South Arlington & PTAs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

It might be. I think it might be more disposable income translates to more time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

In our NA PTA, there are plenty of SAHP volunteers but there are also a lot of people who volunteer in addition to working. Only one member of our PTA board is a SAHP, the rest all work, most of them full-time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

In our NA PTA, there are plenty of SAHP volunteers but there are also a lot of people who volunteer in addition to working. Only one member of our PTA board is a SAHP, the rest all work, most of them full-time.

I think that must be a big part of it. I've lived in SA for 6 years and in that time I've met dozens of parents, but I have yet to meet a SAHP or hear of a spouse or partner who is one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

In our NA PTA, there are plenty of SAHP volunteers but there are also a lot of people who volunteer in addition to working. Only one member of our PTA board is a SAHP, the rest all work, most of them full-time.

I think that must be a big part of it. I've lived in SA for 6 years and in that time I've met dozens of parents, but I have yet to meet a SAHP or hear of a spouse or partner who is one.

So we're ignoring where pp said most of the board is working parents rather than sah parents? Guess that doesn't fit the agenda...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

In our NA PTA, there are plenty of SAHP volunteers but there are also a lot of people who volunteer in addition to working. Only one member of our PTA board is a SAHP, the rest all work, most of them full-time.

I think that must be a big part of it. I've lived in SA for 6 years and in that time I've met dozens of parents, but I have yet to meet a SAHP or hear of a spouse or partner who is one.

So we're ignoring where pp said most of the board is working parents rather than sah parents? Guess that doesn't fit the agenda...

No, you're ignoring that the pp said there were "plenty of sahp volunteers" and "most of the pta board" works "full time". It's perfectly obvious that the PP's PTA benefits greatly from the labor of people who aren't otherwise occupied with a 40 or 50 hour a week job plus commuting time and who thus have the time to plan and staff activities.

[Anonymous]

South Arlington has plenty of stay at home mommies. They just won’t do PTA for cultural reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

In our NA PTA, there are plenty of SAHP volunteers but there are also a lot of people who volunteer in addition to working. Only one member of our PTA board is a SAHP, the rest all work, most of them full-time.

I think that must be a big part of it. I've lived in SA for 6 years and in that time I've met dozens of parents, but I have yet to meet a SAHP or hear of a spouse or partner who is one.

So we're ignoring where pp said most of the board is working parents rather than sah parents? Guess that doesn't fit the agenda...

There are a lot of SAHM in SA. Beyond that, I doubt there are any stats on how many work part-time and/or return to work when their kids reach school age in SA v NA. For those of you way up in the north who don't venture down to the south, let me dispel some rumors. There are male and female doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers, college professors, master gardeners, physicists, accountants, federal contractors, PR professionals, researchers, and other successful professional people all over south arlington. SA also happens to have a lot more laborers, lower-educated, non-English speaking residents who are also loving and dedicated parents who value education but whose culture trusts the educational professionals to tend to education and does not encourage parental involvement, let alone parental hijacking and control of everything. It is not all about having time to volunteer. It's also not feeling comfortable doing so by culture and also at times due to not feeling welcomed to do so by the parents in the school who belong to the former group - including communication barriers between the two. I imagine dual incomes helps people in north arlington afford to live there. So I don't think employment status is as much a factor as everyone keeps saying is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington has plenty of stay at home mommies. They just won’t do PTA for cultural reasons.

"Prove it"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manpower matters a lot. There are a lot of grants available through National PTA, for instance, but to be eligible you have to have at least a certain number of volunteers to run the sponsored event/program. If parents aren't willing to help, it's a lot of missed opportunities.

The stereotype is that NA has a lot of SAHM who provide the core labor for PTAs, and there aren't many SAHM in SA. Is there truth to it?

In our NA PTA, there are plenty of SAHP volunteers but there are also a lot of people who volunteer in addition to working. Only one member of our PTA board is a SAHP, the rest all work, most of them full-time.

I think that must be a big part of it. I've lived in SA for 6 years and in that time I've met dozens of parents, but I have yet to meet a SAHP or hear of a spouse or partner who is one.

So we're ignoring where pp said most of the board is working parents rather than sah parents? Guess that doesn't fit the agenda...

There are a lot of SAHM in SA. Beyond that, I doubt there are any stats on how many work part-time and/or return to work when their kids reach school age in SA v NA. For those of you way up in the north who don't venture down to the south, let me dispel some rumors. There are male and female doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers, college professors, master gardeners, physicists, accountants, federal contractors, PR professionals, researchers, and other successful professional people all over south arlington. SA also happens to have a lot more laborers, lower-educated, non-English speaking residents who are also loving and dedicated parents who value education but whose culture trusts the educational professionals to tend to education and does not encourage parental involvement, let alone parental hijacking and control of everything. It is not all about having time to volunteer. It's also not feeling comfortable doing so by culture and also at times due to not feeling welcomed to do so by the parents in the school who belong to the former group - including communication barriers between the two. I imagine dual incomes helps people in north arlington afford to live there. So I don't think employment status is as much a factor as everyone keeps saying is.

I dunno, I think it can be hard for SA parents - even professionals - to imagine how on earth families in NA can afford to live there on one income. I doubt it's typical, but it certainly isn't rare. You could just go to the corner of lee and Harrison on a weekday at 11 am and do a headcount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to a Title I south Arlington elementary school. My theory was that, given the limited time my husband and I had to volunteer, we'd rather spend it doing things other than fundraising. We donated $500 a year to the PTA and spent our time doing actual activities (chaperoning field trips, working the book fair, doing set-up or clean-up for school events) that they needed help for instead of lots of time on fundraisers that are time-intensive relative to what they raise. We also responded whenever possible to teacher requests for art or science materials, sent in coats and clothes to the school social worker to distribute, donated extra school supplies, etc.

Related question. I read posts about how NA schools have enrichment and clubs and after school activities, whereas SA elementaries generally have social assistance programs and test prep, and pretty much nothing else. Is that actually true or just an exaggeration? Are those enrichment activities paid for and organized by the PTA/parents or is it based on how individual school decide to spend an allotment from the district?

The north Arlington elementary schools that I am familiar with offer enrichment classes that are sourced by enrichment coordinator volunteers, but the parents of kids taking the classes pay for them. The vendors offering the classes are independent of the schools. Volunteers oversee some things like chess and journalism clubs. In middle school there is some of this as well, but kids are also encouraged to come up with their own clubs and find a teacher who will agree to chaperone after school.

Thanks. Can you say more about enrichment coordinator volunteers? Who they are, what they do?

At the beginning of the school year, or end of the previous one, the pta sends out emails requesting volunteers for various positions, including enrichment coordinator. I don’t know everything that is involved with position, but they find vendors, match them with a space in the school, advertise the offerings to parents and organize the sign up and payment process.

This is exactly how it works at our SA elementary. The problem is that they might arrange 7-8 possible enrichment courses each semester, but only half of them get filled. I assume some of the lower-income families either can't afford the cost outright, or can't make the transportation arrangements, since there is no late bus service. This is one downside of our otherwise excellent school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to a Title I south Arlington elementary school. My theory was that, given the limited time my husband and I had to volunteer, we'd rather spend it doing things other than fundraising. We donated $500 a year to the PTA and spent our time doing actual activities (chaperoning field trips, working the book fair, doing set-up or clean-up for school events) that they needed help for instead of lots of time on fundraisers that are time-intensive relative to what they raise. We also responded whenever possible to teacher requests for art or science materials, sent in coats and clothes to the school social worker to distribute, donated extra school supplies, etc.

Related question. I read posts about how NA schools have enrichment and clubs and after school activities, whereas SA elementaries generally have social assistance programs and test prep, and pretty much nothing else. Is that actually true or just an exaggeration? Are those enrichment activities paid for and organized by the PTA/parents or is it based on how individual school decide to spend an allotment from the district?

The north Arlington elementary schools that I am familiar with offer enrichment classes that are sourced by enrichment coordinator volunteers, but the parents of kids taking the classes pay for them. The vendors offering the classes are independent of the schools. Volunteers oversee some things like chess and journalism clubs. In middle school there is some of this as well, but kids are also encouraged to come up with their own clubs and find a teacher who will agree to chaperone after school.

Thanks. Can you say more about enrichment coordinator volunteers? Who they are, what they do?

At the beginning of the school year, or end of the previous one, the pta sends out emails requesting volunteers for various positions, including enrichment coordinator. I don’t know everything that is involved with position, but they find vendors, match them with a space in the school, advertise the offerings to parents and organize the sign up and payment process.

This is exactly how it works at our SA elementary. The problem is that they might arrange 7-8 possible enrichment courses each semester, but only half of them get filled. I assume some of the lower-income families either can't afford the cost outright, or can't make the transportation arrangements, since there is no late bus service. This is one downside of our otherwise excellent school.

Does your PTA offer scholarships for all kids who qualify for fr/l? My understanding is that ours does, and at least 25% of the kids taking enrichment classes utilize a scholarship each semester. That's lower than our school's overall fr/l rate, but my understanding is that we could fund any kid who applied. Not sure what the specific barriers are for the families who do not take advantage of this opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to a Title I south Arlington elementary school. My theory was that, given the limited time my husband and I had to volunteer, we'd rather spend it doing things other than fundraising. We donated $500 a year to the PTA and spent our time doing actual activities (chaperoning field trips, working the book fair, doing set-up or clean-up for school events) that they needed help for instead of lots of time on fundraisers that are time-intensive relative to what they raise. We also responded whenever possible to teacher requests for art or science materials, sent in coats and clothes to the school social worker to distribute, donated extra school supplies, etc.

Related question. I read posts about how NA schools have enrichment and clubs and after school activities, whereas SA elementaries generally have social assistance programs and test prep, and pretty much nothing else. Is that actually true or just an exaggeration? Are those enrichment activities paid for and organized by the PTA/parents or is it based on how individual school decide to spend an allotment from the district?

The north Arlington elementary schools that I am familiar with offer enrichment classes that are sourced by enrichment coordinator volunteers, but the parents of kids taking the classes pay for them. The vendors offering the classes are independent of the schools. Volunteers oversee some things like chess and journalism clubs. In middle school there is some of this as well, but kids are also encouraged to come up with their own clubs and find a teacher who will agree to chaperone after school.

Thanks. Can you say more about enrichment coordinator volunteers? Who they are, what they do?

At the beginning of the school year, or end of the previous one, the pta sends out emails requesting volunteers for various positions, including enrichment coordinator. I don’t know everything that is involved with position, but they find vendors, match them with a space in the school, advertise the offerings to parents and organize the sign up and payment process.

This is exactly how it works at our SA elementary. The problem is that they might arrange 7-8 possible enrichment courses each semester, but only half of them get filled. I assume some of the lower-income families either can't afford the cost outright, or can't make the transportation arrangements, since there is no late bus service. This is one downside of our otherwise excellent school.

Does your PTA offer scholarships for all kids who qualify for fr/l? My understanding is that ours does, and at least 25% of the kids taking enrichment classes utilize a scholarship each semester. That's lower than our school's overall fr/l rate, but my understanding is that we could fund any kid who applied. Not sure what the specific barriers are for the families who do not take advantage of this opportunity.

PP here - no, they don't give scholarships to everyone at our school, and the PTA doesn't have that much money. I think there was an outside organization that donated fees for 4-5 kids last year, but that's it. And there's still the transportation hurdle.

[Anonymous]

My kids used to attend a S Arl school. We donated about 5K a year and I also volunteered a lot of my time.

[Anonymous]

Elementary goes by so quickly. It is very rewarding to try to take off a couple of hours every few months to volunteer. I don’t tell my work why I am taking off - just have an “appointment “ and I block it off on my calendar.

I am at a NA school and most of our families are dual working. Nearly all of the PTA volunteers work full time, as do most of the other volunteers in our community (sports coaches, scouts, other activities).

OP - you won’t regret volunteering when you can!