Anchorage Daily News

The Parent Teacher Association is off to a slow start this year at Houston High School.

The reason is a common refrain in Matanuska-Susitna Borough schools: not enough parent volunteers. From Sutton to Big Lake, volunteers report a constant struggle to recruit and retain enough people to handle everything expected of a PTA or Parent Teacher Organization, which is an independent group not affiliated with the PTA.

Ronnie Seibold headed the group at Houston for two years. She said their main function was to raise money, most of which went to scholarships to graduating seniors.

By the end of her tenure as president, there were just three active parents. It wasn't enough to continue. Principal Mike Vrvilo said he's committed to keeping the group running, but that parents who would be involved are involved in other activities -- such as booster club -- already.

At Pioneer Peak Elementary on Trunk Road, Mandy Scott said she and her husband volunteered for the PTA a few years ago when it was on the verge of folding for lack of people.

The Scotts were half a group of four who did the heavy lifting for a myriad of PTA activities, including raising about $11,000. The PTA also organized almost monthly activities, from a back-to-school picnic to movie and theme nights

While she called her involvement "a lot of fun," recruiting more volunteers proved impossible. Scott said she placed pleas on the school bulletin board, in the newsletter and by word-of-mouth; she switched meeting times to make them more convenient. Nothing seemed to work. By the end of last year, the Scotts were burnt out and stepped down.

This lack of volunteers is reflected at the district level. The Parent Advisory Council, a volunteer group with the mission of promoting interaction and finding solutions to issues facing schools, has three active members, according to Catherine Esary, the Mat-Su school district's public information officer.

That's not enough to do business, Esary said, but added that, since the PAC is an issue-oriented group, "they don't have to function all the time but they can mobilize when (an issue) comes up."

THE NONJOINER GENERATION

Esary said that today's parent volunteer shies away from firm commitment to a group, preferring instead to work with individual teachers when they get involved at all.

"Parents are involved -- it may be different than in past generations," wrote Esary in an e-mail. "Young parents want quicker responses, less commitment and more targeted tasks. ... It's the nonjoiner effect of younger generations."

Valerie Van Hoomison, a mentor with LINKS, Mat-Su Parent Resource Center said she's an active volunteer both in her community and schools.

She doesn't volunteer with the PTA, though; her perception is it'll take too much time.

"I don't like to commit myself to something unless I can fulfill it and that may be the scaremonger to people that prevents them from being as active in the PTA," Van Hoomison said.

The few PTAs that reported success asked for targeted volunteering -- maybe once a year, e-mailed Cristal Fisher, president of Big Lake Elementary's PTA, which is two years old.

Beth Allen, president of the PTA at Finger Lake Elementary, said her board is intentional about breaking the assumption that PTA involvement equals long hours.

They generated a list by promising parents they'd only get a call to help once a year.

"I would hope a person that isn't on the (PTA) board can donate three hours per year," said Nicole Rockwell of the Knik Elementary PTA. "That would be a phenomenal amount of volunteering."

Karl Schleich, principal at Shaw Elementary, said his school decided against setting up a PTA/PTO. Instead, he offers a monthly coffee/open forum meant to inform and involve parents.

Schleich has generated an online listserv called "Parents for Education;" the group has organized a book club and does just one fundraiser per year, tied to an academic event.

Schleich said that over his 25 years as a professional educator, parent volunteerism "ebbs and flows." Last year, his school logged nearly 1,700 volunteer hours.

"The most important thing to state is the research is crystal clear," Schleich said.

"Involved parents are probably one of the single greatest ways to ensure their children to be successful."

Find Melodie Wright online at adn.com/contact/mwright or call 352-6721.

PTA/PTO FAST FACTS

• The Parent Teacher Association started in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C., according to its Web site. Members pay annual dues (around $5) that are split between the national, state and local organizations. The PTA maintains a central office in Chicago and a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. Last year, there were approximately 5.5 million members nationwide and 9,500 in Alaska, according to national and state offices.

• Parent Teacher Organizations are independent groups with no outside affiliations. Called by many other names, these groups are generally concerned with events within their individual schools. In 1999 an organization called PTO Today debuted online with a Web site that includes message boards, a magazine and tips for PTOs. Online: www.pta.org; www.ptotoday.com

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