Why I Am A PTA Mom

The end of the school year is almost here!  All of the teachers are throwing their hand ups in celebration.  The kids are singing a tune of Alice Cooper.  And the parents are rejoicing for later alarms.  The end of each school year brings a new era, new grades, and most of the time a new PTA.  

I love being on the PTA and volunteering for the school.  PTA is not all that it has been made out to be...think of the movie "Bad Moms"...the experience I have had is nothing like that. I have been the room mom for two children, PTA Treasurer for one school, an elected PTSA Committee member, and the PTSA Co-Vice President for another school.  And,  I have loved it!

Being a PTA mom has opened many new doors for me:

• I have made amazing friendships with other parents through PTA.  These are friendships that have lasted years and through various schools.
• The teachers know me by name.  When you are at the school on a regular basis, your face becomes familiar, you get to know the teachers, and they get to know you.
• The administrators know me by name.  I am grateful that at the school my children are now at, the administrators are aware of what PTA does and also knows my name and associates my name with my children.  There is a definite rapport there.
• My children make new friends. Through PTA, my kids have made some amazing friends...when your mom is volunteering at meetings, events, and other activities outside of normal school hours, the relationship is easy to build.
• I understand the inner-workings of the school much better than I did / would if I wasn't as actively involved in the school as I was.

I know that PTA gets a bad rap for being full of drama and gluten-free-crunchy-oil-sniffing moms who do yoga with their dogs.    From my experience in being involved in parent/teacher organizations in some capacity for over five years, we are just normal moms.  Yes some of us are gluten free.  Some of us are crunchy.  Some of us love oils.  And some of us do yoga...with or without our dog.  But, we are all in it for the kids.  We are in it to support the teachers.  My experience has been full of laughter, food, coffee, and hours of talking and planning.  Really, in my heart of hearts, I truly believe that your experience with PTA  is what you make it.  If you choose to see and focus on the positive, that is what you will get.  If you choose to see and focus on the negative, that will be the sum of your experience.

As the school year ends, truly consider volunteering for your PTA.  If you won't do it, who will?