How often is you school PTA communicating with parents? Do parents know what your PTA does on behalf of children each and every day in school communities? Parent involvement spans a broad range, from the parent who makes sure that their child is dressed and fed, to the parent who comes into school to volunteer, to the parent who takes it upon himself to learn all of the school system’s initiatives and programs. Research has shown that when parents are involved in their children’s schools their child is more successful in school. Schools benefit by partnering with parents to have needed support for all children. It is a win-win situation for all. PTAs should encourage and support all parents in volunteer efforts for children in their school communities each and every day.  Each day make it your PTA goal to ask at least one person to join and support your PTA advocacy efforts on behalf of all children. Parent involvement encourages children to be more engaged in their school communities as well as to support the academic success of children.

10 Truths About Parent Involvement

National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Implementation Guide

The benefits of family-school-community partnerships are many: higher teacher morale, more parent involvement, and greater student success are only a few. That is why PTA developed the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Implementation Guide, a tool for empowering people to work together with an end goal of building family-school partnerships and student success.

For each of the six National Standards for Family-School Partnerships, this online guide provides:

• An explanation of each standard and its importance
• Insights to help convince educators of the standard’s value
• A success story from a school community
• Action steps for your school community
• Resources to enhance your understanding

Who should use this guide?

Anyone with a stake in improving schools and student achievement can use this tool: PTA leaders, parents, school administrators, school board members, community organizations, and more.

How to use this guide:

This guide can assist organizers with implementing programs and policies that encourage these family-school partnerships. Used with the supporting resources, it can help organizers educate their communities about the importance of family involvement and direct the development of effective partnerships. These materials are best used after the formation of an action team focused on promoting family involvement. This team can include parents, other caregivers and family members, school staff, community members, and even students.

Samples of Podcasts Available from National PTA

Dr. Steven Sroka on The Power of One: Internationally-acclaimed motivational speaker, educator and author, Dr. Steven Sroka shares insight on his inspiring mantra, The Power of One

Building Strong Parent-School Partnerships: Aracelli Simeon Luna, National Parent-School Partnership Director for MALDEF, offers strategic best practices and goals for fostering strong partnerships between parents and schools

Building Strong Parent-Teacher Alliances: Natalie Schwartz, author of "The Teacher Chronicles: Confronting the Demands of Students, Parents, Administrators and Society," shares helpful tips for building strong and effective parent-teacher alliances

Chris Draft on Parental Involvement: Our newest National PTA Ambassador, Chris Draft of the NFL St. Louis Rams shares how parental involvement has been a key factor to his success

Tips on Dad Involvement: Dr. Jeff Johnson, President/CEO of the National Partnership for Community Leadership (NPCL), provides tips on male involvement. Dr. Johnson is also the founder of NPCL which is based in Baltimore and is a partner of PTA’s Men Organized to Raise Engagement (MORE) alliance.

Ready, Set, Lead!
PTA National Standard for Family-School Partnerships

PTA Programs: Organize and support parent involvement in children's education

For online radio broadcasts with experts on key PTA topics, listen to PTA Radio.