I attended the Washington State PTA convention in Lynnwood this past weekend. I am the president of the PTA of Methow Valley. It was my first state PTA convention, first time joining the PTA this past fall and first time running for an elected board seat, for any organization, this past December. It was also the first time the PTA has been chartered in Methow Valley. That’s a lot of firsts.

The decision to join the PTA and run for office came with a sacrifice larger than for most. As a reporter, we can’t join an organization that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Membership in almost any organization can be perceived as a conflict of interest if an article overlaps with the interest of that organization. For a topic as large as education, it was a hard pill to swallow. 

So, why did I do it?

I wrote about the formation of the Family Teacher Association, the precursor to PTA, for the Methow Valley News as a freelance reporter. I occasionally kept in touch with one of the board members. Last fall, I learned that FTA was disbanding and forming a PTA. At about the same time, I was becoming aware of two very important issues.

The first issue arose during a conversation with a mom who said her child was attacked at the throat by another student at the elementary school. I did not seek this person out. It started as an ordinary conversation. She did not feel the matter was adequately addressed so she withdrew her child from some school activities. Not long after, I met another parent who shared that their child, also in elementary school, was punched in the face and was left with a pair of broken glasses and a cut above the eyebrow. The parent was upset not only about the event but by the manner in which this case was handled. 

These stories affected me. Bullying has the capacity to terrify, to paralyze, and to depress. As I thought about these experiences, I realized that bullying goes beyond the pain of a punch and the ensuing cascade of shame and embarrassment. The real impact of bullying is the message it sends deep inside your brain. You don’t belong. You’re too different. There is no place for you here. The message isn’t less deafening from those that sit on the sidelines and say nothing. In fact, it can feel even worse.

Since then, I’ve heard from two more people whose children have been bullied. A mother recently told me how difficult it was to connect with her child after they were bullied. When this student followed their parent’s guidance and reported bullying behavior to a paraeducator, the paraeducator told the elementary school aged child to handle it themselves. The lack of common sense, which these days can be blamed on a lack of training, bothered me.

The second issue that affected me during this time was my experience taking my child to see LBHS’ spring production of Mamma Mia! Having attended many productions over the last 25 years in the US and abroad, the content of this musical shocked me. As an audience veteran, I found myself not knowing what to do in the moment to protect my daughter. Get up in the middle of the production and leave? Have faith that this is a one-off and will pass? Hope that it will go over her head?

I ran unopposed for PTA president but had I been challenged, these are the issues I would have spoken about on my platform. Scott Larson, a former school board candidate, stepped up to run for vice president. A small business owner with accounting experience ran for treasurer. We soon found a secretary and we were off to the races. After speaking with the board, my initial newsletters to the PTA charter members were based on the issues that motivated me to run plus an added item- academic performance based on test scores reported by Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Our membership grew significantly- from 37 to 54 members, but it was soon clear there was a division about how to move forward. We, the board, persistently heard from nay sayers who were against any reforms to the current system. One very well-educated parent with a child in the school system dismissed low test scores by saying they are on par with other schools. Some students who attended our meetings said they didn’t care about the standardized tests, so they didn’t put much effort into them. One LBHS graduate who finished at the top of her class lauded how well the school had prepared her for university. Our push for finding ways to increase academic performance began to diminish.

The issue of high school theater productions was even more controversial. Some members saw the issue as pitting one moral value against another. Some people put relationships over inquiry. “I trust [him] completely,” said one parent. Topics that I thought would have a consensus- use of curse words and sexual references on stage, turned out not to be so.

Then, there was the issue of bullying. We needed people to step forward so we could advocate for them, but none wanted to step forward. We tried to get the word out about the PTA. We placed ads, calendar notices, I wrote a letter to the editor and our meetings even got coverage by MVN. A few people found out about us because they saw the event on the school calendar. A lot more came by word of mouth, but we were not able to solidify a platform. We needed more time as a nascent organization.

And then, there was another layer. Our superintendent unsubscribed from our monthly newsletter. It was disappointing because he hadn’t attended a meeting or spoken with anyone on our board. In my communication with a teacher and the LBHS principal about theater, it felt like a power struggle. On one side there was me, inquiring, at that point, as a private citizen. On the other side was the full force and strength of LBHS. Go Mountain Lions.

An added icing on the cake happened recently when I planned to write what I thought would be a positive article about a school program. The coordinator initially agreed to the collaboration, then emailed me to say she was not allowed to speak with me and referred questions to the principal or superintendent. The message she was asked to relay, I realized, was very similar to bullying. You do not belong here. You are not one of us.

Recently, I asked the board what were we trying to accomplish. I loved my job but, who were we doing this for? 

It wasn’t until I went to the state PTA convention this past weekend that I saw examples of how other PTAs operated. I realized that I was so focused on the issues that got me, personally, involved in PTA that I didn’t see the bigger picture. We are kind of isolated in the valley. PTAs don’t tell local chapters what to do and our region 12 director is in Tri-Cities. We started this group with trial and error. It was great learning from other PTAs that are more established than ours.

At the convention, I got ideas that could really make a difference in our schools, such as fundraisers to support scholarships for students. I was inspired by a school doing a block party for families and students. I got ideas about using staff surveys to determine where teachers could use the most help, organizing fun events for kids and appreciation events for volunteers and staff, member potlucks, and, above all, recognizing progress over perfection. 

With impending budget cuts, PTAs can make a difference. Other schools include their PTAs in their Skyward emails and talk about them in staff meetings. We seemed to have started on the wrong foot, but imagine if we had a school-parent-teacher partnership that worked like that.

More schools than ever have expressed an interest in forming a PTA. The average number of new PTAs in our state every year is six. This year, it’s 19, including the PTA of Methow Valley.

Some accomplishments by PTAs have been extraordinary. Eight PTAs in the state were recognized for enrolling as many school staff as there are full-time certified employees in their school. Imagine the difference this would make if staff were an integral part of the process and conversation of our PTA.

Five PTAs were recognized for enrolling as many members as there are full-time students in the school. Imagine the difference it would make if every student had a PTA member to be their voice. 

I have heard second-hand that staff don’t have enough time. Everything that staff is going through we, as working parents, are going through too. We are a hodgepodge of volunteers that embarked on this because we care and wanted to do something positive for our students. We can only achieve this by having conversations and working together.

We may see things differently but, to quote Ride the Cyclone, we need two wings to fly. We need to work together and have respectful dialogue. Give us a chance. We are all learning how to use these darn wings.

I am the founder and editor of Methow Valley Examiner, an online publication for locals, by locals. MVE explores stories beyond the headlines.

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4 Comments

  1. Julia, This is a well written synopsis of our PTA’s short history and a vision for the potential of our PTA. Getting the word out to the community and advocating for more community involvement moving forward will be one of our biggest challenges.

  2. I would love to hear from people why they don’t come. Too busy, too political, don’t understand its purpose or don’t know it exists? A program takes time to develop. Awareness is the first and biggest hurdle so spread the word.

    1. I think we have a good turnout- 20 people or so. We obviously need to continue our outreach and also work with the people who are attending.

  3. Unfortunately, my experience w the MV school board was very negative. Not at all surprised the superintendent cancelled his subscription to the PTA newletter. They are a closed loop. Parents were not welcomed at the school board meetings I attended. The board refused to answer questions raised at meetings, etc. Just sat there like bobble heads. PTA is a good idea, but you will have to work around the school board.

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