Each year schools look to the Parent Teacher Associations to assist the schools and increase its ability to provide programs for students and encourage parental engagement in the school. Some PTAs seem to sprout up and grow parent involvement at the school while other schools struggle to have enough people to fill the four elected PTA officer positions that oversee the PTA efforts. Why is this?
Why there is a lack of involvement by parents and community members is the question that PTA’s across the nation struggle with. If there were a simple solution our creative and forward thinking volunteers would have found the answer. PTAs are great at grassroots organizing for the success of children. Don’t be discouraged — there is a way to make your PTA blossom. One key is to develop a plan. Now you ask, “what kind of plan?” It is simple. It is a plan that answers the following questions:
- What is it that you want to accomplish this school year?
- How will you reach your goals?
- Do you need people, resources or money to achieve the goals and if so how many/much?
When you answer these questions you create goals. As you create goals you develop strategies to achieve these goals. This process is called strategic planning.
National and State PTA offers many resources (in-person and online) that assist your PTA in developing a strategic plan. On National PTA’s website at http://www.pta.org/members/ you will find tools on all aspects of running your PTA including governance, membership, programs, finance, and fundraising, just to name a few. E-Learning courses on a variety of topics are also available.
NCPTA’s website also offers great resources to answer questions on topics including the roles of officers, duties of the nominating committee, good standing requirements, financial tools, and bylaws. Just click the Leaders tab. Training videos are also available on a variety of topics.
The spring and summer offers opportunities for in-person training development:
- NCPTA Spring Leadership “Growing Together, Stronger Together” – four locations in March and April
- 2016 NCPTA Annual State Convention – May 20-21 in Greensboro
- 2016 NPTA Convention – June 30-July 3 in Orlando, Florida
We encourage all leaders to become familiar with these resources and share with your members. All these materials will make the process of developing a strategic plan for your PTA so much easier.
Coming next month – How to Develop a Vision for Your PTA