join. Some parents may be interested in helping to maintain school property, for example. Others may be drawn to helping organize annual fairs and community events. Still other parents may find a niche in helping determine what science curriculum is used in the school. School needs are great, and Interested parents can be sure they'll find a PTA duty that will enable them to contribute to their child's education in a meaningful way.