Planning Your Year
Planning and promoting your PTA programs and events is one of the most important responsibilities in a PTA. All of our programs and events are tied to our work as child advocates and supporters of public education.
Use these PTA programs to enhance student learning, health, and welfare, and increase parent involvement. Included are 10 Programs to Go on topics all communities can use, talking with kids about tough issues like sex and HIV/AIDS, the Reflections Program, and Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence Certification.
Take a look at these resources for holding PTA-sponsored events; Teacher Appreciation Week, Back-to-School, Doors Open After School, Founders Day, and Take Charge of Your TV Week.
Working With the Media
You can’t control the media. While you can send them materials and ideas, they will decide whether and how it will be used. You can increase your chances of success by knowing what types of stories will interest different media representatives. Before contacting the media, determine what they consider newsworthy and how they present a story.
Determine what reporter or editor should be notified about a PTA event. A general meeting may be listed in the community calendar section or on a community bulletin board, but it will not be considered news. However, if your PTA is addressing an issue of vital interest to the community, such as education funding or curriculum changes, a media outlet may send a reporter or ask for an interview.
Look for photo opportunities. Ask your local newspaper to send a photographer, or send photographs to your local paper immediately after the event. Include photo captions that describe what is happening and identify participants. Be sure your photos show action and activity instead of people smiling and shaking hands.
Build relationships. Position yourself as an information source. Be creative in nourishing the relationship even when there isn’t breaking news.
- Invite reporters to lunch for a background briefing on important PTA issues.
- Welcome reporters to a PTA meeting/program.
- Create an e-mail list of reporters and send monthly or bimonthly items of note.
Select story ideas that are newsworthy. If you bombard the media with letters and press releases about stories that aren’t news, editors may begin to ignore all communications from your PTA.
Press ReleasesAll PTAs should send out press releases. How well a press release is written is almost as important as the information it contains. The most important information comes first, with less important details in later paragraphs. Be sure to include the following in all press releases.
- Deliver key information quickly. The who, what, where, when, why, and how early should be found in the release.
- Keep it short. Use action words and simple sentences with common language.
- Type your release double-spaced. Leave at least a one-inch margin on all sides.
- Report the facts, not opinions. Avoid editorializing; do not use adjectives such as “outstanding” or “interesting” when describing programs, events, etc.
- Don’t use titles like Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss. Refer to women by their own names. On second mention refer to both men and women by their last names.
- Verify your facts. Your credibility depends on the accuracy of the information. Check and double check spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
For more information on Press Releases and other media tools, please see the National PTA Annual Resources.
