Dear PTA Leaders,
Keep Those Villages Together
I shared last month that I believe it takes a village to raise a child. This past March, we saw our villages change. They continue to change. As we look to our immediate future this fall, our villages will change even more. They will split into various camps: in-person hybrid learning, all-virtual learning, and possibly even temporary private schooling or homeschooling.
My amazing PTA volunteers, I humbly ask that you work hard to keep your villages together. Right now, our villages are starting to crack. Families are agonizing over the choices made for their children. Staff wonder if the choice they made will be honored. We all are simply worried about what school will look like and we worry about the health, physical and mental, of our greater community and all its members. As this cloud of doubt, uncertainty, and worry settles over us, it threatens to permanently fracture our communities. Our villages are hurting, our people are hurting, and our children are hurting.
But PTA can be our lifeline. PTA can and will keep our villages intact. Our village includes virtual and in-person staff. It includes virtual and in-person learners. It includes families who have made a temporary change, just for a year, and they plan on returning. Our village welcomes all.
It is time for us to recognize and shout from the rooftops that PTA goes far beyond fundraisers and bake sales! We are the oldest and largest child advocacy organization in our county. PTA links families to important school and community information. We track local, state, and national policies every day so we can advocate for what is best for our students, families, and schools. Not only do we tirelessly advocate for our children and our schools, but PTA creates, waters, and nurtures the village needed to raise our children and help them reach their potential.
We bring school communities to life.
Encourage your community to join PTA. Ask them to be part of the village. Educate and empower them to make your shared pocket of the world a better place. Provide them the space to connect with other parents and staff members at your school. Make your village strong by adding as many voices as possible. Ask them to join us, support our work, and amplify our voice as collaborators and advocates. PTA believes we CAN make every child’s potential a reality…
Take care, stay safe, & be well.
Kara Jenkins
