Advocacy

PTA: The oldest and largest child advocacy organization in the nation - Since 1897

Every PTA member is an advocate for children. We are engaged in advocacy every time we support and speak up for children.

PTA advocacy changes lives. PTA has a long, successful history of influencing policy to promote children's education, health and well-being - resulting in child labor laws, school lunch programs, and much more.

We need your voice! Working together, we can continue to make a difference for all children.

All PTA Members can be advocates

In fact, you may be an advocate already! You are engaging in advocacy whenever you:

  • Speak up for your child. Advocacy is happening every time you reach out to a teacher or school administrator to address a concern about your child's education. This could be as simple as attending a parent-teacher conference, checking in with the teacher about a low test score, or requesting a meeting with your principal and other school staff to discuss your child's disability and how the school can help.

  • Take action to improve conditions for all children at your school. A group of concerned parents might write a letter or request a meeting with school administration to discuss a safety issue affecting children on their route to school. Your PTA might organize a "town hall" meeting about school lockdown procedures, dress codes, or nutrition in the cafeteria, ask to review the principal's continuous improvement plan, or request a seat on the school's parent advisory committee.

  • Call on your community to respond to an urgent public policy matter. Occasionally, your state or National PTA will issue an alert that a pending piece of legislation has serious implications for public education. Local PTA leaders are in a unique position to educate and mobilize their members to speak up for children's needs.

Even a few minutes can make a difference

You can have a significant impact in a short amount of time. When a decision-maker receives five calls, emails or letters on an issue, he or she knows the public is concerned about it. Below are some quick ways to advocate on behalf of our children:

If you have.............. You can....................

5 minutes Vote, send an email, or make a phone call to an elected official

10 minutes Share a concern with your child's teacher or principal

15 minutes Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper

30 minutes Meet with your legislator at his/her office

1 hour Educate yourself about the candidates running for office in your

jurisdiction and their positions on public education

1-3 hours Attend your local school board meeting, or a city council meeting

when education is on the agenda