MacFarlane Park PTA

I’m not sure that all dads are fans of sports or sports teams, but I bet it’s a whole lot!

I know I am, and I’m a dad.  A lot of my friends are dads, and they all have sports teams of which they are HUGE fans.  They follow them on social media sites, read  articles, and argue with friends and co-workers.  We can wax poetic for hours about soccer formations (or at least I can) or the Tampa 2 defense.  Some (not me) can speak eloquently about the subtleties of catching different species of fish.  We’ll leave our families for hours on end to play golf, go fishing, sit in a bar and watch cars go in a circle, tailgate, or play a sport in an adult league.  These are the things that are important to us and help us keep our sanity.  These are the things that we want to pass on to our sons and daughters.  My kids know to never wear a Gator jersey into our LSU home!

We don’t have to do much to instill that same passion in our children.  They may not like everything that we do, but I bet they’ll like the same teams, driver or golfer that we do.  Being a fan is part of your family story, and our kids want to be a part of that story.

I’d like to add another chapter to that story—education.  Let’s be a fan of our kids’ educational experience.

“Studies show students perform better when mothers and fathers are both involved in the education of their children. Men and women think differently and bring different perspectives and skills to school and PTA activities. School communities and PTAs thrive when both men and women participate.”– National PTA website.

Surveyed fathers site time and lack of invitations.  I believe PTA’s these days do a good job (Facebook, email, enews, etc.) of communicating (inviting), but they could always do better.  I think it’s important to note that about 80% (that is not an official percentage, just my observation) of the women in our PTA are working moms – not to mention that most of our teachers are working mothers and fathers as well.  The time needed to participate is minimal.  I believe that our spouses, partners, teachers, and especially our children really appreciate it when we participate in school activities and projects.  Our involvement has an impact:

“Students whose fathers were highly involved at school were 43 percent more likely to receive As.  Children of highly involved resident fathers were 55 percent more likely to enjoy school than those with uninvolved fathers.  Students with nonresident fathers who participated in even one activity at school were 39 percent less likely to repeat a grade and 50 percent less likely to experience serious disciplinary problems.”  — National Household Education Survey by US Dept of Education 2009 Survey

The same article stated that we are definitely on the upswing when it comes to father (or father figure) involvement, but there’s always room for more!

So, Be A Man—Be A Fan of your children’s educational experience.  If you take pride in the school and school functions, your children will know that it’s important to you and the family.

Small Tips:

–Pick up trash on the way into school. Shows your kids that you take pride in the school and the way it looks

–follow the rules about drop off and pick up

–follow rules concerning entering and existing the building at the gates and doors for security reasons

–grab breakfast or lunch with kids

The PTA will let you know about the big stuff!

Neat article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/fashion/fathers-Shift-the-Dynamics-of-the-PTA.html?pagewanted=all

In August 2014 National PTA recognized MacFarlane Park as a PTA School of Excellence. This was the result of a lot of hard work and will allow us to participate in the School of Excellence program offered by National PTA.

National PTA School of Excellence is a recognition program that supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students. As a National PTA School of Excellence, families feel welcomed and empowered to support student success, and PTA is a key partner for continuous school improvement.

This accomplishment is the result of every hour of involvement by our school community, which includes parents, grandparents, friends and volunteers. We thank each and every one of you!