Do most families join PTA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

That's not how our PTA ran, so speak for yours or the choices your president made. Ours was late at night and weekends which was frustrating as it conflicted with our kids activities. And, it did not represent the community at large either but a select group of the presidents friends who were equally nasty people.

Our school has separate groups - a Hispanic family group and an African American family group so it was very rationally divided and the president made no effort to join the groups and it was always seperate but not equal as the other groups were much better, but many of us weren't welcome in those either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school has a dismal sign up rate - only 76 memberships out of over 600 kids in the elementary school. It’s a good example of how wealthier schools have an edge over less affluent ones; PTAs can make big differences for student, parent, and teacher experiences. When you have a virtually non existent PTA, it’s much more difficult. We have a yearly budget of ~$5,000 inclusive of fundraisers. Even schools with similar demographics / SES profiles in our area have budgets of upward of $20,000 because more families are involved.

As a parent who is a member and who values an active PTA it’s sometimes frustrating that there are so many parents who are “free riders” at our school. The cost of membership is $15 so not super expensive.

$15 is a LOT for many families at a low income school. Many don't join because of how the PTA is run, not money and if you want more members, give a low income waiver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

That's not how our PTA ran, so speak for yours or the choices your president made. Ours was late at night and weekends which was frustrating as it conflicted with our kids activities. And, it did not represent the community at large either but a select group of the presidents friends who were equally nasty people.

Our school has separate groups - a Hispanic family group and an African American family group so it was very rationally divided and the president made no effort to join the groups and it was always seperate but not equal as the other groups were much better, but many of us weren't welcome in those either.

Segregated PTAs? Did the KKK organize this at your school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

That's not how our PTA ran, so speak for yours or the choices your president made. Ours was late at night and weekends which was frustrating as it conflicted with our kids activities. And, it did not represent the community at large either but a select group of the presidents friends who were equally nasty people.

Our school has separate groups - a Hispanic family group and an African American family group so it was very rationally divided and the president made no effort to join the groups and it was always seperate but not equal as the other groups were much better, but many of us weren't welcome in those either.

What did the other groups do that was better than the PTA? And how late at night? Our elementary PTA meetings were usually at 7 pm after parents were done with work and pre-covid we had childcare for the kids during the mertingsm obviously during covid everything was on zoom. I would think during the school day would be more of a conflict for most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

It depends on the PTA. Ours is of working parents who look down on SAHP or flexible parents and they really don't want volunteers. They want to do the absolute minimum and pat themselves on the back via social media and work hard to excluded many families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

That's not how our PTA ran, so speak for yours or the choices your president made. Ours was late at night and weekends which was frustrating as it conflicted with our kids activities. And, it did not represent the community at large either but a select group of the presidents friends who were equally nasty people.

Our school has separate groups - a Hispanic family group and an African American family group so it was very rationally divided and the president made no effort to join the groups and it was always seperate but not equal as the other groups were much better, but many of us weren't welcome in those either.

What did the other groups do that was better than the PTA? And how late at night? Our elementary PTA meetings were usually at 7 pm after parents were done with work and pre-covid we had childcare for the kids during the mertingsm obviously during covid everything was on zoom. I would think during the school day would be more of a conflict for most people.

Discussed school issues, discussed helpful topics like high school, college, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most families do not join pta
.not even one. In fact the statement most parents do not join the pta is more accurate

Yes
It is meant for bored housewives, the ones who need to be involved and love to gossip. Their hierarchy games are ridiculous

The majority of parents in our PTA work, so good try. They are super lazy in everything they do, will not let others help (and when you do they are super critical) and the PTA is the laughing stock of the school. The current board is useless and doesn't listen. Its filled with the president's friends who will yes them rather than question things and do what's best for the school.

It's really frustrating when so much of the entire model of PTA is built off the idea of a parent who either is working with flexible hours or not working at all and can come in and volunteer at school and it's just not going to jive with the economic reality of a lot of families.

It's also compounded by the fact that a lot families in our community come from cultures where it's not required of them to volunteer in schools or participate in school leadership. I think that a lot of the PTA members would love to get more families involved but they just don't really understand how to bridge that cultural divide much less the language one

That's not how our PTA ran, so speak for yours or the choices your president made. Ours was late at night and weekends which was frustrating as it conflicted with our kids activities. And, it did not represent the community at large either but a select group of the presidents friends who were equally nasty people.

Our school has separate groups - a Hispanic family group and an African American family group so it was very rationally divided and the president made no effort to join the groups and it was always seperate but not equal as the other groups were much better, but many of us weren't welcome in those either.

Segregated PTAs? Did the KKK organize this at your school?

DP

Our school also has segregated parent organizarions. I am not from this area (and an immigrant, FWIW) and I find it a little weird. There is a parent organization that is specifically for Latino parents and one that is specific for African American parents. And the regular PTA is mostly white moms (not many males).

I’m in none of those groups, and so I mostly stay away and keep in touch with my mom friends at the school - who are of various races.

[Anonymous]

PTA membership is $50 at our school. They also suggest a donation of $75 per kid. That’s $275 I’m forking over to the PTA every fall for my 3 kids. Add on school supplies and class dues (typically $40-60/kid) and public school is starting to feel awfully expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school has a dismal sign up rate - only 76 memberships out of over 600 kids in the elementary school. It’s a good example of how wealthier schools have an edge over less affluent ones; PTAs can make big differences for student, parent, and teacher experiences. When you have a virtually non existent PTA, it’s much more difficult. We have a yearly budget of ~$5,000 inclusive of fundraisers. Even schools with similar demographics / SES profiles in our area have budgets of upward of $20,000 because more families are involved.

As a parent who is a member and who values an active PTA it’s sometimes frustrating that there are so many parents who are “free riders” at our school. The cost of membership is $15 so not super expensive.

$15 is a LOT for many families at a low income school. Many don't join because of how the PTA is run, not money and if you want more members, give a low income waiver.

The PTA is run well and by a diverse set of officers - racially, ethnically, socio-economically and otherwise. The poster who noted that culturally many families are not accustomed to pitching in to support a school and students is dead on; this is an issue for us. And, candidly, as someone who’s volunteered for the PTA over the last four years, my sense is also many parents aren’t interested in contributing - they want to “get”. There’s a sense of entitlement. They want the book fair, they want the pumpkin patch, the free movie night, they want the field trips and cultural events the PTA supports and feel entitled to those things (most paid for or subsidized through through PTA memberships, fundraisers, etc). They don’t seem interested in helping to do the work to earn those things, even when they understand the role of the PTA in advocating for and supporting these types of enrichment events.

To PP who said $15 is a lot. I disagree and am not a wealthy person by any stretch. It comes to about $1.50 a month for the school year per family. It’s a very low rate when compared to virtually any MCPS PTA (our nieghbor if ES is $30 and the middle school is $35). It’s a matter of prioritization. Either it matters to a parent to spend the equivalent of a Coke or Pepsi per month to support their kids’ educational experience or it doesn’t. For most at our school, it’s not a priority. Lots of free riders and unfortunately the kids at our school won’t get the kinds of support and opportunities afforded by active PTAs at wealthier schools where parents are invested and active. Sad but true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school has a dismal sign up rate - only 76 memberships out of over 600 kids in the elementary school. It’s a good example of how wealthier schools have an edge over less affluent ones; PTAs can make big differences for student, parent, and teacher experiences. When you have a virtually non existent PTA, it’s much more difficult. We have a yearly budget of ~$5,000 inclusive of fundraisers. Even schools with similar demographics / SES profiles in our area have budgets of upward of $20,000 because more families are involved.

As a parent who is a member and who values an active PTA it’s sometimes frustrating that there are so many parents who are “free riders” at our school. The cost of membership is $15 so not super expensive.

$15 is a LOT for many families at a low income school. Many don't join because of how the PTA is run, not money and if you want more members, give a low income waiver.

The PTA is run well and by a diverse set of officers - racially, ethnically, socio-economically and otherwise. The poster who noted that culturally many families are not accustomed to pitching in to support a school and students is dead on; this is an issue for us. And, candidly, as someone who’s volunteered for the PTA over the last four years, my sense is also many parents aren’t interested in contributing - they want to “get”. There’s a sense of entitlement. They want the book fair, they want the pumpkin patch, the free movie night, they want the field trips and cultural events the PTA supports and feel entitled to those things (most paid for or subsidized through through PTA memberships, fundraisers, etc). They don’t seem interested in helping to do the work to earn those things, even when they understand the role of the PTA in advocating for and supporting these types of enrichment events.

To PP who said $15 is a lot. I disagree and am not a wealthy person by any stretch. It comes to about $1.50 a month for the school year per family. It’s a very low rate when compared to virtually any MCPS PTA (our nieghbor if ES is $30 and the middle school is $35). It’s a matter of prioritization. Either it matters to a parent to spend the equivalent of a Coke or Pepsi per month to support their kids’ educational experience or it doesn’t. For most at our school, it’s not a priority. Lots of free riders and unfortunately the kids at our school won’t get the kinds of support and opportunities afforded by active PTAs at wealthier schools where parents are invested and active. Sad but true.

Maybe your PTA is diverse but ours isn't diverse or welcome. If you aren't friends with the PTA president, you are not welcome. If you don't agree with her bad ideas, you are not welcome. If you do anything she does not approve of even outside the PTA, drama. She does the absolute minimum. There are no educational experiences, there are no enrichment activities, there is no fundraising to help the school purchase things. They only do a very limited amount of stuff and many of us have tried to change it. If we want to do something, its welcomed by the school and we just do it directly for them. There are no field trips, there are no cultural experiences, there are no movie nights... nothing. And, no one wants a book fair. We buy to support the PTA/school but you can buy the books a lot cheaper off amazon. We didn't contribute anything to reopening.

$15 is a lot if you have a large FARMS school. So you are wealthy if $15 a month is no big deal to you. Many of our families are lining up for free food. Would you rather them feed their kids or donate to the PTA? You are very toned death and should look at your attitude as you are probably one of the folks people avoid the PTA for. Your intentions are good but in all reality how you go about them is very poor.

[Anonymous]

The PP said $1.50 per month.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Most families join the PTA but only a fraction are active.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school has a dismal sign up rate - only 76 memberships out of over 600 kids in the elementary school. It’s a good example of how wealthier schools have an edge over less affluent ones; PTAs can make big differences for student, parent, and teacher experiences. When you have a virtually non existent PTA, it’s much more difficult. We have a yearly budget of ~$5,000 inclusive of fundraisers. Even schools with similar demographics / SES profiles in our area have budgets of upward of $20,000 because more families are involved.

As a parent who is a member and who values an active PTA it’s sometimes frustrating that there are so many parents who are “free riders” at our school. The cost of membership is $15 so not super expensive.

$15 is a LOT for many families at a low income school. Many don't join because of how the PTA is run, not money and if you want more members, give a low income waiver.

The PTA is run well and by a diverse set of officers - racially, ethnically, socio-economically and otherwise. The poster who noted that culturally many families are not accustomed to pitching in to support a school and students is dead on; this is an issue for us. And, candidly, as someone who’s volunteered for the PTA over the last four years, my sense is also many parents aren’t interested in contributing - they want to “get”. There’s a sense of entitlement. They want the book fair, they want the pumpkin patch, the free movie night, they want the field trips and cultural events the PTA supports and feel entitled to those things (most paid for or subsidized through through PTA memberships, fundraisers, etc). They don’t seem interested in helping to do the work to earn those things, even when they understand the role of the PTA in advocating for and supporting these types of enrichment events.

To PP who said $15 is a lot. I disagree and am not a wealthy person by any stretch. It comes to about $1.50 a month for the school year per family. It’s a very low rate when compared to virtually any MCPS PTA (our nieghbor if ES is $30 and the middle school is $35). It’s a matter of prioritization. Either it matters to a parent to spend the equivalent of a Coke or Pepsi per month to support their kids’ educational experience or it doesn’t. For most at our school, it’s not a priority. Lots of free riders and unfortunately the kids at our school won’t get the kinds of support and opportunities afforded by active PTAs at wealthier schools where parents are invested and active. Sad but true.

Maybe your PTA is diverse but ours isn't diverse or welcome. If you aren't friends with the PTA president, you are not welcome. If you don't agree with her bad ideas, you are not welcome. If you do anything she does not approve of even outside the PTA, drama. She does the absolute minimum. There are no educational experiences, there are no enrichment activities, there is no fundraising to help the school purchase things. They only do a very limited amount of stuff and many of us have tried to change it. If we want to do something, its welcomed by the school and we just do it directly for them. There are no field trips, there are no cultural experiences, there are no movie nights... nothing. And, no one wants a book fair. We buy to support the PTA/school but you can buy the books a lot cheaper off amazon. We didn't contribute anything to reopening.

$15 is a lot if you have a large FARMS school. So you are wealthy if $15 a month is no big deal to you. Many of our families are lining up for free food. Would you rather them feed their kids or donate to the PTA? You are very toned death and should look at your attitude as you are probably one of the folks people avoid the PTA for. Your intentions are good but in all reality how you go about them is very poor.

Ridiculous. You must not live on MoCo. MCPS gives out free breakfast, lunch AND dinner to kids, plus free food for weekends. So no parent sis making the choice to feed a kid versus join the PTA.

We are at a high FARMS school and the parents may be FARMS, but seem to find money for various gaming systems and late model cars.

You have strange, antiquated notions as to what it means to be on FARMS in this area now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school has a dismal sign up rate - only 76 memberships out of over 600 kids in the elementary school. It’s a good example of how wealthier schools have an edge over less affluent ones; PTAs can make big differences for student, parent, and teacher experiences. When you have a virtually non existent PTA, it’s much more difficult. We have a yearly budget of ~$5,000 inclusive of fundraisers. Even schools with similar demographics / SES profiles in our area have budgets of upward of $20,000 because more families are involved.

As a parent who is a member and who values an active PTA it’s sometimes frustrating that there are so many parents who are “free riders” at our school. The cost of membership is $15 so not super expensive.

$15 is a LOT for many families at a low income school. Many don't join because of how the PTA is run, not money and if you want more members, give a low income waiver.

The PTA is run well and by a diverse set of officers - racially, ethnically, socio-economically and otherwise. The poster who noted that culturally many families are not accustomed to pitching in to support a school and students is dead on; this is an issue for us. And, candidly, as someone who’s volunteered for the PTA over the last four years, my sense is also many parents aren’t interested in contributing - they want to “get”. There’s a sense of entitlement. They want the book fair, they want the pumpkin patch, the free movie night, they want the field trips and cultural events the PTA supports and feel entitled to those things (most paid for or subsidized through through PTA memberships, fundraisers, etc). They don’t seem interested in helping to do the work to earn those things, even when they understand the role of the PTA in advocating for and supporting these types of enrichment events.

To PP who said $15 is a lot. I disagree and am not a wealthy person by any stretch. It comes to about $1.50 a month for the school year per family. It’s a very low rate when compared to virtually any MCPS PTA (our nieghbor if ES is $30 and the middle school is $35). It’s a matter of prioritization. Either it matters to a parent to spend the equivalent of a Coke or Pepsi per month to support their kids’ educational experience or it doesn’t. For most at our school, it’s not a priority. Lots of free riders and unfortunately the kids at our school won’t get the kinds of support and opportunities afforded by active PTAs at wealthier schools where parents are invested and active. Sad but true.

Maybe your PTA is diverse but ours isn't diverse or welcome. If you aren't friends with the PTA president, you are not welcome. If you don't agree with her bad ideas, you are not welcome. If you do anything she does not approve of even outside the PTA, drama. She does the absolute minimum. There are no educational experiences, there are no enrichment activities, there is no fundraising to help the school purchase things. They only do a very limited amount of stuff and many of us have tried to change it. If we want to do something, its welcomed by the school and we just do it directly for them. There are no field trips, there are no cultural experiences, there are no movie nights... nothing. And, no one wants a book fair. We buy to support the PTA/school but you can buy the books a lot cheaper off amazon. We didn't contribute anything to reopening.

$15 is a lot if you have a large FARMS school. So you are wealthy if $15 a month is no big deal to you. Many of our families are lining up for free food. Would you rather them feed their kids or donate to the PTA? You are very toned death and should look at your attitude as you are probably one of the folks people avoid the PTA for. Your intentions are good but in all reality how you go about them is very poor.

Ridiculous. You must not live on MoCo. MCPS gives out free breakfast, lunch AND dinner to kids, plus free food for weekends. So no parent sis making the choice to feed a kid versus join the PTA.

We are at a high FARMS school and the parents may be FARMS, but seem to find money for various gaming systems and late model cars.

You have strange, antiquated notions as to what it means to be on FARMS in this area now.

Again, look at your attitude. If someone needs free breakfast, lunch and dinner for their kids you think they have $15 to give to the PTA. You are out of touch with reality. And, it may be cheaper for them to buy a newer car given repair costs and credit issues vs. an older one that they may not have the cash for. Last year someone had to pick up the food, which is why that food went to more comfortable families who could go during the day and had transportation. You have a strange attitude was you may go to a high farms school but you clearly aren't hanging out with these families.