The Difference Between PTAs and PTOs
Did you know that Parent Teacher Associations and Parent Teacher Organizations have a meaningful difference? This blog will talk about that difference and what that might mean to you as a parent or association leader.
The National Parent Teacher Association is a 120-year-old organization that has long advocated for children at the federal level. It has a network of over 4 million families that work to improve our children’s organization. If your organization is labeled as a PTA, you have access to this network and the benefits thereof. There are two main ways you have access to additional resources — at the state and national level. The latter is available at pta.org. The former differs by state but know that there is always a state organization with leadership that is available to help. You can get some additional details about what state PTAs do by listening to the New Mexico PTA President on this episode of the Multipurpose Room podcast. Whether you go to your state or national for resources, here is generally what you will find:
Grants
This is one of the greatest benefits and are often underused. At any given time, there are several grant opportunities available at the state or federal level. Each grant is typically directed at a certain area, e.g. STEM or ArtsEd, and requires a short submission related to what you will do with the grant. You can find some grant writing tips here and here.
Guidance on Running Your PTA
There are a number of resources such as example by-laws, advice on hosting meetings, advice on running fundraisers, etc. There was a wealth of information on how to navigate COVID when the pandemic first hit.
Social Media Templates
In particular, the state level PTAs are good about sending out items to share out on social media. This makes it easier to get notices out on your social media accounts and allows you to keep things fresh.
Advocacy Resources
There is an annual conference, LegCon, that shares out the National PTAs federal advocacy priorities for the year and gives detailed information on the focus issues. There are resources from background to example letters to your legislators. There are also resources around many other issues that face our educational system. So, if you are looking to advocate for an issue, there is likely an applicable position statement.
People
There are PTA leaders in roles dedicated to supporting membership. These people have seen a lot of different things in the PTA world and are usually able to give great advice or point you in the right direction on any issue.
A PTO (parent teacher organization), on the other hand, is typically focused on the issues in their own school or district. PTOs are often connected with a district-wide organization. As a result, there tends to be less ability to organization nationally and advocate for federal change. However, many of the resources still exist through a district network. In addition, as a PTO leader, you are still able to get a personal membership to a PTA organization and are available to avail yourself of many of the resources mentioned above including advocacy resources and written information.
Whether you are a PTA or PTO, the mission typically involved supporting our children in their educational journey. This is important work and the format through which you participate in this work is much less important than the impact you can make. Many studies show how important parent involvement in education is to our kids so keep up the great work!
Originally published at https://www.k12clothing.com on March 29, 2021.
