Engaging Parents to Support a College &

Career Ready Agenda

National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

June 17, 2010

PTA OverviewPTA is the nation’s oldest and largest child advocacy organization

PTA stretches from small towns to large cities, from state legislatures to the Nation’s Capital– 5+ million members– 24,000+ units– A presence in all 50 states, US Virgin Islands, Puerto

Rico, and abroad in U.S. military installations

Beyond the Bake SalePTA’s history is rooted in advocacy and social justice– PTA championed efforts to defeat Polio, led

the campaign for child immunizations, supported school desegregation, advocated for hot school lunches, labored to improve the nation’s juvenile justice system, among other accomplishments.

Moving ForwardToday, PTA is working to ensure that every child's potential is a reality.

PTA is working to advance:– Family Engagement / Parent Involvement– Child Health and Nutrition– Student Success and Engagement

• College and Career Readiness

PTA & Common Core State Standards

State leaders are meeting with key decision makers to advocate for their adoption and implementation: – Governors, Chief School Officers, State

Board of Education members, legislators, and many others

PTA leaders are also training parents, families and PTA members in these states about the standards

PTA and College/Career Readiness

PTA members are overwhelmingly supportive:– When asked if every student should graduate

from high school to be ready for college and career: • 95% of PTA members agreed

PTA and College/Career Readiness

When asked if they support their state adopting the Common Core State Standards…

• 78% of PTA members polled were supportive

Parents Supporting a College and Career Ready Agenda

State PTAs can be part of your collaborative, systemic effort to ensure that all students are ready for college, work and life.

Advocates with key constituencies and decision-makers

Participate in P-20 Councils, RTTT Planning Committees, Standards Review Committees, Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committees, Blue Ribbon education committees, and more

Offer credible parent voice to support the effort

HI

•>2.2M PTA Members •Range From 1,000 – 575,000 Members in each state

Local PTAs can:Plan and implement programming to provide support to students

Educate other parents about why changes are needed in assessments, accountability systems, and standards

Serve as watch dogs to ensure that implementation occurs

Advocate for funding to support implementation

Parents Supporting a College and Career Ready Agenda

Parents Supporting a College and Career Ready Agenda

Most importantly, local PTAs can focus on engaging families in their child's education

Family engagement is a cross-cutting solution that can benefit students from cradle to career.

The research is overwhelmingly clear: – When parents are involved, students have better test scores

and higher grades, enroll in higher level classes, attend school and pass their classes, develop better social skills, graduate from high school, attend college, and find productive work.

– Parent involvement is so significant that it has been shown to be equivalent to an extra $1,000 in additional per-pupil spending.

Local Example

KW Barrett Elementary School in Virginia promotes family engagement and student success by hosting:

Afterschool enrichment programs

Roving Readers Program

Family Library Nights

Scholarships to students in need to pursue higher education

Parent education sessions (e.g. Understanding How the School System Works and How to be an Effective Advocate)

Tips for Partnering with PTAsPTAs exist at the state, regional/district, and local levels – Depending on the project, you may want to work with different individuals.

Know Key PTA Leaders -- Each PTA has a President, President-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer

Remember that PTA members are volunteers – Some staff exist at the state level, in some circumstances.

Brainstorm with your target PTA to understand their strengths and weaknesses – Each PTA is different and can contribute different things (volunteers, expertise, contacts, etc.) to the project.

Tools from National PTA

THANK YOU!

Erin Hart

Director of Strategic Alliances,

Partnerships and Programs

(800) 307-4PTA (4782)

ehart@pta.org

www.pta.org