On the secondary school level, PTA expands to include students. Students are encouraged to become members, turning PTA at the school into PTSA. Local PTSAs include students in leadership activities and events. Students are organized at the local level in different ways as best fits each individual school.
Student Leadership is Vital
WHY PTSA NEEDS STUDENTS
- To provide a new perspective by having their voices heard (through student leadership) on PTSA goals, programs, planning, and implementation.
- To increase awareness that there is strength in many voices that can bring about positive changes.
- To provide feedback on the effectiveness of PTSA programs and events.
- To help adults and students work together and understand each other better.
- To allow students to do as good a job as adults when given the opportunity and training.
- To give PTSA a new, young, energetic volunteer force as students learn leadership skills.
- To train students to become better informed citizens by introducing them to the legislative process and various legislative activities.
- To provide a foundation for a lifelong desire to serve and appreciate the value of volunteering.
WHY STUDENTS NEED PTSA
- To be members of a national, state, and local school-based organization that gives the students voice, vote, and influence.
- To know what is happening in school and to help determine how education can be improved.
- To have a forum in which areas of concern are discussed and resolved in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
- To provide a broader perspective on PTSA goals, programs, planning, and implementation.
- To learn leadership and organizational skills, enabling them to make a difference in the community.
- To be valuable assets on commissions and committees.
- To develop relationships through PTSA work that will be valuable to them in the future.
- To provide opportunities for adults and students to understand each other better.
- To become better informed citizens by learning about the legislative process and by being involved in legislative activities.
- To benefit from PTSA’s years of experience in advocating for youth.
- To provide PTSA a young, energetic volunteer force.
Young people's ideas and opinions are important. PTSA Student Committees provide a good opportunity to develop leadership skills, communication skills, and investment in their own communities.
Tips for Getting a PTSA Started in Your School
FIND A CAUSE
Follow the students’ interests and drive.
Determine a cause: dress code, attendance, violence, traffic safety, etc.
Decide on the desired results after a cause is chosen.
Schedule regular meetings to discuss progress and activities.
RECRUIT
Set out tables with information at back-to-school night or parent-teacher conferences. Give information out at school lunch.
Prepare Public Service Announcements (PSAs) at school events, etc.
Let students know what you want to achieve and solicit their help.
Set out sign-up sheets and allow students to choose an area in which to serve. Ask teachers to recommend students who may otherwise be too shy to volunteer.
Buy T-shirt and get membership free.
Beginning of year stomp, get in free if you’re a member.
Offer ‘freebies’ during the year: donuts, ice cream, etc.
IMPLEMENT
Let the students, teachers, parents, and community know of your plans and desired results.
PUBLICIZE
Have the PTSA students write articles on activities for their school newspaper.
Announce the program and solicit help on the school radio station, Channel One, or assemblies.
ACTIVITIES THAT YOUR PTSA COULD BE INVOLVED IN
Try activities like: Ribbon week, graduation parties, Battle of the Bands (BOB), Advocacy Conference, Presidential Service Awards, Utah PTA Student Leadership Conference, Teen Dating Violence Awareness Week, etc.
Let teachers and clubs know that PTSA is a resource to help with their activities.
DOCUMENT
Write articles and take pictures of your activities for newsletters, yearbook, bulletin boards, and PTA Awards.
Keep a student leadership procedure book.
Laying the Groundwork
We want to get students involved in our PTSA, but where do we start? Our PTSA recruited some students last year, how do we get them on an equal footing with adult members?
Here are some practical steps to take toward meaningful student leadership. Although they are listed in chronological order, feel free to adapt them to your PTSA’s needs.
STEP 1: Discuss student leadership with your PTSA’s executive committee or board.
To stimulate discussion and thinking, you may want to use an assessment questionnaire.
STEP 2: Recruit student membership.
Once your board has agreed to actively recruit student membership, have it make a formal commitment to student leadership.
STEP 3: Promote student membership.
Advertise PTSA activities, the advantages of student participation, etc., to parents, students, teachers, and the community.
STEP 4: Include students on the PTSA adult board committees.
STEP 5: Develop and implement programs that involve both students and adults.
Make sure students are included in the initial planning stages as well as in the execution of projects and programs.
STEP 6: Allow students to have an active voice in your PTSA.
Listen and give consideration to what students have to say, even if their ideas seem unorthodox or impossible to implement.
STEP 7: Consideration should be given to students.
Consideration should be given to electing students as officers or to having an elected student position on the PTSA adult executive board.
Putting the "S" in PTSA
A PTSA may be organized in several different ways. Local PTSA bylaws stipulate that there needs to be some kind of student interaction with the adult board. How to structure a PTSA is a decision that can be made by each local school, and should be based on what the PTSA is intending to achieve. Decisions about the goals of your PTSA can be determined through needs assessments, surveys, or discussions with students, parents, teachers, and administrators. If your local organization is not currently a PTSA, there are simple steps to follow to form one. You may find that your school is already chartered as a PTSA, but the students haven’t effectively been included in your organization.
When deciding how to organize and structure your PTSA, ask:
- “What do we want our students to gain from this experience?”
- “How can we include those who want to serve?”
Students at this age have fabulous ideas. Talk to them. Listen to them before you decide how to set up your PTSA.
Ideas to Organize a PTSA
- Arrange a meeting with students, parents, teachers, and administrators to discuss the benefits of organizing a PTSA. Discuss how the student organization might be structured. (See “Ideas on How to Structure a PTSA” below.)
- Determine what functions your PTSA will serve. Some of these may be to provide: leadership and/or service opportunities for students; safe social events for students; a forum where students can discuss and solve social and educational problems; assistance to the adult board in implementing PTSA programs, events, etc.; FUN!
- Notify students of an introductory meeting through announcements, notices in school paper, colorful posters, personal handwritten invitations, email, text messaging, other social media, etc. Involve the students. At the meeting, have students share personal experiences of PTSA positively impacting their school. Discuss needs, set goals, and make a plan to attain them. Call for a vote of the students on their desire to become PTSA members. Refer to your local PTSA bylaws for the timeframe of these meetings.
- Enlist an advisor for the group. Get permission to hold meetings in a teacher’s room. He/she could be the teacher representative on the student committee. If your student group meets outside of regular school hours, two adult leaders must be present, with no one-on-one student-adult situations, unless the student is their child.
- Elect student leaders. Ensure that students are empowered to be part of PTSA. Encourage student leaders to take advantage of the leadership training available through Utah PTA, such as the PTSA Student Leadership Conference, Advocacy Conference, PTSA Student Day at the Capitol, etc.
- Spark interest by utilizing bright PTSA logos on signs, newsletters, bulletin boards, etc. Create T-shirts for members and use comedy, music, drama, etc. to announce meetings and activities. Display photos of all activities on posters in the halls of the school.
How to Structure a PTSA
A PTSA must have student involvement with the adult PTSA. To provide even more opportunities to involve and develop student leaders, a Student PTSA Committee could also be formed. Make sure to follow local and district school policies concerning the creation of a student club or initiative.
Possible Ideas on How to Structure a PTSA Having a Student Committee
- Student applications are taken and a certain number of students are selected to be on the Student PTSA Committee. These students represent the student membership as they plan and carry out PTSA programs and functions. (General student membership is included where possible.) One member of this committee sits on the adult board to facilitate communication.
- Officers are elected by the student membership and have similar positions as the adult board. Since you can’t have a Board within a Board, this is a Committee. You will have a Student Chair & Student Vice-Chair instead of President & President-Elect, and a Student Secretary, but no Treasurer – students do not handle money. They work together with the adult Student Leadership Commissioner, as well as the Teacher Representative.
- The student committee may be made up from students who are recommended by teachers. One member from each homeroom class can be selected to be on the Student PTSA Committee.
- Where schools have both a student government and a Student PTSA Committee, a Student PTSA Committee member will meet with the student government, or a student body officer (SBO) can be designated to attend PTSA meetings to facilitate communication and coordination of activities.
Possible Ideas on How to Structure a PTSA Without Having a Student Committee
- All PTSA offices are held by adults, but one of the SBOs is appointed as a representative to the PTSA. They act as a liaison between the board and the student government.
- A student PTSA representative is elected as part of the student body election process. This student meets with the adult PTSA Board and acts as a liaison between that board and the student government.
- A student PTSA representative is selected from the school’s Peer Leadership Team (or similar group that doesn’t include SBOs). This student meets with the adult PTSA Board and acts as a liaison between that board and the student government.
- A student PTSA representative is nominated by the PTSA Nominations Committee. The student nominee can NOT be the child of anyone on the Nominations Committee.
- Your PTSA Student Advisor can coordinate student involvement through other active clubs at your school.
Ideas on How to Structure a PTSA By Integrating Students With the Adult PTSA
- Integrate the students right into the adult board. A student, for example, may serve as Health or Safety Commissioner. In this case, it is important to remember that Student Committee members cannot sign contracts or checks or handle money.
- Officers have similar positions as the adult board. They work closely with the adult member of the Board with the similar title. Together they plan events and programs.
- When having difficulty promoting student leadership, have a PTSA student leader selected by each teacher. They become the Student PTSA Committee and work hand-in-hand with the adult PTSA to learn leadership skills.
Note: Most of our PTSAs currently are set up as Student Boards, with Presidents, President-Elects, etc. As pointed out above, this practice needs to change. To help with this change, consider this comment from a student at the Utah PTA Student Leadership Committee meeting where this was discussed: “A president is someone who can make decisions on their own. A chairman’s job is to listen to their committee and keep them on task, doing the things that need doing.”
To have a successful PTSA, students need to "own" it and be interested.