Schools may find strength in numbers with PTA

Last week, dozens of parents and teachers met with national and state Parent Teacher Association (PTA) board members to promote increased parent involvement in Orange County Public Schools.
The PTA is a national nonprofit organization comprised of more than 5 million parents and other concerned adults devoted to children's' educational success and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. The PTA has chapters at the national, state, local and school levels. Each school PTA belongs to a local PTA, the state PTA and the national PTA.
"We are all parents," Virginia PTA President Debbie Abadie said. "We have the same concern-[getting] the best education we can give our students possible. I've seen [the PTA] work in my state, school and city."
Currently, every school within the county has its own Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). PTOs are privately operated organizations, with each school governing their organization how they choose. This means there's little to no interaction between parents of different schools, something superintendent Dr. Bob Grimesey hopes to change.
"It's important I send a message that we're committed to positive parent engagement," he said. "[I wish to] promote a structure for parent-teacher organizations to come together in an Orange County partnership of PTOs so parents are meeting each other and coming together with common goals."
Grimesey said meeting with the PTA board members and hearing their stories and successes will benefit Orange County parents and teachers. He said he wishes to promote the emergence of parent leaders and continue the momentum that has emerged during this year's budget process.
"When a [school] employee or parent goes to Richmond, it gains a higher level of attention than when I go," he said.
"We want to carry the current momentum forward to future problems for the betterment of our students," District 4 school board member Jerry Bledsoe added.
According to Grimesey, being affiliated with the PTA would give the schools additional strength.
Switching from a PTO to a PTA has its benefits, according to PTA National President Chuck Saylors. He said while the PTA operates on a dues structure, the benefits outweigh the costs.
"For every $1.75 sent out the door, you get $3.75 back in resources," he said.
Those resources include reduced insurance rates, leadership training, increased parent involvement and volunteerism, and enhanced fundraising efforts. Students in schools with PTAs are also eligible to apply for PTA-funded scholarships.
"You save money through leadership skills, resources and discounts in insurance," Saylors said. "Plus, PTAs have more parent involvement than schools with PTOs because [you're] able to learn from other schools."
Saylors also said by being affiliated with the PTA, which is a nonprofit 501c3 organization, school PTAs also have the nonprofit designation. Usually, he said, groups pay approximately $750 to become a 501c3.
Plus, a big component of the PTA is advocacy.
"[Advocacy] is what started this organization 114 years ago," he said. "[It was a] group of mothers committed to getting students back in school, hot meals and vaccines in schools. Today, more than ever, we as parents have to band together. We [as a nation] have quit electing statesmen and started electing politicians. We want to give you the tools and resources to know what to say and who to say it to."
According to Virginia PTA Legislation Chair Kathy Burcher, if a PTA had been in place, parents may have learned about the budget crisis currently affecting education sooner.
"Our desire and efforts to get the word out is taking it all the way to localities through our system," she said.
According to Grimesey, switching to a PTA may be one way to keep recent parent involvement high.
"We've seen hundreds of parents turn out to meeting about [the budget] crisis," he said. "[We want] to capture what we've seen and have a structure for that. The rally was pretty powerful thing but how do you sustain that?"
Grimesey said the next step in the process of possibly switching to a more unified organization for the schools is to continue the conversation.
"Continue the conversation at the school level," he said. "Continue the conversation with the parent advisory committee."
"Whether or not you choose to be affiliated with the PTA, getting together a county council should be the first priority," Saylors said. "Tonight, when you leave us, its up to you if you affiliate eventually with the PTA but we work for every child in the nation regardless of affiliation."