Parent Teachers Associations
School & District Management
News in Brief
Nashville Judge Reduces Sentence for PTA President Who Embezzled
A Nashville judge has reduced the sentence of a former parent-teacher association president convicted of stealing $150,000 from the group.
Curriculum
National PTA Endorses Common Standards
Another voice, representing parents, calls for national standards in reading and math.
Education
You say PTO, I say PTA
They may be only one letter apart, but Parent Teacher Association officials are working to stress the differences between PTAs and the PT0s鈥攐r Parent Teacher Organizations鈥攖hat are increasingly replacing them. According to , PTA membership has dropped from 12 million in the 1950s to 5.5 million today, and PTAs now make up less than 25 percent of school-parent groups. The annual PTA convention, which ended yesterday in St. Louis, included a session called "A Instead of O: How to Talk PTA to PTO," which provided attendees with early warning signs that a school is considering switching to PTOs, along with advice on how to prevent it.
Education
National PTA Aims to Restore Time for Recess
The National PTA and the Cartoon Network unveiled a public relations campaign last week that seeks to protect or reinstate recess time for elementary school children.
Families & the Community
Not Seeing Eye to Eye
A stalemate between Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the state PTA over naming a parent to sit on the state board of education shows no sign of ending any time soon.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
PTA Members Are Split on NCLB鈥檚 Effectiveness
About one in three PTA members responding to an online poll believes the No Child Left Behind Act is having a positive effect on students鈥� academic performance, results released last week show.
Education
Coca-Cola Lobbyist Leaves PTA Board
Critics of commercialism in schools are calling the resignation of a senior Coca-Cola Co. executive from the National PTA鈥檚 board of directors a step in the right direction.
Equity & Diversity
PTA Seeks to Raise Number of Hispanic Members
With an effort to recruit more Hispanic and Spanish-speaking members and start new chapters in predominantly Hispanic schools, the National PTA is entering a new phase as an organization.
Education
Recipients of the National PTA's New 'Certification of Excellence'
- Monte Sano Elementary School, Huntsville, Ala.
- Central Middle School, Van Buren, Ark.
- Dunbar Magnet Middle School, Little Rock, Ark.
- Parkview Elementary School, Van Buren, Ark.
- Presidio Middle School, San Francisco
- Walter L. Sickles High School, Tampa, Fla.
- Virginia Lake School, Palatine, Ill.
- Lions Park School, Mount Prospect, Ill.
- Cassidy Elementary School, Lexington, Ky.
- Jefferson Elementary School, Greensboro, N.C.
- Summerfield Elementary School, Summerfield, N.C.
- Washington Elementary School, Summit, N.J.
- Roosevelt School, Kearny, N.Y.
- Crestview Elementary School, Columbiana, Ohio
- Crestview Middle School, Columbiana, Ohio
- Roxboro Middle School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
- Lincoln Elementary School, Pittsburgh
- Hopkins Hill Elementary School, Coventry, R.I.
- Farragut Primary School, Knoxville, Tenn.
- J.L. Boren Elementary School, Mansfield, Texas
- Rummel Creek Elementary School, Houston
- W.A. Porter Elementary School, North Richland Hills, Texas
- Wyatt Elementary School, Plano, Texas
- Hopkins Road Elementary School, Richmond, Va.
- Bayside Elementary School, Virginia Beach, Va.
- Thoroughgood Elementary School, Virginia Beach, Va.
Families & the Community
PTA Awards Special Certifications For Parent-Involvement Programs
A new National PTA certification program intended to help schools meet the parent-involvement provisions of the federal "No Child Left Behind" law issued Certifications of Excellence last week to 26 schools in 15 states.
Education
Not Your Mother's PTA
No tea-and-cookies fund-raisers for these New York City parents. They're taking to the streets to demand quality education for their children.
Families & the Community
PTA's Corporate-Sponsorship Deal With Office Depot Draws Criticism
When it comes to raising money, the National PTA has moved way beyond bake sales.
Families & the Community
Lawsuit Contests Required PTA Attendance
A Florida woman has filed a federal lawsuit after her son was booted from the school where he attended kindergarten because she had missed too many PTA meetings.
Families & the Community
PTA Issues Parent-Involvement Standards for Schools
Creating frequent communication between home and school, including parents in their children's academic assignments, and providing parents with volunteer opportunities are among the ways schools can improve parent involvement in education, according to a list of standards released here last week by the Chicago-based National PTA.