Becoming a PTA member opens up many opportunities for parents/families, educators and students. Your involvement helps strengthen the largest child advocacy organization in America to promote fairness and success in public education from local to national levels. Membership helps both youth and adults build leadership and communication skills, and advocacy strategies. Members who are willing to get involved are a valuable resource for starting and maintaining programs, projects and community partnerships to benefit children, youth and families.

Enrolling members in the PTA is a year-long activity that is carried out by a membership committee at the school unit PTA. In addition to increasing enrollment, membership campaigns can: increase public awareness of the resources that PTA offers to parents, educators, and members of the community who work, in large and small ways, to secure a nurturing, healthy environment for children, and strengthen the PTA voice so that policymakers in all areas, at all levels will hear a strong, unified message on behalf of children, youth, and families. To utilize the full extent of membership resources, consult the National PTA Annual Resources for PTAs for descriptions of partnerships, leadership development, legislative influence, and national resources.

Any individual who subscribes to the purposes and basic policies of the PTA becomes a member upon payment of dues to a PTA or PTSA unit. Each member receives an official membership card from the unit. The membership card issued shows that the dues paid to the unit include membership in the North Carolina State PTA and National PTA and expires October 31. Dues may differ in amount in each PTA.

This excerpt was adapted from the California State PTA website. For great ideas to build membership, go to their website and click the Membership navigational button/Value of PTA Membership/Building Membership for useful information such as:

• membership
• theme-ideas
• creating a welcome packet
• six steps for recruiting and retaining members

In addition to paying dues to help PTA fulfill its role in child advocacy, why not spend some time volunteering for your school? PTA and parent involvement have been shown to have a dramatic effect in student success. You can join a PTA committee, or just help out committee chairs with their various duties. Being an active PTA volunteer at your child's school makes a big impression! Moms, dads, caregivers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, kindly neighbors—everyone wanting to help children can share some time to read to kids, be a math tutor, do a science experiment, chaperone a field trip, tell about an experience, plant a garden, assist with a fun class project. Help plan a fundraiser, paint a mural, repair a library book, plant a tree or trim a bush or create corporate partnerships. The welcome you receive will be warm, the payment in smiles, and the reward felt in your heart—and theirs.

If participating in an advocacy role to affect educational policy is your interest, some of the ways include:

• attend and/or speak before school board meetings
• run for school improvement teams
• serve as an officer on your local unit PTA board, Council or State PTA board
• attend State PTA legislative rallies in Raleigh
• contact your congressional representatives on issues concerning children

Join the PTA.For more information, contact your school PTA president or the Guilford County Council of PTAs President Sharon Shepard at 454-4056or via email.

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