find plenty of opportunities to contrib-
ute, but do so without expectations of
payoffs for your child based on your
involvement.
The benefits for your child come
when you happily contribute, not when
you use your position as an insider
to create an ongoing list of how you
would do things differently and better.
Remember your role as a helper in the
larger scheme of things. Be service-
minded, looking for opportunities to
match the school’s needs with what you
have to offer. Do your best not to criti-
cize parents who are less committed to
volunteering than you, unless you wish
to be judged in return.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of
time at school, acknowledge that your
child could benefit from seeing you at
school once in a while, whether you en-
joy volunteering or not.
Break the school year up into three
parts and try to pitch in to help or chap-
erone at least once each season. Don’t
forget to get your spouse involved. Two
reasonably involved parents are better
than none.
And don’t feel guilty about not be-
ing a parenting association volunteer.
There are plenty of ways to contrib-
ute that don’t funnel through the PTA.
Give money to financially support the
programs of the PTA, if you can swing
it. Then go to your child’s teacher when
looking for ways to contribute in prox-
imity to your child.
No matter how you choose to con-
tribute, when you give the way you
want to give, you set a great example
for your kids. Parents who invest en-
ergy cheerfully and proactively in their
child’s school stand out in the crowd
for all the right reasons, paving the way
to success in school for all their chil-
dren.
Author, journalist, and writing coach
Christina Katz has always loved school
and strives to pass this passion on to
her daughter. She comes from an ex-
tended family of enthusiastic learners,
teachers, and educators.
September 2019 WNY Family 7