Originally posted by <All 4 the kids>:
Well isn't it true that the vast majority of those parents join the group in their school too!
The vast majority are not making a choice between PTA and PTO, just joining at their child's school.
And many PTO etc. parents do not even know that they are not part of PTA! And I do know this from many, many discussions I have had with parents.

And I see many requests on this board for info on the National PTO, of which there is none.

Yes, absolutely. It goes both ways. Vast majority of parents don't give a hoot about this issue or the "sausage-making" we're talking about here. PTO parents know exactly as much about the "parent group world ouside their school's walls" as PTA parents do.

Difference is, though, that no one on the PTO side is claiming to be the voice of 18 million parents.

It's that 6 million claim that doesn't hold water. PTA has many services that are valuable and has very laudable goals. But if it's the "voice" of all these parents, then one would assume those 6 million parents have some clue they're part of this larger thing. Most don't have that clue, which makes the claim sketchy at best.

Tim

Well isn't it true that the vast majority of those parents join the group in their school too!The vast majority are not making a choice between PTA and PTO, just joining at their child's school.And many PTO etc. parents do not even know that they are not part of PTA!

Yes, it is true that the mass majority of parents are just joining whatever group any school has. The mass majority of every groups membership does not attend monthly meetings or even volunteer for that matter. This same mass majority does not care what moniker your group goes by, nor do they even know the difference between one group and the other.

The vast, vast majority of PTA's 5 million plus members have little or no connection whatsoever to the national organization called "PTA" -- they simply joined the "parent group" at their kids' school. They would have joined it if it was a PTO or a PTA or an XYZ.

But what you're missing is that there are more than 112,000 K-12 schools in the U.S, and PTA has fewer than 26,000 units (including international and non-school units).

Well isn't it true that the vast majority of those parents join the group in their school too!
The vast majority are not making a choice between PTA and PTO, just joining at their child's school.
And many PTO etc. parents do not even know that they are not part of PTA! And I do know this from many, many discussions I have had with parents.

And I see many requests on this board for info on the National PTO, of which there is none.

I agree with PerusingwithCoffee. In the the tip of the mitt of Mi, we are all PTOs & booster clubs. If I have to pay to join a volunteer-based group, forget it. As long as I get volunteers to help with activites at the school...I'm happy. It's just a matter of what group is the right fit for the school.

Wow AvonMom -

We are a very low PTA state I would have to say. Very few noted in this area (and when I just checked the MI Region PTA site, many of the rep positions are open). However, I know that ALL 13 of the schools in our district have some sort of parent group. We also have sports & band boosters which are also very involved with the school!

I would guess that the PTO member numbers would probably far outweigh PTA member numbers if any count actually took place. If I understand correctly PTA has a member due you pay to become a member. At our particular PTO, if you are a parent of a child attending the school - you are a member or if you are on the staff. So with over 500 students - we have 1000+ members in our PTO.

It's not the numbers of members, but the quality given by members that counts. Five devoted members who can rally groups and get what needs it - done - are much more effective than saying we have 500 members, but nobody has time!

Originally posted by <AvonMom>:
Well I do know that in our school district, about 30-40% of our schools don't have a parent group of any kind (PTO, PTA or anything)...

Again, what district is that? That's an unusually high number of schools with no parent group.

Tim