Dads step up to the plate
My mom was involved in the PTA at the schools my brother and I attended.
I always imagined that PTA meetings were full of other parents just like my mom — people who I saw doing everything from making photocopies for teachers to raising money for student clubs to organizing field trips.
It didn’t occur to me then, really, to think of PTA meetings as being full of parents who were just like somebody’s dad.
But Byron Garrett will become the association’s first black male chief executive officer at its national convention next week.
He follows in the footsteps of Chuck Saylors, who last year became the organization’s first male president-elect.
Males make up about 10 percent of PTA membership. Here’s what a recent PTA survey has to say about their influence:
- -More than 75 percent of respondents described their PTA’s level of male involvement as “somewhat involved,” “involved” or “very involved.”
- -A little less than 75 percent of respondents said male involvement is “valued” or “very valued” by the PTA.
- -More than 50 percent of respondents said their PTA holds a special membership drive, hosts specific male-oriented events or in some other way specifically tries to attract and retain male members.
Comment below to share how your school encourages father figures to get involved.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
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