The goal of the local PTA advocacy committee chair is to inform the membership about education issues and North Carolina PTA legislative goals. Advocacy committee chairs can help the members become effective advocates. How this is achieved is up to each advocacy committee chair. There are no set rules to follow, but the following suggestions provide ideas for getting members involved, informed and active.
Communications
North Carolina PTA’s strength is in collective advocacy. Members work in a coordinated way to achieve major goals. Advocacy chairs should educate members about North Carolina PTA’s legislative goals and review these goals at membership meetings. The advocacy chair and North Carolina PTA can also provide regular progress reports to members about the issues and goals of North Carolina PTA as well as National PTA.
Effective member communication requires good membership lists with updated contact information for every member. Advocacy chairs are encouraged to determine and implement the most effective communication methods for the local PTA members.
Keeping Members Informed And Involved
Advocacy chairs can help with this in several ways:
- Communicate with local members regularly regarding North Carolina PTA activities and legislative goals.
- Help members understand where they can go for information.
- Hold regular meetings with local members to discuss legislative issues, and other children/youth concerns, and discuss with them how they can help improve schools.
- Take local members to school board meetings and county commission meetings when school issues are on the agenda so they can see first-hand how the process works.
- Invite elected public officials to meetings where they can discuss and be questioned on their education positions.