Washington State PTA - every child. one voice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a PTA?
A PTA unit is a local, self-governing membership association whose main purpose is to promote the health, welfare, safety and education of children and youth in the home, school, community, and place of worship. PTAs traditionally work within a school community, although there are examples of non school based PTAs working for children in other settings.

Why Join a PTA?
PTA is the only group whose exclusive interest is the health, welfare, safety and education of your children. Children cannot vote and do not participate in the legislative process. Thus, they have no say in creating the policies that affect their lives and well-being. PTA allows you to speak for the interest of your children when you cannot be there yourself. Whether in Washington DC, Olympia, or in your own city government offices, everywhere decisions are made that affect your children. PTA is speaking on behalf of your children. This has always been and will always be a central focus of PTA.

Additionally, studies show that when parents are involved in education, student academic performance improves. Involvement in PTA allows you not only to be involved in your child's education, but also allows you to get to know their teachers better and become more familiar with the school and what goes on there. PTA members can develop relationships with the parents of their children's classmates. Even if you don't have a great deal of time to devote to PTA activities, by becoming a member and attending meetings shows your children that you believe their school and their education is important.

Perhaps most importantly, though, your membership in PTA has a direct impact on your children and the quality of their school. PTA has the ability, more than any other organization, to make a school a better place for your children to learn. PTAs do this by addressing the needs of their individual schools. By becoming a PTA member, you can help identify those needs and develop solutions that may include making the school safer, becoming more technologically advanced, being more tolerant to others' differences, and bringing enriched educational opportunities to the school.

How Can I Join PTA?
The easiest way to join PTA is by joining a local PTA unit in your community. If your child goes to a school building served by a PTA, join! If your child's school does not have a PTA, encourage other parents to seriously consider affiliation with the Washington State PTA.

If you do not have children in school or, simply do not have children, you can still join a non-school based PTA or become a sustaining contributor of the Washington State PTA.

Why Form a PTA?
If your child's school has a parent-teacher organization rather than a PTA, you may be wondering what the benefits of becoming a PTA are. These are some of the benefits your organization would receive if it became a PTA:

PTAs receive materials and information developed for all sorts of programs that can be used to support children, parents, and families.
PTAs become part of a larger community working with and advocating on behalf of issues affecting the health, welfare, safety, education, care, and protection of children at the local, state, and federal levels.
PTAs can access a state and nationwide network of parents to get information, materials, and resources to help children, parents, and families in their own communities.
PTAs become independent, self-governing organizations where all members have voice and vote.
PTAs can access excellent leadership education and training resources.
PTAs can access state office staff and a statewide corps of knowledgeable people with experience to help you succeed. Whatever your question is, whether it's about fund raising, liability insurance, filling out IRS forms, parliamentary procedure, or developing programs, answers and advice are readily available.

How do PTAs Help Kids?
PTA's mission is "Building a Better World for Children." Here are some examples of how individual PTAs from around the state are fulfilling that mission in their own communities:

Providing enrichment programs for children. PTAs offer enrichment opportunities for children, including after school tutoring, foreign language classes, career days, and more. Because each PTA chooses its own enrichment programs based on the needs of their community, there are as many different enrichment opportunities provided by PTAs as there are individual PTAs in this state.
Providing parenting classes for their community. Many PTAs provide parenting education in conjunction with their meetings, including such topics as parent involvement in education, understanding learning styles, building children's self-esteem, helping your child succeed in school, and youth violence prevention.
Influencing legislation on behalf of children. Some PTAs advocate for local issues that affect the children in their community. In the past, individual PTAs have advocated for increased pedestrian safety laws and safer yard maintenance at school, just to name a few topics.
Making the school a better place to learn. PTAs have purchased and donated computers, playground equipment, and volunteered countless hours in the classroom and in conjunction with programs and activities.

How can I form a PTA?
Contact the State PTA office by phone at 1-800-562-3804 or email us at wapta@wastatepta.org. The Washington State PTA will have a Region Director contact you and take you through the steps needed to form a PTA unit.