Madame President.

I love being involved in my children's schools.  I like being in the buildings, I like talking to the teachers, I like seeing my children when they don't know I am there and watching their faces light up.  I spend hours each week working at both of my children's schools.  Each day, Kat is bussed to Drew's school and is there 1/2 hour before Drew's bell rings.  Kat and I spent those 30 minutes making ourselves useful to Drew's teacher or anyone else who needed the help.  It was a great way to model citizenship for Kat and a great way to get involved in my son's education.
The teachers at Drew's school all started to know me.  When we went in to ask for accommodations for Drew for next year, we were met with smiles.

Being at the schools so much made me quite a target for "favors."  Lots of people wanted a piece of my time and I was happy to give it or to say, "Not this time."  One of the places where I found I was being asked to help a lot was in the PTA.

The PTA at Kat's school is intense.  There is a dedicated core group of parents who come to the meetings and run most of the programs.  Most of these parents are type A.  They get things done, they pay attention to detail, they ask questions, they are serious about PTA.  The first year Kat was at this school, I struggled to fit in.  I went to every meeting, I volunteered, I offered suggestions, I was cheerful, positive, and proactive.  I was disliked.  My ideas were called "horrible," I rarely got taken up on my offers of help.  I hung in there.  I kept offering ideas.  I kept volunteering.  I kept trying.

It paid off.  The second year at Kat's school was much easier.  I was trusted, I was utilized.  I helped with the Walkathon fundraiser, with science fair, with teacher appreciation.  I organized a painting party where parents came in and painted a mural that was 15x65 ft in the library depicting 6 different types of clouds.  Yet, there was still a couple of PTA members who did not care for me at all.  I heard from other parents that they did not want to go to the PTA meetings because of the "mean girls" and I actually ended up approaching the principal of the school about it.

The principal asked me to run for PTA president.  NO WAY!  NA-UH!  NOT HAPPENING!

A month later, my mind was made up.  I was going to be the change that I wanted to see in our local PTA.  I was going to be a harbinger of  respect, kindness, and inclusivity in our PTA.  I know that I am going to make mistakes along the way and that I won't be able to please everyone but I am hoping that the other parents who feel badly about not participating in the PTA will feel comfortable joining us and will feel like they have a place at our school.

I plan to share my experiences over the next year.  During this time I will also be working part-time, leading a troop of 12 Brownies, acting as VP of the PTA at Drew's school, and trying to keep my house running. 

Wish me luck.