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North Carolina PTA
3501 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612-4934

email: office@ncpta.org
phone: (919) 787-0534
In NC: (800) 255-0417

 

 

 

 

 

Standard 5: Sharing power

National PTA Standards for Family-School Partnership Awards

 

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Definition

Families and school staff are equal partners in decisions that affect children
and families and together inform, influence, and create policies, practices, and programs.
Effective partnerships develop when each partner is respected and empowered to fully participate in the decision-making process. Schools and programs that actively enlist parent participation and input communicate that parents are valued as full partners in the educating of their children.
Parents and educators depend on shared authority in decision-making systems to foster parental trust, public confidence, and mutual support of each other's efforts in helping students succeed. The involvement of parents, as individuals or as representative of others, is crucial in collaborative decision-making processes on issues ranging from curriculum and course selection to discipline policies and overall school reform measures.

Consider these questions when planning your program, projects, and activities:

  1. Does your PTA/PTSA provide understandable, accessible, and well-publicized workshops for influencing decisions, raising issues or concerns, and resolving problems?
  2. Does your PTA/PTSA work with your school to identify and respond to issues of interest to parents?
  3. Does your PTA/PTSA encourage your school to include parents on all decision-making and advisory committees and ensure adequate training for such areas as policy, curriculum, budget, school reform initiatives, safety, and personnel?
  4. Does your PTA/PTSA encourage and facilitate active parent participation in the decisions that affect students, such as student placement, course selection and individual personalized education plans?
  5. Does your PTA/PTSA work in partnership with your school to treat parent concerns with respect and demonstrate genuine interest in developing solutions?
  6. Does your PTA/PTSA promote parent participation on school district, state, and national committees and issues?
  7. Does your PTA/PTSA encourage and provide staff and parents with an opportunity to participate in leadership development (such as State Convention, State Legislative Conference, and Summer Leadership Training)?

Sample programs: