 Diversity
Know your community. Who are they? Single moms? Single dads? 2 parent household?
What is the religious make up of the kids in your school?
Is it mostly blue collar work? Second and third shifts or is there a mix of professionals?
Once you define what your community looks like then you can start to determine the needs and interests of those you intend to enlist to your team as well.
Look around the room at your next meeting, do you see a good representation of your student body? If so then congratulations! You've done a great job! But if you notice for example that there is no Asian or Hispanic parent representation then you need to find out why.
Once you know why then you can go out and try to enlist those groups that are noticeably absent.
How can we get more of these parents involved?
Suggestions:
Although time consuming the face to face personal approach is usually the best. Ask them. Make it your board and committee member's goal to bring in a new person every month, fathers, seniors, representation of every group in your community.
What activity are you planning? A read in? Ask grandparents to read. Go to the local senior's complex and talk with their administrators and ask them for some volunteers.
Carnival? Fishing tournaments? Father (or father figure) child baseball game (football or soccer) these are some of the things that would appeal to dads, uncles, big brothers, etc.
Plan events that can incorporate some type of cultural theme. Such as a "Sounds from the Caribbean" evening where families can dance to the beat of the steel drums.
Have a "Taste of (name of your school)" night. Where the children and their families can bring a traditional family dish to share.
Look in your local paper. What are some of the events being planned for the community?
These events sometimes can be used as a platform for planning a similar event in the school.
PTA (PTSA) is more than meetings, and by involving parents through other activities we open the door to communicate the mission and goals of the PTA, while letting them know that parents do have a voice and can make a difference in their child's education.
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