News from National Convention—Engaging Hispanic/Latino Families

National PTA ran the Hispanic/Latino Outreach Initiative from June 2018 to May 2019 in ten states to develop ways for PTAs to connect and engage with Hispanic/Latino families. The results of the initiative will be packaged in a toolkit for PTAs to use that will be released in early 2020. At the 2019 National PTA … Continue reading News from National Convention—Engaging Hispanic/Latino Families

News from National Convention—Proposed Dues Increase

Early this year, National PTA proposed an increase in national membership dues of $1.50/member, raising the total National PTA portion of dues from $2.25/member to $3.75/member. The original proposal was to make the dues increase effective July 1, 2019, but National PTA moved the proposed start date to September 1, 2019 based on feedback. The … Continue reading News from National Convention—Proposed Dues Increase

5 Tips to Boost Your PTA Membership

Membership is critical to your PTA’s success. Members become your PTA’s volunteers and leaders, but most importantly members, even those who never volunteer, are sending the message that what your PTA is doing is important for their child, for their family, and for their school. Here are five tips to help your PTA engage with … Continue reading 5 Tips to Boost Your PTA Membership

PTA Celebrates Back-to-School Week September 17-21

Next week, PTAs across the country will celebrate National PTA Back-to-School Week. Each day of Back-to-School Week will highlight and provide tips and resources for the people who support our children’s learning and success. Monday, September 17: PTA Leaders Tuesday, September 18: Parents Wednesday, September 19: Students Thursday, September 20: Teachers Friday, September 21: Office … Continue reading PTA Celebrates Back-to-School Week September 17-21

News from National Convention—Membership

Membership is at the heart of PTA, so it’s not surprising that membership was the focus of several workshops and one big announcement at the 2018 National PTA Convention in New Orleans. The announcement? Every PTA leader who registers or logs in to the Local PTA Leader Kit(formerly the Back-to-School Kit) will receive a new … Continue reading News from National Convention—Membership

Top 10 Tips for Middle School PTA Success

Middle school is different from elementary school for kids—they’re changing classrooms, managing a locker, and meeting new people from other elementary schools. It’s different for parents as well. New activities like band or sports may pull parents who have been involved in PTA at the elementary level away at the middle school level. Here are … Continue reading Top 10 Tips for Middle School PTA Success

News from National Convention: Attracting Today’s Parents

PTAs used to be able to simply set up a table with a “Join PTA” sign and have parents line up. But those days are long gone, and today’s PTA needs to provide parents with reasons for joining that resonate with them. At the 2017 National PTA Convention, two events focused on how PTAs can … Continue reading News from National Convention: Attracting Today’s Parents

News from the Illinois PTA Convention—Membership Workshops

One of the great opportunities at the Illinois PTA Convention is to attend workshops by state board members that provide you with new ideas and help you to be a better PTA leader. Illinois PTA Membership Marketing Director Julie Holdeman presented two great workshops on growing your PTA’s membership. The first, Planning a Year-Round Membership … Continue reading News from the Illinois PTA Convention—Membership Workshops

News from the Illinois PTA Convention—School of Excellence Program

At first glance, Kreitner Elementary School in Collinsville looks like a school that would be struggling to get families involved. The Pre-K through fourth grade school has just under 400 students, and 91% are from low-income families, 100% receive free lunch, 75% are Hispanic, and 53% are English Language Learners. And a few years ago, … Continue reading News from the Illinois PTA Convention—School of Excellence Program

5 Ways to Fire Up Your Middle School or High School PTA

PTAs and PTSAs at the middle school and high school level often struggle. It’s not that families are no longer involved with the school, it’s that they are now spread out among athletic boosters, band, orchestra, drama, and other groups as well as the PTA. Here are some ideas to fire up families to engage … Continue reading 5 Ways to Fire Up Your Middle School or High School PTA

National PTA Back-to-School Kit Now Available

It's that time of year again! The 2016-2017 National PTA Official Back-To-School Kit launched on Monday, June 27. As always, it's jam-packed with tools, resources and info—all specially designed to help you run your PTA. It's a one-stop click for everything you need to know. For the second year, the kit is completely digital and … Continue reading National PTA Back-to-School Kit Now Available

Create a Welcome Packet to Bring New Families into Your PTA

As the school year comes to a close, many PTA leaders look forward to an opportunity to put their feet up and relax until school starts in the fall. However, there is one thing that PTA leaders should be planning now to make their PTA more successful in the coming year—planning on how to welcome … Continue reading Create a Welcome Packet to Bring New Families into Your PTA