Is your PTA/PTO friendly and welcoming?

[Anonymous]

Our PTA is always struggling for parent volunteers. The board seems so cliquey and unfriendly. I feel they only want their friends and kids’ friends to volunteer.

[Anonymous]

Yup, that’s my experience at PTO as well. They act like they want more volunteers, but then ice people out when they try unless they’re friends or known to be well connected ($).

I was involved some precovid when I had multiple kids at the school. Then covid created a natural exit point and I never went back.

Public elementary school

[Anonymous]

Hell no.

[Anonymous]

We have been at two elementary schools in the past few years. The first one had a wonderful, inclusive, and very transparent PTA. They appreciated help and I was always happy to volunteer because everyone was so nice. The second one has a PTO that is the polar opposite. They don't have public meetings, they don't have a newsletter, and they don't seem to want or appreciate help (I was micro-managed and treated like I was this person's employee, not a volunteer who was donating her time to help her child's school), so I'm never volunteering again!

[Anonymous]

My experience is with a PTA at a Title 1 elementary school: very open, inclusive, and transparent. Extensive volunteer involvement throughout the school population, which I've been told is unusual for a Title 1 school.
I understand that the local middle school PTA is the exact opposite, but we aren't there yet.

[Anonymous]

I found our DCPS ES one to be friendly. They liked and needed volunteers! That’s the main thing. Too many things to do, never enough people. Almost all the parents had jobs outside the home too.

[Anonymous]

Ours is! If you show up and volunteer, you will quickly make connections and friends. Am I going to wine on a Friday with 15 of these moms (lol)? No. But our kids play, we are friendly, if I am in a jam and can’t get to activity pick up, they will grab my kids. They look out for my SN kiddo.

[Anonymous]

Ours is friendly and welcoming. It has a lot going on and many opportunities to volunteer. MCPS close-in suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Very welcoming and inclusive. No problem getting volunteers. Private school so not technically a PTA but mom's and dad's groups.

[Anonymous]

No

[Anonymous]

Why do I have to join to be a volunteer? I’m not interested in all the snack bars they put on for teachers. I am interested in making copies or whatever grunt work teachers need.

Ours isn’t cliquey-I just don’t like their activities and don’t want to be voluntold to do things.

[Anonymous]

The one at the high school level is very welcoming. Slightly less so at the younger ages. Not sure why.

[Anonymous]

Selectively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do I have to join to be a volunteer? I’m not interested in all the snack bars they put on for teachers. I am interested in making copies or whatever grunt work teachers need.

Ours isn’t cliquey-I just don’t like their activities and don’t want to be voluntold to do things.

They make you join to volunteer? Tha seems odd. We have lots of volunteers that aren't official, dues-paying members of the PTA.

Our PTA does a lot to assist the teachers and staff, but the biggest events during the year are geared at the entire school community (students and families).

[Anonymous]

In elementary, yes. As with most things, it takes repeated exposure to get to know people though (attending a few meetings or volunteering a few times). No clue about middle school or high school.