Corresponding secretary my first year.
3rd Vice President (fundraising) my second year.
President my third and fourth years.
2nd Vice President (school newsletter) my third, fourth and fifth years.
I have handed over the following chair positions:
Book Fair
100 Book Challenge
Garden Fair
Birthday Book Club
Membership
I have trained. I have written manuals. I have sent documents via e-mail.
I have shared passwords to accounts.
The last two days were the final BOGO Scholastic Book Fair of K's elementary school career, with her being employed as the "babysitter" of the youngers coming up in her shadow. She has been raised as a PTA kid.
She has seen me in the halls on a weekly basis.
She is not too shy or too embarrassed to stop and always give me a surprise hug from the back or a quick peck to the cheek.
I think she might actually look forward to my being there.
The staff all knows me.
I leave the school knowing that I've left the PTA in a better condition than it was when I received it. We were a broken mess that was in the midst of trying to be fixed.
I got our new building to be built bigger than the school district was intending to build it. They were going to built it for 60 less students than the enrollment at the time because of "2016 projections." Well, 2016 projections were off because our enrollment remains the same as it has always been-- between 510 - 530 kids.
All those kids? They basically know me, too. I praise them over good work. I tell them how cute their shoes are, how I like their hair doodles, how great they are working together, how nice their smile is and so forth.
I also peek around the corner and bust them for playing in the sinks. I make them walk when they run down the hall. I've escorted them back to class after the book fair if they are prone to "wandering." If they have been unkind to me, I will tell them that they have been unkind.
I and my child have been blessed to have an experience that has been so largely positive in elementary school. A few years were rough, but the other years were golden enough to knock down the rough spots of the few years of bad.
Soon it will be middle school. Soon that will be 6th grade. I'm sure we'll make it, but it makes me sad that this chapter closes.
Gotta let her grow up, though. I can tell you one thing though, I will never be another PTA board mama. Oh, I will help. I have no problem with that. I would just like to live an existence of being thankful for the wonderful things going on in the school and not have parents continually complain to me about things that they think that the kids should have or do, but about how no one actually wants to help execute their ideas. This isn't fair or that isn't fair. I leave a very active and very giving PTA. I'm curious to see how PTAs and parental involvement will continue as K grows older.
Until then, I still have Garden Fair Planting day, cotton candy, baseball game for 5th grade, end of the year picnic, movie day, dance (a very informal one during the school day), 5th Grade Recognition breakfast . . . My duties aren't done yet.
