PTO Today

Detailed feature from Dallas looks at declining membership numbers for Texas state PTA and PTA overall. One quibble: declining PTA numbers often do not equate to declining parent involvement. If state PTA loses 250 members because a unit goes PTO, that doesn’t mean parent involvement is down; it means that PTA membership difference. Subtle but key difference. Want to talk about PTo v PTA — check out our message board on the issue.

Local PTO president on Long Island, NY makes an impassioned case in her local paper about the merits of her quite large parent group.

Excuse the rant, but … man-oh-man …. does the PTA ever want it both ways. This article from New Hampshire has the national PTA president, Anna Weselak, making a recruiting visit to a local PTO. (Note: she and a bunch of other PTA muckety-mucks were up in NH for a sparsely-attended New England PTA expo.) That’s OK, but I just wish PTA would be more straight-forward. When recruiting a PTO, it’s: “Weselak decried accusations that her group is politically motivated…”. But when talking in DC or on its own website, it’s all about advocacy and growing “the voice.” PTA is political or it is not. Both are fine. But providing the answer of convenience depending on who’s asking is too slippery for my taste. (And I’ll save the rant about the other half-truths in that article.

California paper does good job of describing the breadth of parent group work in its region. But the research on the actual differences between PTOs and PTAs could have been a bit more nuanced. Example: writer could have started here.

Entire 16-school district in California makes the switch from PTA to PTO. Stated reason: groups didn’t want to keep sending $3.75 of each $5 membership to Sacramento and Chicago. The savings: likely in the range of $12,000-$15,000 per year.

Well-researched and well-balanced piece on the trend toward PTOs from the Sacramento Bee. (Note: free registration may be required.) Writer and many PTA leaders still use the 6 million PTA member number. Actual count is down now to 5.5 million (which includes many, many parents with kids in multiple schools double or triple counted) or so. Presents facts on both sides. Good read.

Today’s Wall Street Journal (page W13) has a feature-length opinion piece taking PTA to task. PTOs and PTO Today mentioned prominently toward end of article. Read the full text here. And there’s a discussion re: the article here.

Interesting dust-up in Massachusetts. Boston Globe covers fight between Governor and Mass. PTA. Good story, but misses the key question: why the heck is the Mass. PTA responsible for this nomination? Classic case of a politico assuming that PTA = all parent groups, when in reality Massachusetts PTA represents less than 5% of Mass parent-teacher groups. Love idea of a parent requirement on the state Board of Ed., but i can think of 10 better options for how to choose that parent. Troubling, too: state PTA president says PTA’s nominee has to agree to support all national PTA positions. Absurd, considering that Massachusetts has close to zero voice with National PTA (less than one-third of one percent of national membership). Will follow…