Downey PTA
by Lorine Parks
The Downey PTA Foundation is the umbrella organization for all the Downey individual school PTA’s, said Linda Saldana who is President of the Price Elementary School PTA.
Chartered in 1986, the Foundation belongs to the National PTA organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and shares their registered 501c3 tax exempt status. This means gifts to all the PTA’s are tax-deductible, an important consideration when giving.
PTA, an acronym for Parent Teacher Association, is non-sectarian and non-partisan. Their mission is simply to have a positive impact for children. Membership is open to anyone who wants to be involved. The PTA values and seeks input from as wide a spectrum of viewpoints and experiences as possible.
Personal and family involvement is important. An interesting sidelight to be aware of is that grandparents play a critical role in supporting children’s achievement. More than 6.5 million children nationwide live in households maintained by grandparents.
National PTA comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools.
It is this latter area of concern that Linda and her Board have been addressing. “Many of my Board members have day jobs, are lawyers, sales people,” she says. “Many of our parents are working,” Linda says, “and many are Spanish speaking. We want to get them all involved. We want to engage and empower parents.”
Money is raised through dues and selling items such as T-shirts and donuts. With a large part of the budget going to dues in the national, state and the local PTA Council, what is left is channeled directly into field trips and the city-wide track meet, Carnival of Champions.
“We have a great School District,” said Linda. Although membership is down from past years and less money is collected, the Downey PTA Foundation still sponsors a $3,000 contest for a themed project at each class level, and gives scholarships. “Kids grow up sooner than benefits of groups like PTA can be seen,” she added. “We are there for the children.”
“At the end of the day, I am there,” Linda said. “I care about my kids.”