National PTA President's Letter
January, 2001
Helping Working Parents Juggle It All
In a National PTA survey, parents cited specific barriers to greater
involvement in their children's schools, including not having enough time in the
day and not being available during the times when the school wants them to
participate.
I'd like to start the New Year by giving PTAs an assignment to take a look at
how you accommodate working parents. For example,
Does your PTA/school do the following?
 | Give sufficient notice (one month, not one week, or worse, one
day) when scheduling activities. Working parents may need to arrange
for time off. |
| Host events for parents and educators to interact informally. |
| Help develop a handbook to meet parents' needs and encourage their
participation. |
| Distribute parenting information at parent-teacher conferences. |
| Come up with ways parents can volunteer without needing to be at
school. |
| Use e-mail to let parents know of upcoming projects/meetings or to
ask for their input. |
| Contribute to your school's website or host your own PTA site,
providing up-to-date information. |
| Vary the times and days, such as before and after school, of
volunteer opportunities. |
| Distribute school and event news through community bulletin
boards, your local cable access channel, and/or local radio
stations. |
| Provide forms parents can turn in with their questions if they
cannot attend a specific school meeting. |
| Publicize "want ads" of volunteer opportunities and
details, including responsibilities, times, etc. |
| Provide after-school programs for children who are home alone in
the afternoon. |
| Ask all parents how to make volunteer opportunities more
accessible. Try new ideas. |
|
TIP:
For more more ways to become involved in your child's school,
click here! |
|
For more ideas, refer to National PTA online,
or to "Building Successful Partnership: A Guide for Developing
Parent/Family Involvement Programs." Contact your
state PTA to request a parent involvement presentation or National PTA, at info@pta.org
or telephone (800) 307-4PTA (4782), to request a presentation at a national
conference or meeting.
Let's make a PTA New Year's resolution to make sure everyone who wants to
volunteer has an opportunity to do so.
Ginny Markell
President, National PTA
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