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A C C P T A 
Alachua County Council of PTAs and PTSAs
7510 NW 41st Avenue  Gainesville FL 32606
(352) 378-9134
"Together we make a difference."
2003/2004

The PTA:
What is the PTA?   The Objects of the PTA   Why should I join the PTA?   How can I benefit?  Benefits provided by the National PTA  What is the ACCPTA?


What is the PTA?
    The PTA is a grassroots organization made up of parents, teachers and others around the state who have a special interest in children, families and schools. "PTA" stands for Parent Teacher Association, and PTSA stands for Parent-Teacher-Student Association.  Any person who supports the objects of the PTA is welcome to become a member.

THE OBJECTS OF THE PTA

  • To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship
  • To raise the standards of home life
  • To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth
  • To bring into closer relation, the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth
  • To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for every child the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education
What does the PTA do?
    PTAs and PTA's work for children, meet together, study problems, support teachers, volunteer in schools, attend workshops on parenting and become informed on issues regarding children.
Why should I join PTA?
    Because of your children and your community. Membership in the PTA provides your child and other children around you with a greater chance of achieving in school. Studies have proven that. Being a PTA member, you are more likely to be an informed and involved parent. More than ever, it is important for parents to know ways to keep children safe, trouble free and involved in school. The PTA is the best place to do that.  Many people have benefited greatly through PTA involvement.
How can I benefit?
    The PTA provides opportunities to meet and talk with other parents who have the same worries as you. Being part of a group results in parental support and makes school involvement easier. The PTA also provides educational opportunities at the local as well as state level. The PTA will introduce you to a great variety of new activities and opportunities to share your talents. No job is too big or too small for PTA volunteers. Each job helps children, and each volunteer strengthens the PTA.


National PTA

National PTA provides many benefits to local groups.  Click here to see some.

    A note from National PTA President, Lois Jean White:
       
      National PTA is vigorous and vocal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Schools in Europe and the Pacific and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. While our 27,000 local PTAs usually operate within schools, we are independent of them and of teachers’ unions. Our 6.5 million members tackle an array of concerns from school violence to adequate funding for public education to child health and welfare issues. We regularly are asked to provide testimony and briefings on those issues in Congress and the White House and in state legislatures nationwide.  We host an annual Legislative Conference to update our members on key legislation prior to their visits to Capitol Hill.  Through unwavering advocacy efforts, National PTA secured parent involvement as one of the eight National Education Goals.
         
      We provide a wealth of resources for families and educators in our national magazine Our Children, on our web site www.pta.org and through workshops at our annual national convention.  We have developed and distributed the National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs which are rapidly being adopted by school districts across the county.
         
      We welcome members who share our commitment to children and are pleased to report that our membership is on the increase.  National PTA today is at the forefront of education and child welfare issues, working hard to improve conditions for all of America's children.


What is the ACCPTA?

Send questions or comments to ACCPTA