Get involved

The first step to getting involved in PTA is to become a member! There are three basic avenues for personal membership in PTA.

1. Join a Local PTA unit - Contact the Missouri PTA state office to find a PTA in your area.
2. Join the Show Me State PTA unit
   
3. Organize a New PTA

Once you are a member, the opportunities for involvement are limitless. There is a place for everyone in PTA! Everyone must have the same goal – collaborating together to make decisions affecting children the best they can possibly be.

For more information on great ways to make a difference in your child's life through Parent Involvement, go to www.pta.org/ parentresource and look on the following links:

• Student Achievement
• Safety
• Media Technology
• Health and Fitness

Be sure to also explore programs and other information for being an informed parent.

PARENTS – Parent involvement is critical to student success. When parents are involved

• Higher grades and test scores are the result
• Better attendance by students with involved parents
• More consistently completed homework
• Higher graduation rates, and greater enrollment in post secondary education

SCHOOL COMMUNITY – Administrators, faculty, and school boards are key to establishing and maintaining the environment for successful parent involvement programs. Communication and a willingness to listen are paramount to fostering mutual respect, support, and trust between the school community and parents. When the school community involves parents in collaborative efforts

• Site-based management teams are encouraged
• Parents attend meetings more often, and feel they have a voice in decision-making
• Policies affecting children are made at the local and district level by committees working together
• Communication and greater understanding is enhanced between the school community and parents

COMMUNITY AT LARGE – Groups in the community, not limited to the following, social service, city, and county agencies, religious and civic organizations, university and/or college service learning, corporations and businesses are all starting points for involvement. Remember, student's of today become tomorrow's employees and community members! When the community is involved

• Students gain skills and talents from surroundings and feel a sense of value to their community ;
• Develop positive relationships with adults other than parents and teachers;
• Parents develop connections with other families and community resources
• Gain awareness of the contributions from the community to the school;
• Communities form connections between businesses and future employees;
• Gain a greater sense of purpose by contributing their wisdom to students.

HOW DO I START TO GET INVOLVED?
Workshop focus groups shared ideas on how to start or improve parent involvement in their schools. Please share these ideas with parents, school staff, and boards. The Parent Education & Involvement Grant applicants have also submitted ideas on programs that worked in their schools. Select Ideas for Parent Involvement from YOU! and check out tips and ideas, and parent involvement programs that worked! This year’s Parent Involvement Grant recipient’s programs that received grant money at convention in October are presently showcased!