Parent Interview: "PTA should be the bridge organization for the teachers and parents."

1. Have you been to a PTA meeting?

-Yes, I have been to one meeting this academic school year.

2. Do you know what the PTA is and does at our school?

-I know what the PTA does, but not exactly sure what the goals are for our campus.

3. Shirley Igo, the former PTA president claims, "Now more than ever, PTA has to be an organization that not only welcomes, but also embraces diversity." Do you feel this is true of the PTA at our school?

-Too hard to tell at the one PTA meeting I attended. It appeared more like a committee meeting.

4. What would you like to see happen with the PTA at our school?

-I would like to see the PTA be the bridge organization for the school administrators, teachers, and parents. I think it is very important that the parent community come together on a regular basis to meet and discuss the school. It appears that other school events seem to take the place of the PTA, which makes the PTA seem less relevant. Perhaps some of these events could be coordinated as co-PTA events so that there is much greater participation. During community dinners, perhaps the parents could eat separately from the students so that they can meet. Most of the communication I receive from the PTA centers on fundraising, and I am unclear on what its purpose is. I would like a forum where I could talk to the teachers and administrators about the school and things going on in the school.

**I feel that this parent has captured the essence of our vision for the role of the PTA organization in a school. We want to see an increase in parents and teachers in the PTA so that they begin a dialogue about ways to enrich the multicultural education in the school.**