There Needs to Be Enforced Equity Among PTA's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to Cabin John Middle. I did pay my PTSA dues each year, but I "adopted" Forest Oak Middle in Gaithersburg (I have a teacher friend working there). That's who I gave my money to.

My kid goes to a higher FARMS rate high school now, not a W school. And the difference in parent participation is stark. The PTSA definitely does not have resources to provide extras like Cabin John's did. So now I sink my $ into my kid's school.

Your kid goes to a magnet program of some sort in the non-W HS, amirite?

[Anonymous]

OP is welcome to try and enforce equity among PTAs. She will find it hard to get any volunteers in the school that her kids go to.

For the rich PTAs with educational foundations, it should remain business as usual,

[Anonymous]

Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

Mccpta is a bunch of old women who do very little and pat themselves on the back. Most don’t even have kids in mcps. Your suggestion would be great. Mcps has an educational foundation that does some stuff.

https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/

[Anonymous]

Most parents have no idea what the PTA can do or not do. PTA is not there to run the school and buy supplies for the teachers. However, through the PTA, creative workarounds can result in enrichment for the students and infrastructure for programing that MCPS and schools are not providing.

However, this requires a certain degree of education and sophistication from the PTA volunteers (usually moms) to navigate how they bring these programs in to the school while being in compliance with the MCPS and PTA rules.

Most of the W-Schools parent volunteers have access to lawyers (or they are lawyers themselves) and they have hit upon the solution of having an educational foundation that can bypass MCPS and PTA rules of gifts to teachers and actually fund not only classroom supplies but also bring many amazing opportunities to their students.

As a non-W school parent, I am thankful to these PTAs and educational foundation for having shown me the workaround to do something similar for my kid's school. These PTAs and Foundations are amazing resources for other parents in the county who want to bring opportunities for their children. Who is stopping us from copying them? Only our own laziness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

Mccpta is a bunch of old women who do very little and pat themselves on the back. Most don’t even have kids in mcps. Your suggestion would be great. Mcps has an educational foundation that does some stuff.

https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/

Oh wow! So OP and the rest of you posters will band together and bring a revolution in MCPS classrooms now? I am waiting with bated breath!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to Cabin John Middle. I did pay my PTSA dues each year, but I "adopted" Forest Oak Middle in Gaithersburg (I have a teacher friend working there). That's who I gave my money to.

My kid goes to a higher FARMS rate high school now, not a W school. And the difference in parent participation is stark. The PTSA definitely does not have resources to provide extras like Cabin John's did. So now I sink my $ into my kid's school.

Your kid goes to a magnet program of some sort in the non-W HS, amirite?

Nope. Those magnet schools have very active PTSAs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to Cabin John Middle. I did pay my PTSA dues each year, but I "adopted" Forest Oak Middle in Gaithersburg (I have a teacher friend working there). That's who I gave my money to.

My kid goes to a higher FARMS rate high school now, not a W school. And the difference in parent participation is stark. The PTSA definitely does not have resources to provide extras like Cabin John's did. So now I sink my $ into my kid's school.

Your kid goes to a magnet program of some sort in the non-W HS, amirite?

Nope. Those magnet schools have very active PTSAs.

Not for long. Now that magnet admissions is based on lottery, watch these schools and PTSAs also go to dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

Mccpta is a bunch of old women who do very little and pat themselves on the back. Most don’t even have kids in mcps. Your suggestion would be great. Mcps has an educational foundation that does some stuff.

https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/

Oh wow! So OP and the rest of you posters will band together and bring a revolution in MCPS classrooms now? I am waiting with bated breath!!

Congratulations! I hope being a jerk makes you feel better about yourself… are you 13 years old? You sound deeply insecure and immature. Good luck, you sound like you need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

Mccpta is a bunch of old women who do very little and pat themselves on the back. Most don’t even have kids in mcps. Your suggestion would be great. Mcps has an educational foundation that does some stuff.

https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/

Oh wow! So OP and the rest of you posters will band together and bring a revolution in MCPS classrooms now? I am waiting with bated breath!!

Congratulations! I hope being a jerk makes you feel better about yourself… are you 13 years old? You sound deeply insecure and immature. Good luck, you sound like you need it.

Brilliant riposte! Bravo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is exactly why we need the kind of re-districting and bussing that the BOE was analyzing before they scrapped the plan. PTAs at rich schools are always going to do their thing. Rich parents will always find a way to pour whatever money they can into their DC's school. We can only make it more equitable by reallocating these rich families across the county schools so that they begin to enrich the poorer schools too.

It is a false assumption that rich people would continue to donate if they were the only ones in a school donating. People donate when other people do it and don’t donate when other people don’t, regardless of the amount of money that they have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to Cabin John Middle. I did pay my PTSA dues each year, but I "adopted" Forest Oak Middle in Gaithersburg (I have a teacher friend working there). That's who I gave my money to.

My kid goes to a higher FARMS rate high school now, not a W school. And the difference in parent participation is stark. The PTSA definitely does not have resources to provide extras like Cabin John's did. So now I sink my $ into my kid's school.

Your kid goes to a magnet program of some sort in the non-W HS, amirite?

Nope. Those magnet schools have very active PTSAs.

No, they don't. Only the magnet families are involved and donate the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

Mccpta is a bunch of old women who do very little and pat themselves on the back. Most don’t even have kids in mcps. Your suggestion would be great. Mcps has an educational foundation that does some stuff.

https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/

Oh wow! So OP and the rest of you posters will band together and bring a revolution in MCPS classrooms now? I am waiting with bated breath!!

I have zero interest in PTA or MCCPTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no. No one would give anything to a general MCPS slush fund or trust MCCPTA with money. Too many past issues.

It would be nice if MCCPTA would organize larger scale community projects like coat drives, book drives, clothing swaps and give aways, end of school supply collection and later redistribution, board game drives, classroom decorations drives etc. MCPS could give them a few rooms in the central office and they could rent extra off site storage. They basically could run a free store for MCPS students with donations. Good for the environment too. But this would take work. Much easier to do nothing and whine.

For teachers that need stuff, go join your local buy nothing group and your Nextdoor neighborhood and post what you need. Chances are you will get everything.

Mccpta is a bunch of old women who do very little and pat themselves on the back. Most don’t even have kids in mcps. Your suggestion would be great. Mcps has an educational foundation that does some stuff.

https://www.mcpsfoundation.org/

Oh wow! So OP and the rest of you posters will band together and bring a revolution in MCPS classrooms now? I am waiting with bated breath!!

Congratulations! I hope being a jerk makes you feel better about yourself… are you 13 years old? You sound deeply insecure and immature. Good luck, you sound like you need it.

They are probably the MCCPTA who collect money but don't actually do much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most parents have no idea what the PTA can do or not do. PTA is not there to run the school and buy supplies for the teachers. However, through the PTA, creative workarounds can result in enrichment for the students and infrastructure for programing that MCPS and schools are not providing.

However, this requires a certain degree of education and sophistication from the PTA volunteers (usually moms) to navigate how they bring these programs in to the school while being in compliance with the MCPS and PTA rules.

Most of the W-Schools parent volunteers have access to lawyers (or they are lawyers themselves) and they have hit upon the solution of having an educational foundation that can bypass MCPS and PTA rules of gifts to teachers and actually fund not only classroom supplies but also bring many amazing opportunities to their students.

As a non-W school parent, I am thankful to these PTAs and educational foundation for having shown me the workaround to do something similar for my kid's school. These PTAs and Foundations are amazing resources for other parents in the county who want to bring opportunities for their children. Who is stopping us from copying them? Only our own laziness.

An educational foundation wouldn't be a big deal to set up as its pretty easy to get non-profit status but the problem is that the lower income families cannot donate like the W school families and that's where a lot of the funding comes from. We try to do a lot and we really struggle. But, we do get creative.