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Friday, February 9, 2007
A PTA Lament
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been the president of my child’s school PTA for almost two years, and I can’t say it’s been a pleasurable experience. Planning events, holding meetings, raising money, calling businesses in the community — only to get the phone slammed on you — isn’t easy.
In my experience, the PTA at my school has been treated with a fair amount of disdain and hostility — from the teachers feeling they shouldn’t have to deal with it to the parents feeling they don’t have the time.
On a daily basis I see the teachers at the school. While they don’t hesitate to ask the PTA to pay for certain things (awards, gift certificates, gifts for custodians, spelling bee prizes, etc.), many of them balk at having to stay after school for any activity involving the PTA.
I spent many of my own vacation days volunteering at the school. I sacrificed them and worked over the Christmas holidays. Meanwhile, teachers complain to the administration that they’re being “hassled” by the PTA.
The principal “strongly suggested” at the beginning of the school year that they all become members, and it wasn’t without controversy. Many of them claimed they couldn’t afford it or pointed out that their children didn’t even attend the school so they were forced to pay dues at two campuses.
During August, I was told more than once that the county “doesn’t pay me to join PTA.” In October, while planning to host a fashion show fund-raiser for the Spring Carnival, one parent showed up … and no teachers. Doesn’t anyone care about the PTA anymore?
Today’s guest blogger, a DeKalb County mother, has been involved with the PTA for about three years. A longtime reader of Get Schooled, she’s nearing the end of her first stint as PTA president. If you’d like to be a guest blogger here, send an entry on any education topic to bgutierrez@ajc.com.
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