School of Excellence

National PTA School of Excellence recognition program opens the lines of communication and critical thinking within school communities to make data-driven decisions that yield positive, long-term results.

Apply Today: pta.org/home/programs/National-PTA-School-of-Excellence

Even if you are not sure you want to participate, you can enroll and receive the materials to help better evaluate if you have the capacity to implement the program. If you don’t feel ready this year, start to lay the groundwork now, so that you can participate next year.

Application Deadline:  October 1

Who is the program for? Any PTA who wants to implement best practices for family-school partnerships. You don’t have to see your PTA as “excellent” to get started. If you’re already excellent, this program will make you even better and if your school needs some guidance about how to improve, this program will help you along the way.

What does it take? Once enrolled, National PTA will provide all the resources you need. The first steps are listed below to help make it even easier for you.

• #1 Get some data from your school's principal or secretary (this is usually an easy report for them to run)

  • Number of students enrolled

  • Percent of students in the school who receive free/reduced priced lunch:

  • Student demographics in percentages: (Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, White/Caucasian, Other)

• #2 Complete your online enrollment application at pta.org

  

A Toolkit will be emailed out with complete information but the program will require a pre-made survey to get started. Use the school survey data to discuss what would help your students best.  National PTA will provide a “Roadmap to Excellence” to help you implement the most needed aspects of the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. At the end of the year, you will complete a follow up survey and then the final application.

What resources will I have? In addition to all the National PTA resources, you will have access to Utah PTA leaders who have participated in this process before, as well the state PTA School of Excellence Library.

 

Questions?  Please contact FamilyEngagement@UtahPTA.org

 

Sample School Survey - Google Form  (clicking on the link will make you a copy) 

Sample School Survey - PDF 

 

What roles can we each play?

The Role of PTA

The National PTA Bylaws, Article III (d), state, “The association shall work with the schools to provide quality education for all children and youth and shall seek to participate in the decision-making process establishing school policy, recognizing that the legal responsibility to make decisions has been delegated by the people to boards of education.”

As an independent, nonpartisan child advocacy group, the PTA needs to play a key role in school-based planning in a school or school district. School-based planning should build a true partnership among the principal, teachers, and parents in the school. The PTA should work to ensure that parents and members of the community are represented on the team. The PTA should continually serve as a resource, gathering and sharing information to keep parents and the community involved and well-informed.

Parents and community members need to be aware of their right and responsibility to participate in school-based planning, and be reminded of how important they are to the successful education of all the children in the school.

 

PTA Works with Its School Partners

Partnership, teamwork and cooperation – these are the building blocks of education leadership. Parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, and school boards have a common goal – quality education – that cannot be achieved by anyone acting alone. Developing a working partnership by communicating with each other, sharing in the decision making, and mobilizing the community to action can lead the way to success for all students.

As with most partnerships, success depends on the degree of consistency and fairness with which the rules are applied. Partnership means that each understands his or her responsibilities as well as the other’s. It means setting goals and working cooperatively to achieve them. It means respecting each other’s opinion, not expecting automatic approval from the other and not withdrawing support if opinions differ. It means reaching out to all parents and school staff to help our children and youth reach their potential.

At a time when proposed legislation and restricted funding threaten the democratic system of a free, public education for students, the partners in education must strengthen their alliance.

 

SCHOOL PARTNERS: The Student

If a PTA is to include all the partners in education, the student must not be left out. It is important to listen to students and respect their opinions. Students in a PTSA should be encouraged to serve as committee chairs or members. They can also be representatives at school board meetings. Students can even serve in some elected offices.

 

SCHOOL PARTNERS: The School Staff

A good relationship is important with other staff members as well. For example, the school transportation professionals can work with a PTA/school safety committee and provide information and presentations for PTA programs. School cafeteria employees can work with PTAs wishing to provide programs and information on nutrition, diet, etc. The entire school community, working together, can achieve a successful education experience for all. The PTA fosters community support of education by:

• Supporting training for teachers, principals, parents, administrators, and community members in their roles as shared decision-makers at local schools.
• Working for school budgets. Urging communities to support teachers’ continuing professional education and helping explain the importance of such programs. Encouraging parents and community members to be informed about education issues.
• Helping schools connect with the home, providing family and community information and networking with other local organizations.
• Working to maintain a strong public school system with quality education for all children and youth.

 

SCHOOL PARTNERS: The Teacher

Teachers are an essential part of PTA. It is important to include teachers and administrators as equal partners in your unit. PTA leaders should be familiar with current organized teacher concerns, know the professional stand on the issues, and be sensitive to the thoughts of local teachers individually.

The Partnership: The Teacher’s Role

• Set a friendly tone with parents in notes, phone calls, and newsletters. This encourages parents to see themselves as equal partners in the job of educating their children.
• Establish a regular means of two-way communication with parents throughout the school year – weekly classroom newsletters or webpages, teacher-parent journals, good news phone calls or Friday folders.
• Set a clear policy on homework – its purpose, how much time it should take, how parents can help.
• Make sure parents understand classroom programs and policies and the importance of parent support.
• Support parent and community volunteers in the school.
• Attend PTA meetings, serving on committees and in leadership positions, and joining in PTA programs and projects.
• Discuss PTA programs at teachers’ meetings, and gather tips about successful programs at other schools to share with the PTA.
• Encourage your school to participate in the Reflections program.
• Alert the PTA to parents’ needs (parents who do not speak English, parents who work and cannot attend daytime meetings, etc.). Work with the PTA to provide family engagement opportunities in school and at home.
• Share with the PTA issues of concern to teachers, current topics in education, and the need for changes to meet future goals.

The Partnership: The PTA’s Role

• Make parents and other members of the community aware of school policies and programs.
• Help parents understand the importance of their support of school rules and procedures.
• Educate parents in parenting skills and ways to support children’s learning at home.
• Strengthen parent-teacher communication and understanding through newsletters, workshops, events and activities.
• Provide informal occasions for teachers and parents to get to know one another as individuals and as partners in education.
• Provide insight into family and community structures, attitudes, and influences that affect the children you teach.
• Assist parents through outreach programs and referrals to community resources.
• Conduct volunteer programs in schools.
• Help to integrate in-school and out-of-school activities.
• Educate its members through programs that improve the lives of children and youth – i.e., to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, encourage reading, develop self-discipline and enhance children’s television viewing skills.
• Encourage parents and community members to unite to improve the lives of children and youth through programs that address social problems.
• Educate and encourage participation of parents and community members in the creation and support of responsible school district spending plans.

 

SCHOOL PARTNERS: The Principal

A working partnership between the PTA and the principal is essential if we are to secure the best possible education for our young people. The local PTA president and the principal must operate as a team, both understanding their own unique responsibilities and appreciating the other’s; both developing rapport within the special constituencies of parents and staff; both committing themselves to intelligent cooperation in the education of children and youth.

A working partnership between the principal and the PTA, dedicated to the welfare of children and youth, can strengthen family life and improve the schools. Here are some suggestions for nurturing this important partnership:

• Meet consistently at an agreed-upon time. Discuss issues. Review plans for events. Keep each other informed.
• Work out problems or misunderstandings in a direct, honest way. Keep an open mind. Listen to each other.
• When working with parents and community, be positive and enthusiastic about your school.

The Partnership: The Principal’s Role

• Be available to the community on a planned, regular basis. Schedule meetings open to the public at different times – days, evenings, and weekends. Invite parents to set up private appointments to discuss concerns.
• Work to make parents feel welcome and comfortable in school – the first step toward family engagement.
• Plan for and encourage parent-teacher conferences. Show parents and teachers how to use conferences to build parent-teacher-student teamwork. Make sure conferences are held at times when parents can come.
• Be sensitive to how a family’s home life may affect how parents feel toward school. For example, a parent who is struggling to keep a family housed and fed may have difficulty concentrating on a child’s academic problems.
• Be active in the PTA and encourage teachers to participate.
• Help the PTA keep its primary focus on education rather than fundraising. The principal and PTA can work together to solve problems and set goals that will benefit students.
• Help parents be informed on current issues in education.
• Help the PTA plan activities to accomplish specific goals. For example, encourage the PTA board to plan events that promote children’s well-being, home-school cooperation, and community betterment.
• Work with the PTA to develop a program for training and using parent and community volunteers.
• Don’t encourage a “rubber stamp” PTA or withdraw support when there is reasonable difference of opinion. Seek constructive discussions with parents that will develop a framework of confidence in the school and in the leadership of the principal.

The Partnership: The PTA’s Role

• Encourage the principal to speak openly of his or her goals and concerns.
• Present PTA concerns and issues to the principal. Develop a forum that allows for frank and open discussion.
• Focus on education and how to benefit students.
• Be alert to staff and community talents and resources, and draw on them for the benefit of the entire school.
• Help the principal promote fair discipline for all children.
• Plan PTA programs that inform parents on important school issues.

 

SCHOOL PARTNERS: The Superintendent

The superintendent’s primary role is one of leadership – leadership that helps the school board identify clear goals for the schools, leadership that interprets policy guidelines to building principals and staff, and leadership that helps the community understand what the schools are and can become.

The superintendent’s leadership and support are instrumental in creating a coalition of parents, students, adults who have no children in school, building and district administrators, teachers, support staff, and the school board. The PTA is a critical element in this coalition since it represents a broad base of parents and others willing to work actively for and with the schools in order to produce quality education.

The school board is the policy-making body of the school district and employs the superintendent. The superintendent receives general directions and outlines of goals and policies from the school board and is charged by the board with organizing the staff to meet these goals. With the superintendent’s recommendation, the board determines the annual budget, sets education goals, and approves the guidelines for relationships with all employee groups.

The Partnership: The Superintendent’s Role

• Support the development of district-wide policies on family engagement.
• Listen to parents.
• Prepare copies of district parent/community involvement policies and procedures to share with the community. Strongly encourage all schools to have a PTA. Provide meeting places and support services.
• Requiring PTA and community participation in school-wide or district-wide advisory groups and committees and in communication processes.
• Share the decision making process with parents and teachers.
• Provide school board agendas, administrative agendas, and action items to the PTA.
• Assist principals and PTA officers in developing a working relationship.
• Meet and confer with the PTA and other community groups at their meetings.
• Assign key administrators to represent the superintendent and to meet regularly with the PTA and community groups.
• Make it a priority to involve the community in addressing school district issues.
• Help the community identify areas of interest, concern, and need.
• Give recognition for community involvement.
• Realize that the PTA is not a force to command but rather a partner working for better schools.

The Partnership: The PTA’s Role

• Become familiar with school policies and procedures.
• Understand and use administrative channels.
• Know the difference between the responsibilities and roles of the board, superintendent, and principals.
• Set priorities and goals a nd discuss them with the superintendent.
• Address issues that will benefit all students.
• Expect to be heard as key community leaders and, if necessary, insist on equal access to the superintendent. Involve people who will participate actively on committees and task forces. Mobilize coalitions, when necessary, to achieve education goals or to support school issues.
• Be willing to openly discuss issues and options for the school district.
• Be sure to recognize the educational accomplishments of the school system, students, and teachers, as well as address problems.

 

SCHOOL PARTNERS: The School Board

Only by understanding what a school board is, how it works, and how a parent can contribute to its deliberations, can parents hope to influence the significant decisions that the school board makes in their community.

The school board serves the community to which it must answer for its decisions. While the board must depend on professional staff for information and advice, this relationship should never be a substitute for a strong, working partnership with parents.

The Partnership: The School Board’s Role

• Appoint a PTA member to all advisory committees.
• Send notices of all school board meetings to local PTA units.
• Attend PTA council, region and local unit meetings, whenever possible.
• Ask for PTA input on issues of importance to the school district (e.g., decisions on school boundaries, budgetary matters, etc.).
• Between the introduction of a policy item and the vote on it, allow sufficient time for the public to express its views. Develop a board procedure for when citizens can address the board. The board should set aside time at each meeting for interested citizens to address the board.
• Develop a plan for regularly disseminating information on the action taken at meetings.

The Partnership: The PTA’s Role

• Learn the difference between administration (superintendent and staff ) and policy-making (school board).
• Establish a two-way communication with the school board.
• Appoint a PTA liaison to attend school board meetings and collect copies of agendas and reports.
• Keep the PTA membership informed of school board actions and policies through reports in newsletters, meetings, and special programs.
• Present PTA positions on educational and community issues. Remember to always voice the position or consensus of the PTA, not personal views or opinions.
• Review with the school board the state mandated family engagement policy and plans for implementation.
• Make sure PTA representatives sit on special school board advisory committees and task forces.
• Invite school board members to attend all PTA programs.
• Encourage parents to attend school board meetings. Let them know the scheduled date, time, place, and agenda.
• Call public attention to important school issues being decided by the school board.
• Use PTA newsletters to develop parental understanding of important school issues.