Do most families join PTA?

[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.

It’s $15 for the school YEAR. That comes to $1.50 a month. Many kids, including FARMS kids, spend well over that on soda and candy. It comes down to prioritization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No, try again.

My kids are friends with the kids and we are friends with the families.

Many of them get paid in cash and are not nearly as poor as you imagine. They have money for sports and cars and satellite TV. The cash salaries allow them to not declare their income, so that the kids can qualify for free health insurance, etc.

Your view is not how it is in MoCo, at least. Might be in other parts of the country that are less wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Reading is fundamental: it’s $1.50 a month. So no, not a big expense, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Reading is fundamental: it’s $1.50 a month. So no, not a big expense, period.

Your reading clearly is not. For a family bringing home $1-2K a month in this area, it is a huge expense. A family bringing in $8-10K no. FARMS means very very low income. Poverty. You think an impoverished family should give $15 vs. buying their own family food so the PTA can waste it on bottled water and basic costco snacks for teachers. I'm sure those teachers would rather the money be spent on the kids given how much teachers have to spend of their own money on kids, or the good ones anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No, try again.

My kids are friends with the kids and we are friends with the families.

Many of them get paid in cash and are not nearly as poor as you imagine. They have money for sports and cars and satellite TV. The cash salaries allow them to not declare their income, so that the kids can qualify for free health insurance, etc.

Your view is not how it is in MoCo, at least. Might be in other parts of the country that are less wealthy.

We aren't talking about the wealth hiding families. Of course there are those. We aren't talking about the same population and I know because I worked with them for many years and actually saw their finances as part of my job.

[Anonymous]

Bottom line is if you want families to join, you have to be welcoming, make them feel valued, be responsible in how you spend the PTA money and consider your dues (have a low income/FARMS waiver).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bottom line is if you want families to join, you have to be welcoming, make them feel valued, be responsible in how you spend the PTA money and consider your dues (have a low income/FARMS waiver).

I've never seen a school that didn't have an option for families who want to join but can't afford it.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, as a Board Member, there's no value in joining the PTA. Can't believe I'm saying this but it's true. You do not have to be a PTA member to volunteer, donate, participate in fundraisers, attend PTA events, attend PTA meetings, advocate for students and the school, etc. If a PTA directory is valuable for your family and if "voting" for whatever there is to vote for is important to you, then sure. If given a choice, I'd rather that families donate directly to the PTA instead of purchasing a membership. The reason I say this is that we have to pay MCCPTA and state membership dues (close to $5) for each member. We're at a low-income school and if I'm charging $10 for a membership, I have to give up 50% of that. I'd rather that parents volunteer and directly donate to us so that 100% of those donations go back directly to the school. Yup, in some ways, I hate the MCCPTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, as a Board Member, there's no value in joining the PTA. Can't believe I'm saying this but it's true. You do not have to be a PTA member to volunteer, donate, participate in fundraisers, attend PTA events, attend PTA meetings, advocate for students and the school, etc. If a PTA directory is valuable for your family and if "voting" for whatever there is to vote for is important to you, then sure. If given a choice, I'd rather that families donate directly to the PTA instead of purchasing a membership. The reason I say this is that we have to pay MCCPTA and state membership dues (close to $5) for each member. We're at a low-income school and if I'm charging $10 for a membership, I have to give up 50% of that. I'd rather that parents volunteer and directly donate to us so that 100% of those donations go back directly to the school. Yup, in some ways, I hate the MCCPTA.

+1, but even if you are on the board and have voting power, it rarely helps if you don't' agree and others go along with the president to make her happy. I cannot figure out what MCCPTA did with all the money. MDPTA was a disaster. I learned the hard way. Now I'll buy/do directly for the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, as a Board Member, there's no value in joining the PTA. Can't believe I'm saying this but it's true. You do not have to be a PTA member to volunteer, donate, participate in fundraisers, attend PTA events, attend PTA meetings, advocate for students and the school, etc. If a PTA directory is valuable for your family and if "voting" for whatever there is to vote for is important to you, then sure. If given a choice, I'd rather that families donate directly to the PTA instead of purchasing a membership. The reason I say this is that we have to pay MCCPTA and state membership dues (close to $5) for each member. We're at a low-income school and if I'm charging $10 for a membership, I have to give up 50% of that. I'd rather that parents volunteer and directly donate to us so that 100% of those donations go back directly to the school. Yup, in some ways, I hate the MCCPTA.

+1, but even if you are on the board and have voting power, it rarely helps if you don't' agree and others go along with the president to make her happy. I cannot figure out what MCCPTA did with all the money. MDPTA was a disaster. I learned the hard way. Now I'll buy/do directly for the school.

Yes. That's the way to go. A local PTA just needs 25 members. Once we hit that number, who cares. Of course MCCPTA doesn't want us to say that but in my years being on the PTA board, I'm still struggling to figure out what are the advantages of joining. Of course, if someone wants to be on the BOard, there are good things that come with that (meeting people, learning more about what's going on at the school, county level, advocacy, etc.) but being just a member gets you nothing more than a directory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, as a Board Member, there's no value in joining the PTA. Can't believe I'm saying this but it's true. You do not have to be a PTA member to volunteer, donate, participate in fundraisers, attend PTA events, attend PTA meetings, advocate for students and the school, etc. If a PTA directory is valuable for your family and if "voting" for whatever there is to vote for is important to you, then sure. If given a choice, I'd rather that families donate directly to the PTA instead of purchasing a membership. The reason I say this is that we have to pay MCCPTA and state membership dues (close to $5) for each member. We're at a low-income school and if I'm charging $10 for a membership, I have to give up 50% of that. I'd rather that parents volunteer and directly donate to us so that 100% of those donations go back directly to the school. Yup, in some ways, I hate the MCCPTA.

+1, but even if you are on the board and have voting power, it rarely helps if you don't' agree and others go along with the president to make her happy. I cannot figure out what MCCPTA did with all the money. MDPTA was a disaster. I learned the hard way. Now I'll buy/do directly for the school.

Yes. That's the way to go. A local PTA just needs 25 members. Once we hit that number, who cares. Of course MCCPTA doesn't want us to say that but in my years being on the PTA board, I'm still struggling to figure out what are the advantages of joining. Of course, if someone wants to be on the BOard, there are good things that come with that (meeting people, learning more about what's going on at the school, county level, advocacy, etc.) but being just a member gets you nothing more than a directory.

Our ES would take six months to get the directory out and school would almost be over. In MS and HS no directory. So, really no benefit. Our school does minimal teacher appreciation and a few teacher grants and that is it.

[Anonymous]

I am a SAHM who has been very involved with the PTA in the past at all levels. I have seen both WOHMs and SAHMs work hard in volunteering at the school. What I rarely saw was dads helping out.

And when some dad tried to help, they basically swallowed all the BS the administration fed them. They usually were a hinderance to improving the school for the kids and the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Reading is fundamental: it’s $1.50 a month. So no, not a big expense, period.

Your reading clearly is not. For a family bringing home $1-2K a month in this area, it is a huge expense. A family bringing in $8-10K no. FARMS means very very low income. Poverty. You think an impoverished family should give $15 vs. buying their own family food so the PTA can waste it on bottled water and basic costco snacks for teachers. I'm sure those teachers would rather the money be spent on the kids given how much teachers have to spend of their own money on kids, or the good ones anyway.

Our PTA is not wasting money on snacks for teachers, FFS. Read above instead of trying so hard to convince us that $1.50 a month to stake a claim in an organization that advocates for the school and its students - and families and teachers - and uses that money for programs that enrich the lives of those students (many of whom are low SES) is just way too much to ask. It’s not. The problem is these families are free riders. They want someone else to pay the dues and someone else to do the work and then want their kids to have the same enrichment opportunities as kids in schools where parents are far more engaged.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Reading is fundamental: it’s $1.50 a month. So no, not a big expense, period.

Your reading clearly is not. For a family bringing home $1-2K a month in this area, it is a huge expense. A family bringing in $8-10K no. FARMS means very very low income. Poverty. You think an impoverished family should give $15 vs. buying their own family food so the PTA can waste it on bottled water and basic costco snacks for teachers. I'm sure those teachers would rather the money be spent on the kids given how much teachers have to spend of their own money on kids, or the good ones anyway.

Our PTA is not wasting money on snacks for teachers, FFS. Read above instead of trying so hard to convince us that $1.50 a month to stake a claim in an organization that advocates for the school and its students - and families and teachers - and uses that money for programs that enrich the lives of those students (many of whom are low SES) is just way too much to ask. It’s not. The problem is these families are free riders. They want someone else to pay the dues and someone else to do the work and then want their kids to have the same enrichment opportunities as kids in schools where parents are far more engaged.

That's great if yours isn't wasting money but that's how ours are. We don't have any money for programs and there is no enrichment. There is no such thing as a free rider. Your goal is to provide for all kids regardless as that is what the PTA does. You really shouldn't be a part of the PTA. $1.50 is no big deal to many of us but it is for other families and you don't get to dictate how they choose to spend their money. I will gladly donate to anything the school does, directly to teachers, get every teacher/staff involved with my kids gift cards for the holidays and teacher appreciation. Many of us spend way more than $1.50. I hosted many of the elementary school parties and heavily funded them. If their parents wanted to help, great. If not, I was going to give the kids a great party regardless as that's what I signed up to do. What you consider enrichment, others don't. My kids had zero interest in the elementary school assemblies and though they were pretty bad. But, your kids probably loved them. The things that are important to our family are completely different than yours and that's ok. BUT, the PTA needs to consider all families needs and wishes and not just those of a select few. If you don't have the membership and people don't join, think about why and look past the money issues. I can comfortably afford to join. Hard no. If the school does a fundraiser, I'm the first to donate. If I hear teachers need supplies, I will send them in with my child the next day.

[Anonymous]

Some PTAs restrict activities to those with PTA membership.
Beyond that, the only reason I see to join is you get to vote for PTA leaders and participate in meetings.