2. By the end of this workshop you will be able to :
• Understand the meaning of diversity.
• Understand the value of growing a more diverse
PTA.
• Engage diverse populations.
4. • Most of us can trace our family
roots to places outside of the
United States.
• There is a great pride felt by U.S.
citizens for their ancestral
homelands.
• We celebrate diversity in
communities across the country.
The Melting Pot
A Nation of Immigrants
5. • Past research has shown PTA
is NOT a diverse organization:
– By ethnicity (82% Caucasian)
– By gender (94% Female)
– By geography (66% suburban)
– By income (81% of PTA HHs
have incomes of $50K+)
National PTA
By the Numbers
Data: 2008 NPTA Member/Leader Survey
6. Former 2005 data showed 34% of
children in public schools were
of color.
Data trends indicate that by 2020,
at least 46% of public school
students will be of color.
Data: Pew Charitable Trust & U.S. Census Data Projections
National PTA
By the Numbers
8. Diversity is…
The recognition of diversity within organizations is valuing
differences and similarities in people through actions and
accountability. These differences and similarities include age,
ethnicity, language and culture, economic status, educational
background, gender, geographic location, marital status, mental
ability, national origin, organizational position and tenure,
parental status, physical ability, political philosophy, race,
religion, sexual orientation, and work experience.
Adopted by the National PTA Board of Directors in 2010
9.
10. • Hold flexible meetings vs.
meetings held at same time and
place?
• Include everyone in events &
activities vs. certain populations?
• Represent various cultural groups
in your community vs. the majority
view?
• Communicate in various
languages vs. English only?
• Have homogenous leadership on
any level?
Does Your PTA …?
Inclusivity & Cultural Sensitivity
11. “We have become not a melting
pot, but a beautiful mosaic.
Different people, different beliefs,
different yearnings, different hopes,
different dreams.”
Jimmy Carter
39th
President of the
United States of America
13. Group Discussion
The recognition of diversity within
organizations is valuing differences
and similarities in people through
actions and accountability. These
differences and similarities include
age, ethnicity, language and culture,
economic status, educational
background, gender, geographic
location, marital status, mental ability,
national origin, organizational position
and tenure, parental status, physical
ability, political philosophy, race,
religion, sexual orientation, and work
experience.
Adopted by the National PTA Board of Directors
in 2010
1. Have you ever
witnessed an act of
prejudice against
anyone?
2. What did you do?
3. What did you say?
4. How did it make you
feel?
14. Diversity & Multiculturalism
A Checklist
Do you have clear policy statements about your
PTA’s commitment to diversity?
Does your membership and leadership reflect the
diversity of your community and the children you
serve?
Are your meetings accessible and appealing to a
broad range of potential members?
Do you collect and maintain demographic data to
help in planning and evaluating your efforts?
15. “No one is born hating another person because
of the color of his skin, or his background, or his
religion. If [people] can learn to hate they can
be taught to love, for love comes more naturally
to the human heart than its opposite.”
Nelson Mandela,
Former President, Republic of South Africa
18. PTA Resources
For Diversity
• National Standards for Family-School
Partnerships
• Urban Family Engagement Initiative (UFEI)
• Outreach to Fathers/Male Involvement (PTA
MORE)
• Emerging Minority Leaders Conference (EMLC)
• NPTA Committee on Diversity
• More to come…
20. Diversity & Multiculturalism
Moving it Forward with Next Steps!
• Learn more about the diversity of your community.
o Use data sources to understand the demographics in
your area.
• Build your own “diversity” goals.
o Pick some areas that you can easily change (perhaps
gender diversity) and some that might be a stretch for
your PTA.
• Pick some areas you can easily change to make your PTA
a welcoming place for all.
o Look for alternate times or places for your meetings.
Ask parents and others who don’t come to PTA
meetings what would get them to attend. Be creative
and responsive!
21. Tell us what works for you!
Use the Great Idea Bank at
PTA.org
to get and share ideas!
22. Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common.
Celebrate it every day.”
- Author Unknown
Workshop presenter should be able to speak in more detail about each of the session objectives by providing examples of how successfully achieving these objectives will enhance their PTAs.
Objective 1 example:
-By deepening your understanding of what Diversity means, as a PTA leader, participants will ensure that they are able to articulate its importance to others including school leadership, other parents, students and their community
Objective 2 example:
-As a PTA leaders that advocate for ALL children, it is of great importance that our PTA units reflect the beautiful diversity of our nation’s schools. From elementary, to high school to college. Even if your child currently attends an ethnically homogenous school, they will eventually enter a diverse world and who better than PTA to embrace and model the value to work with others both similar and different.
Objective 3 example:
-We felt it important to not only discuss this topic with you, but also to provide PTA leaders with strategies for engaging diverse populations as well as an opportunity to brainstorm with other leaders to develop your plan of action for next steps.
We are a nation of immigrants: Most of us are less than three generations removed from our roots in another country.
There are multiple celebrations for Hispanic heritage month, Black history month and other ethnic celebrations.
ASK: Is this representative of your community?
Are there others in the community that should be a part of our organization?
STATE: If we are truly to be a diverse organization, we have a long way to go.
SAY: Let’s talk about understanding the meaning of diversity.
Speaker should share that this definition and the accompanying policy was adopted by the National PTA Board of Directors in 2010.
Spend a few moments discussing the importance of establishing a local Diversity and Inclusion policy that is prominently displayed on your school Parent Board, or wherever parents gather. It is important that all parents know that they have a place in the PTA.
Additional Two Resources to share with attendees:
1. Information about Standard #1 (Welcoming All Families) from the National PTA Standards for Family School Partnerships.
Standard 1: Welcoming all families into the school community
Under Standard 1, families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed, valued, and connected to each other, to school staff, and to what student are learning and doing in class.
Goal 1: Creating a Welcoming Climate
Develop personal relationships
Create a family-friendly atmosphere
Provide opportunities for volunteering
Goal 2: Building a Respectful, Inclusive School Community
Respect all families
Remove economic obstacles to participation
Ensure accessible programming
As you think about your school or schools in your district, consider these questions:
How welcoming is the school environment? Are there welcome signs inside and outside the school, written in all the languages of the school community?
Is office staff friendly?
Are relationships between families and teachers strong?
Do the school’s polices and programs reflect, respect and value the diversity of the families in the community?
2. Share the NPTA Diversity and Inclusion Policy.
READ: NPTA Diversity & Inclusion Policy: We acknowledge the potential of everyone without regard, including but not limited to: age, culture, economic status, educational background, ethnicity, gender, geographic location, legal status, marital status, mental ability, national origin, organizational position, parental status, physical ability, political philosophy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and work experience.
SAY: These tree limbs represent potential opportunities in diversity.
ASK: Does your PTA need to grow its diversity?
Ask participants to think about this question on a personal level for a few moments silently.
Speaker should probe the group to think about the following in their specific community/school/PTA unit:
Is it diverse in ethnicity?
Is it diverse in gender?
Is it diverse in age?
Is it diverse in abilities/skill set?
Is it diverse in religion?
Is it diverse in geography?
Is it diverse in language?
Is it diverse in community representation?
Is it diverse in teacher representation?
Is it diverse in _____? (what other areas..)
Alternative: (STRONGLY SUGGESTED FOR WORKSHOP TIMING PURPOSES) Spend 10 minutes in open discussion.
Speaker could use this slide as an activity and have attendees share where their units needs to grow diversity. Ask how they came to these conclusions?
SAY: Let’s talk about understanding the meaning of diversity.
Group Discussion:
The purpose of this activity is to get the attendees thinking about how if feels to be the outsider or less represented group. This activity will show attendees the importance of growing a more inclusive PTA because it evokes empathy for those they may be excluding or ignoring in a non-confrontational way.
*If possible have the NPTA definition of diversity displayed and reference the “groups” within the definition when Speaker reads Question #1.
Have the participants break into small groups of no more 4 to discuss the questions. (Allow 20 minutes for this activity)
Ask the groups were there any Ah-Ha! moments that need to be shared (Allow no more than 3 groups to share a moment).
End this section with a wrap-up that assures the group that it takes courage to confront prejudice, but that it is by growing in diversity that we combat prejudice and increase the value and relevance of PTA.
SAY: Let’s take a show of hands as we review this – don’t worry I am not taking notes! You can expand this checklist – there are many other areas to considered.
ASK: How do we get to “diversity” at PTA? How can we implement ways to become diverse?
SAY: Let’s take a look at some resources that can help PTA grow more diverse and reflective of our multicultural melting pot.
The National Standards for Family School Partnerships outline a plan that will help all PTAs, schools and communities become welcoming places for all families.
Tools include a: Implementation Guide, Scoring rubric, Collateral materials including brochures and posters and staff to provided technical assistance if needed.
The NPTA Urban Family Engagement Initiative is PTA’s outreach initiative to strengthen and build PTAs in large urban communities where PTA is underrepresented and where more ethnically diverse populations reside.
Currently operating in Atlanta, Albuquerque, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Philadelphia, Southeast Queens NY and Washington D.C..
Tools include: Community Engagement workshops for PTA leaders, resources for sponsoring Community Family Institute Day conferences and collateral materials that address the achievement gap, bullying, and literacy.
PTA is building partnerships with a range of male/father involvement initiatives in order to bring more men into the PTA fold through the M.O.R.E. Alliance (Men Organized to Raise Engagement). Resources include a whole website section dedicated to our coalition partners and their male –focused engagement resources including All Pro-Dads and Watch D.O.G.S.
The Emerging Minority Leaders Conference held in conjunction with the annual NPTA Convention and Exhibition, has provided inclusive diversity and leadership training to over 700 PTA leaders and community stakeholders of all ages and ethnicities.
Resources created by the NPTA Committee of Diversity include a: Committee of Diversity Chairperson Job Description, State Action Plan for Implementation, Common Threads of PTA History workshop and Diversity and Inclusion Recommended Reading List.
More to Come … PTA strives to identify opportunities to connect with diverse audiences everyday!
ASK: What should your next steps be to move diversity and multiculturalism forward at your PTA?
Data sources include the US Census Data; the Kids Count Data books for each state (available free from the Annie E. Casey Foundation). These is a (www.aecf.org) terrific resource.
Set some measurable goals… perhaps 25% of your membership will be men… or 30% will be students or community members. A stretch goal might be to grow the ethnic diversity of your PTA if it is part of the makeup of your community, or to partner with a more ethnically diverse PTA for some activities if it is not.
Use this time for further discussion…
SAY: Remember… (READ THE QUOTE)
Remind participants that this course is available online and it is a great tool to train entire PTA boards.
Thank them for their time and energy they give to PTA and to children.