After progressives abolished an entrance exam to the nation&#8217;s top math high school following concerns that too many of those excelling were Asian, the school&#8217;s PTA elected a board that intended to stand up for the interests of their high-performing children.
Then the state-wide PTA demanded that the school&#8217;s principal be able to vote as part of the board, changing the vote calculus just enough to block action — and when parents cried foul, the state organization on Wednesday threatened to disband the chapter.
The drama at Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology (TJ) in northern Virginia highlights the way in which the Parent Teacher Association appears to funnel parents into roles as servants for teachers and administrators, rather than the reverse.
The Fairfax County school board voted to do away with an exam that tested whether students seeking admission to the rigorous math and science school excelled at math and science, making them candidates who would benefit from fast-paced instruction. The change was made after repeated complaints that the racial makeup of the students was not diverse enough, apparently referring to the fact that its student body was 73% Asian.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-rips-elite-anti-racist-high-school-approves-lawsuit-over-new-admissions-policy">Judge Rips Elite ‘Anti-Racist’ High School, Approves Lawsuit Over New Admissions Policy</a>
On Wednesday, the school district <a href="https://www.fcps.edu/news/tjhsst-offers-admission-550-students-broadens-access-students-who-have-aptitude-stem">announced</a> that the first class under the new policy had been admitted. The percentage of Asians plummeted to 54%, or a reduction in 56 Asian students. The changes primarily resulted in an increase in the numbers of Hispanics, at 46 more students in the newest class compared to last year&#8217;s, and whites, whose numbers went up by 37.
The school&#8217;s PTA chapter had conducted two polls of parents, which found that 80% of TJ parents thought the school&#8217;s admissions should continue to be based on an objective test.
It held an officers election, which resulted in a majority who wanted to speak out against policies that they said reduced the role of merit and math ability in admissions.
But before they could convene and take action, the Virginia PTA, which is technically the local group&#8217;s parent organization, intervened to demand that the school&#8217;s principal Ann Bonitatibus — who opposes test-based admissions — be allowed to vote as a member of the elected parent group&#8217;s executive committee. That would give the executive committee (EC) an even number of votes, and result in a deadlock.
On June 10, a newly-elected PTA officer wrote that &#8220;I do not think Dr. Ann Bonitatibus has any right to vote in TJPTSA EC meetings.&#8221; Until her vote was needed to block pro-merit advocacy, the principal had never participated in such votes, parents said.
The state PTA&#8217;s president-elect Jenna Alexander responded:
<blockquote>Per Article 8, the Principal is a member of the Executive Committee and as such has voting rights. This is not a matter of interpretation, these are binding rules that govern your association and which Board members have a duty not only to understand but to uphold. The inclusion of the principal as a voting member of the EC is, in fact, an organizational standard across Virginia in our local unit bylaws&#8230;
As a reminder, the PTSA operates within a school with the permission of the school division and principal and as a fundamental construct of PTA&#8217;s mission and values, we operate for the purpose of creating a strong collaborative partnership between school and families.</blockquote>
Parents were shocked. &#8220;The fact that a white woman is actively working to install another white woman into a position of additional authority over the will of a majority of minority parents is shocking and disturbing and a reflection once more of the unwelcome and hostile environment in FCPS against minority parents who dare to speak up,&#8221; Asra Nomani, a previous member of the EC, wrote.
&#8220;The Virginia PTA likes its Asian and minority parents when we are submissive and compliant, but when we question FCPS policies or actions, you turn on the parents.&#8221;
On Wednesday, the state PTA interceded again, <a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/7c20eee7001/475bb51a-8940-469c-bf77-c3e0e53b42b7.pdf">writing</a> to all parents that the state organization would take steps to shut down the group because of a &#8220;disregard for the authority of Virginia PTA&#8221; (notwithstanding that the parents had a &#8220;majority vote&#8221;).
&#8220;The continuous lack of respect and disregard for the authority of Virginia PTA, its elected officers, our bylaws, founding principles and values is unacceptable,&#8221; it said.
&#8220;The challenging and disrespect shown to the current President without adequate reason – other than having a majority vote – does not signify a board that respects the PTA Mission, Values, Purposes and Principles as provided in subsidiary bylaws,&#8221; it continued.
It said it would &#8220;move forward with the recommendation of revocation of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology PTSA Charter by the Virginia PTA Board of Directors&#8221; because of &#8220;failure to adhere to PTA values and principles,&#8221; such as &#8220;calling for disciplinary action and resignation of the principal&#8221; and &#8220;discussing stripping the principal of the voting rights.&#8221;
The PTA also condemned parents for making &#8220;regular FIOA [sic] requests for parent-principal communication,&#8221; according to the letter, which was authored by Virginia PTA State President Pamela Croom, and a copy of which was sent to Principal Bonitatibus.
The Virginia PTA did not immediately return a request for comment.
In an interview with The Daily Wire, Asra Nomani said, &#8220;The survey revealed that 80% of parents opposed the lottery[-style admissions change] and we would have been representing our members, which is our duty under the bylaws.&#8221;
She noted that the PTA&#8217;s new president is Harry Jackson, a black man who supports merit-based admission. &#8220;A month ago, Harry Jackson and three other guys won a majority of the seats, so there was clearly going to be a new direction where we would take a position on admissions,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a diverse executive committee; we&#8217;ve never had so many dads. We now have a black executive officer. We have Asian immigrants from India and China,” Nomani said, noting that the state PTA president-elect officer who intervened is white.
She said that the move could amount to seizing the $80,000 in funds parents donated for the benefit of their children and that the state organization did not even discuss the issue of revoking its charter with all executive committee members before emailing the entire broader PTA membership with the threat.
In a three-part series, The Daily Wire previously reported how the PTA — which for decades parents assumed was a suitable way to be involved in their children&#8217;s education — has repeatedly lobbied for positions preferred by teachers, and against those preferred by parents. Its findings included:
<ul>
<li>In December, the national PTA indicated that it believes its role is influencing parents, rather than parents influencing school administrators, writing: “National PTA has engaged in, and is committed to, deep, program-wide work and advocating on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/with-children-fully-indoctrinated-schools-have-a-new-target-parents">parents</a> and students alike&#8230; We call upon our PTA members to listen, educate and advocate to demand meaningful change to end institutional racism.&#8221; It leveled accusations against parents&#8217; young children, encouraging parents to read an article called &#8220;Your 5-Year Old Is Already Racially Biased.&#8221;</li>
<li>In July, despite anger by parents at schools&#8217; prolonged coronavirus closures, the PTA joined with the NEA national teachers union to oppose a push to open schools, writing, “The president should not be brazenly making these decisions.” The PTA has taken multiple positions that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-pta-sold-out-parents-for-politics">contradict the opinion</a> of the majority of parents according to polls, including its opposition to vouchers and typical charter schools and support for transgender students in locker rooms and bathrooms, which a 2016 poll found that fewer than a third of parents wanted.</li>
<li>Teachers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teachers-unions-infiltrate-pta">union officials have permeated</a> the PTA leadership from top to bottom. In one case, the same woman is both vice president of the Colorado PTA and on the national board of the NEA teachers union; another man went from being an officer of the Massachusetts teachers union to an officer of the National PTA.</li>
</ul>
In March, the national PTA <a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/national-pta-revokes-charter-of-maryland-pta/2621490/">revoked</a> the charter of the state-level PTA in Maryland after financial irregularities and suspicious events like the shredding of papers. Its president, LaTonja Carrera, is facing unrelated criminal charges involving allegedly stealing from a veteran with mental health needs. She was named president of the state PTA despite a previous criminal record.

Thomas Jefferson High School

State PTA Threatens To Disband Magnet School PTA After Its Asian Parents Reject Anti-Merit Woke Policies

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Virginia

Teachers have exclusive advocacy groups in the form of unions, including the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor group in the country. They are so powerful that they helped keep many schools at least partially closed for a year, despite mounting evidence that with basic preventative measures schools pose little risk of increasing coronavirus spread.
But if the struggling parents who pay their salaries hoped for an organization of their own, they&#8217;re out of luck: What might have been the parents&#8217; association was coopted by teachers, too – who injected a &#8220;T&#8221; and turned it into the PTA.
As has become clear in the last year, teachers&#8217; interests are often different than those of parents. But in July, the NEA and the PTA co-wrote a letter opposing a push to open schools, writing, &#8220;The president should not be brazenly making these decisions.&#8221; With one possible exception &#8212; support for standardized testing &#8212; the PTA’s priorities appear to mirror those of teachers’ unions.
A Daily Wire review of tax filings and labor disclosures provides clues as to why: Across the country, there is evidence that PTAs have been hijacked not only by teachers, but by teachers&#8217; unions.
National PTA board member <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Leadership/Board-Officers-Members/erik-champy">Eric Champy</a> was on the board of the <a href="https://www.unionfacts.com/employee/National_Education_Association/ERIK/CHAMPY%5d%20and%20was%20elected">NEA</a> for years. After losing a race for president of the Massachusetts teachers’ union in 2018, he was elected to the National PTA Board of Directors in June 2019.
National PTA&#8217;s executive director Nathan Monell, who is paid <a href="https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/why-pta/2020/2019-form_990-public_disclosure.pdf">$347,000</a>, was previously executive director of Learning First Alliance, a group with ties to both national teachers’ unions, the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
There are seemingly endless examples of similar overlap in state, regional and local PTA chapters across the country.
In Fairfax County, Virginia, the teachers’ union’s aggressive posture &#8212; insisting that teachers be given the right to stay home even after receiving vaccination &#8212; has drawn <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/download/cooper-testimony-3-25-21">outrage</a> from parents. The union’s president is Kimberly Adams, a Democratic activist who ran for Congress in 2018. Incredibly, that is not the only position she has held: Adams was president of the union from 2013 to 2016. That same year, she became president of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs. Then she went back to being president of the union.
In Colorado, Ami Prichard is both vice president of the Colorado PTA and sits on the national board of the NEA, where she represents Colorado teachers. The Colorado PTA voted to support a ballot measure that would direct surplus funds to schools rather than a potential rebate to taxpayers.<a href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11"></a>
A 2014 picture under the title, <a href="https://m.facebook.com/AmiPrichardCO4NEA/photos/a.891061677575703/891061864242351/">&#8220;Ami Pritchard- Colorado NEA Director&#8221;</a> shows her wearing a union-red blazer and holding a sign that says &#8220;Vote yes on Amendment 66&#8230; I want quality teachers with resources!&#8221;
A 2020 photo shows her wearing what appears to be the same red blazer under the title &#8220;Education Finance 101&#8230; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=820533482086678">Ami Pritchard, vice president of marketing and communications for Colorado PTA</a> shares how getting involved in your child&#8217;s school district can help you learn more about the education finance policies in your area.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_203907" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-203907" class="wp-image-203907 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pritchard-1024x323.png" alt="" width="1024" height="323" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/03/pritchard-1024x323.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/03/pritchard-300x95.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/03/pritchard-768x242.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/03/pritchard-1536x484.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/03/pritchard.png 1541w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Ami Pritchard / Facebook</div>
In recent months, her NEA persona has continued to press teacher priorities such as cancelling tests and postponing school re-opening.
In California’s Bay Area, Jennifer Shanoski is the outspoken president of the Peralta Federation of Teachers. At Peralta Community College, whose staff are part of the union, Chancellor Regina Stanback Stroud resigned in July, accusing members of the college&#8217;s board of trustees of &#8220;<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/peralta-college-district-chief-resigns-in-dispute-over-hiring-unions/ar-BB16T0E4">collusion with the unions</a>&#8221; that made it impossible to run a functioning institution. But that was not the only example of potential blurring of the lines between a union and an oversight group.
In December 2019, Shanoski was &#8220;campaign co-chair&#8221; for an initiative with Berkeley’s <a href="http://www.berkeleypta.org/content/berkeley-pta-council-december-meeting">city-wide PTA</a> that turned parents into activists for an initiative generated by a teachers’ union. &#8220;Campaign for Measures E, G, and H – how PTAs can get involved,&#8221; her presentation said. &#8220;This is a nuts-and-bolts organizing session. Gail and Jennifer will help each school plug into the campaign’s plans for phone banking, door-to-door leafleting, and other tasks. There’s something for everyone to do!&#8221;
Measure E was conceived of by teachers&#8217; unions and entailed raising taxes to give teachers a 12% raise; the other measures extended another tax increase and raised funds for schools. Teachers&#8217; unions funded a campaign promoting the measures through a group simply titled The Committee for Berkeley Public Schools.
The East Bay Times editorial board blasted the <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/01/29/editorial-unsorting-berkeleys-maze-of-school-tax-measures/">&#8220;shameless audacity&#8221;</a> of pushing three measures that would cost taxpayers to benefit educators, all in one election. It said backers &#8220;would prefer voters don’t have the complete picture,&#8221; such as that the progressive, high-tax area had already showered educators with numerous giveaways.
But Shanoski had the parents where she wanted them, and the measures passed.
When teachers&#8217; union officials also have roles in the PTA, it is impossible to know where one job stops and the other begins. Shanoski is also treasurer of the PTA of Malcolm X Elementary in Berkeley, where a major PTA initiative consists of asking parents to <a href="https://www.malcolmxelementary.org/mxfund">bring checks</a> for $500 per student to Shanoski&#8217;s house to &#8220;pay for the important programs not covered by public school funds&#8230; [e]ven though Berkeley schools are well-funded.&#8221;
She gathered in front of Malcolm X with children holding union-printed signs saying &#8220;You can&#8217;t put students first if you put teachers last&#8221; and &#8220;We stand with Oakland teachers.&#8221; On Facebook, she promoted flyers saying &#8220;Teachers unions are preparing to strike this winter&#8221; and &#8220;Don&#8217;t make kids pay for adult mistakes!&#8221;
In New York state, Bridget Englehard was treasurer of a PTA while also serving as treasurer of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk teachers union. On Facebook, her posts alternate between encouraging parents to buy merchandize for school fundraisers, asking people to &#8220;please stop&#8221; talking about whether schools will reopen next year, and posting union materials that say things like &#8220;YOU COULD LOSE YOUR PENSION! VOTE NO.&#8221;
In Stockton, California, Kadie Collette was both treasurer of the PTA of the elementary school where she taught, and treasurer of the teachers&#8217; union, for whom she was a key bargaining negotiator. She gave a speech at a statewide union conference about how her strategies &#8220;helped their local unions win better contracts.&#8221;
In Alaska, Amey Tamagni was bylaws chair of the statewide PTA, while also serving on the board of the statewide AFT union. Outside of San Diego, Kerry Strong was both head of programs for the PTA at the school where she taught and vice president of the union, in which role she took part in negotiations.
The examples go on and on.
Parents told The Daily Wire that teachers, including union officials, often take an outsized role in its leadership. They, after all, have a financial stake in what happens in schools and are paid to spend their days immersed in the issues. Parents, on the other hand, have to make time to volunteer in the few free hours that they have.
That leads to an imbalance of power, in which PTA chapters are often dominated by a combination of teachers and activists pushing pet causes. Ordinary, moderate parents who simply have an interest in ensuring that their child&#8217;s school is functioning as well as it should be are easily elbowed out.
And parents who assume that PTA is a place to advocate for their and their children&#8217;s interests &#8212; like getting them back to school &#8212; might find themselves instead told to bake cupcakes to raise money for teachers who are working from home.
This is the last in a three-part series on the Parent Teacher Association.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/with-children-fully-indoctrinated-schools-have-a-new-target-parents">With Children Fully Indoctrinated, Schools Have A New Target: Parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-pta-sold-out-parents-for-politics">How The PTA Sold Out Parents For Politics During Schools&#8217; Biggest Crisis</a></li>
</ul>

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers

Teachers Union Honchos Infiltrate PTAs, Depriving Parents Of Their Own Group

Education

K-12 schools are in the biggest crisis in memory. Some have not been fully open in a year, despite evidence that schools do not increase the rate of coronavirus in a community when prevention strategies are used. Women have had to leave the workforce to watch their children. Academic achievement is cratering. Some impoverished students have simply dropped off the grid. Meanwhile, magnet schools have taken to deliberately lowering academic standards in the name of social justice.
Everyone is talking about it — except, it seems, the Parent Teacher Association. The PTA has been essentially absent from the public debate on reopening schools (though it does not hesitate to make its thoughts on <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions/Individual-Position-Statements/position-statement---furniture-tip-over-prevention">&#8220;Furniture Tip-Over Prevention&#8221;</a> known). And in some cases, as with schools&#8217; embrace of divisive racial rhetoric that has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/loudoun-teachers-target-parents-critical-race-theory-hacking">alienated parents</a> and led to situations such as the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/11/an-unfair-push-racial-equality-thomas-jefferson/">overhaul</a> of America&#8217;s highest-scoring math school because too many Asians were succeeding, it has contributed to the discord.
A Daily Wire review lends insight into how one of the most prominent advocacy groups in the country, which claims to speak on behalf of broad segments of America, has taken a backseat role in the fight for a basic priority — to reopen schools — while taking more forceful positions for partisan causes that alienate much of its membership.
The National PTA is based near Washington, D.C., and has $18 million in assets. Most of its money comes from membership <a href="http://online.fliphtml5.com/dtoi/apfq/#p=22">dues</a>, and 15 percent goes to <a href="http://online.fliphtml5.com/dtoi/apfq/#p=20">advocacy</a>.
From March 9 to 11, the National PTA held its annual <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/events/National-PTA-Legislative-Conference/schedule">Legislative Conference</a>, and the agenda focused not on getting kids back into school, but on a series of liberal political priorities, some wholly unrelated to education – including using the organization to subject parents to ideological training.
At 3:15 p.m. on the first day, virtual conference-goers took part in &#8220;Empowering Parents to Mitigate the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change.&#8221; At 5:15, they attended a session on “Supportive and Inclusive Practices,&#8221; where they heard about &#8220;practices that ensure equity for every student, are grounded in social justice and support the whole child and every family.&#8221;
At 6:10, they continued on to &#8220;Courageous Conversations in Diversity and Inclusion,&#8221; in which &#8220;attendees will analyze the critical role of PTA in developing diversity initiatives in your school buildings, in PTA units and in communities.&#8221;
In its own words, in 2020 — a year defined, for millions of parents, by many teachers&#8217; refusal to return to school with a series of ever-shifting demands — the PTA &#8220;virtually <a href="http://online.fliphtml5.com/dtoi/apfq/#p=13">shower[ed]</a> teachers with appreciation for the pivotal role they play in our children&#8217;s lives, especially during a pandemic.&#8221;
Dr. <a href="https://noleftturn.us/">Elena Fishbein</a>, an education activist who is president of a parents’ group called No Left Turn in Education, said the PTA&#8217;s conspicuous absence as children&#8217;s basic right to an education fell victim to a power struggle between teachers unions and policymakers merely highlighted a more longstanding problem.
The PTA, she said, has long diverted parents, as an organizing force, into roles as mere cheerleaders for teachers and school administrators, instead of watchdogs and advocates for their children.
“You know what PTA usually does. They sell wrapping paper and raise money for teachers,” she told The Daily Wire. “Being involved in education is not selling wrapping paper to help teachers. That’s what the role of parents has been reduced to by the PTA. Parents would be asking tough questions, because there are a lot of problems in schools. Yet the supposed parents&#8217; association is sitting there planning parties?”
<h4>Does PTA represent parents?</h4>
The PTA&#8217;s statements on school reopening have been largely devoid of content, except to say that schools should get more money — a teachers&#8217; union priority. In <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Newsroom/news-list/news-detail-page/2020/06/12/national-pta-adopts-position-statement-on-reopening-of-public-prek-12-schools-for-the-2020-2021-school-year">June 2020</a>, it said it &#8220;calls for any decision to reopen schools to involve parents, families, students, educators, school employees, public health experts, health practitioners and community members&#8230; It also calls on federal and state governments to provide the funding necessary to ensure that schools have the resources they need.&#8221;
In <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Newsroom/news-list/news-detail-page/2020/06/12/national-pta-adopts-position-statement-on-reopening-of-public-prek-12-schools-for-the-2020-2021-school-year">February 2021</a>, it said, &#8220;Reopening schools for in-person learning is vital to ensure the continuity of education for every child, particularly those who do not have adequate access to technology. However, health and safety must continue to be the utmost priority.&#8221; It added, &#8220;More resources continue to be needed to help pay for the costs for schools to reopen safely and successfully.&#8221;
Many private and charter schools were open for much of the 2020-21 schoolyear without significant issue, while many traditional public schools remained closed. But there is little evidence of the PTA asking why that was. Instead, it has pushed policies ensuring that only the wealthy can afford to go to such schools.
According to its policy position paper, the PTA supports public charter schools only if they &#8220;do not exceed and <a href="/www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions/Individual-Position-Statements/Public-Charter-Schools-Position-Statement">do not divert funding</a> from non-charter public schools&#8221; – seemingly wanting existing schools to receive funding for services they are not performing.
It <a href="/www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/advocacy/2016-letters-to-policymakers/feb.-2-2016-national-coalition-for-public-education-expresses-strong-opposition-to-private-school-vouchers.pdf">&#8220;strongly opposes&#8221; vouchers</a> that would allow some families to use a portion of the taxpayer funds currently earmarked for their child to pay for private school tuition. One of its top priorities for 2021 is “taking steps to eliminate funding for the <a href="https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/advocacy/2020-letters-to-policymakers/dec-3-national-pta-biden-team-transition-letterf06a4bf1aa3e63899f67ff00009b2bd9.pdf">D.C. voucher</a> program” that provides that option for some low-income residents.
As a group speaking on behalf of &#8220;parents,&#8221; the PTA&#8217;s lobbying efforts carry considerable sway with Congress. But a 2020 survey found that more than <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-SIA-Wave-2-Final.pdf">three-quarters</a> of parents support school vouchers.
That is not the only instance of the PTA seemingly functioning as a parents&#8217; group that takes positions opposite those of the majority of parents.
In 2017, it partnered with GLSEN (formerly the Gay, Lesbian &amp; Straight Education Network) to write a &#8220;friend of the court&#8221; brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board in support of allowing <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Newsroom/news-list/news-detail-page/2017/03/08/National-PTA-GLSEN-Education-Organizations-Submit-Joint-Amicus-Brief-to-Supreme-Court-in-Support-of-Gavin-Grimm-and-Transgender-Students">transgender</a> students to use school bathrooms of the sex with which they identify. In 2016, a poll found that <a href="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/may_2016/most_school_parents_oppose_transgender_bathroom_policy">fewer than a third of parents</a> of school children wanted that, suggesting that the PTA’s stance defied a strong majority of its members, including people of all political persuasions who worried about boys in locker rooms and bathrooms with their daughters.
More recently, the PTA has become a major proponent of racial rhetoric that has both conservative and liberal parents up in arms about its potential psychological effects on children. The National PTA employs five <a href="http://online.fliphtml5.com/dtoi/apfq/#p=12">&#8220;Equity Fellows.&#8221;</a> Frances Frost, a board member, is known primarily for her racial activism.
It advocates for &#8220;culturally responsive teaching,&#8221; and calls for schools to &#8220;develop <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions/Individual-Position-Statements/position-statement---inclusive-curricula-in-k-12-education">critical consciousness</a> by recognizing racism, classism, and other issues in the world and developing a student’s awareness to openly address these situations.&#8221;
It backed regulations that would establish implied <a href="https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/advocacy/2018-letters-to-policymakers/final-ccd-disproportionality-comments-may-14.pdf">racial quotas</a> for the discipline of students who are deemed special ed. In the past, school districts have met these mandates by turning a blind eye to severe instances of violence in schools, in some cases leading to tragedy.
The PTA&#8217;s priorities sound less like something one might hear on the sidelines of a soccer game and more like a speech by professional progressive activists.
“Our education system must be firmly centered in the belief that equity in education is not just a vision or a goal, but rather a necessity,” its December 2020 <a href="https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/advocacy/2020-letters-to-policymakers/dec-3-national-pta-biden-team-transition-letterf06a4bf1aa3e63899f67ff00009b2bd9.pdf">letter</a> to the Biden transition team said. “National PTA recently adopted two positions statements, ‘Say Their Names, Addressing Institutional or Systemic Racism’ and ‘Inclusive Curricula in K-12 Education’ which speak to PTAs [sic] commitment around the crucial work of [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion],” it wrote.
Fishbein said that this language mirrors the words of school system bureaucrats and that it is hard to imagine that a large portion of parents asked the PTA to do such things. In that respect, it is no different than the wrapping paper sales, she said.
“Think about the activities they’re engaged in: None of the events are really what the parents want to do, it’s what the school wants them to do,” she said.
Political Priorities 
If 2020&#8217;s struggles over whether schools should be open or not made one thing clear, it&#8217;s that two constituents of the PTA — parents and teachers — sometimes have competing interests.
&#8220;What does it mean to have a parent-teacher association? What in that relationship says we’re going to advocate for parents? It&#8217;s totally diluted. It has nothing to do with the teaching or what goes on with the kids,&#8221; Fishbein said.
There are actually three competing interests in the education world: parents, teachers, and school administrators. It is the school administrators, who collectively control more than $700 billion a year, with whom the teachers’ unions often do battle. Perhaps the PTA’s role is to represent parents and teachers in their shared priorities against administrators.
But that’s not the case, either: The PTA often appears to operate as an adjunct of schools, rather than an independent check on them, Fishbein said. National board member Dr. Renée LaHuffman-Jackson is a school <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Leadership/Board-Officers-Members/renee-lahuffman-jackson">administrator</a>, and board members Dr. <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Leadership/Board-Officers-Members/sylvia-reyna">Sylvia Ramirez Reyna</a> and Dr. <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Leadership/Board-Officers-Members/emma-violand-s%C3%A1nchez">Emma Violand-Sánchez</a> are former administrators.
While the PTA may represent no discrete interest group in the education policy world, many PTA staff and board members have one thing in common: politics. Personal campaign contributions from members of the PTA headquarters’ full-time staff have gone <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/national-pta/recipients?toprecipscycle=2020&amp;id=D000054321&amp;candscycle=2020">exclusively to Democrats</a> in recent years, according to OpenSecrets.org.
National PTA&#8217;s executive director is Nathan Monell, who is paid <a href="https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/why-pta/2020/2019-form_990-public_disclosure.pdf">$347,000</a>. His biography describes his &#8220;daily motivation&#8221; as creating &#8220;<a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Leadership/Board-Officers-Members/Nathan-R-Monell-CAE">equity</a>&#8221; for all children. <a href="https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/PTA-Leadership/Board-Officers-Members/Anna-King">Anna King</a>, its president-elect, is a former activist with Moms Demand Action, a Michael Bloomberg-funded political group whose affiliate, Everytown for Gun Safety, has spent tens of millions of dollars electing Democrats.
A spokesperson did not make Monell or its president, Leslie Boggs — who shares a similar passion for the gun issue — available for an interview for this story.
The PTA, despite representing a broad membership with diverse views, has not hesitated to wade into contentious partisan battles that are only peripherally related to schools, supporting restrictions on firearms that would apply to all Americans, including a waiting period and a ban on &#8220;military-style semi-automatic <a href="/www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions/Individual-Position-Statements/Position-Statement-Firearms">assault weapons</a>.&#8221;
The organization&#8217;s political preferences seem to extend to its preferred presidential appointments. It opposed the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be President Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/advocacy/devos-concern-letter-postinghearing-1-30-17.pdf">secretary of education</a>. By contrast, its December 3 letter to the Biden transition team had a different tone.
“We look forward to working with the Department of Education and the Biden Administration to fully realize the power of” — it said — “the parent voice.”
This is the second in a three-part series on the Parent Teacher Association.
<ul>
<li>Tuesday: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/with-children-fully-indoctrinated-schools-have-a-new-target-parents">With Children Fully Indoctrinated, Schools Have A New Target: Parents</a></li>
<li>Thursday: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teachers-unions-infiltrate-pta">Teachers Union Honchos Infiltrate PTAs, Depriving Parents Of Their Own Group</a></li>
</ul>
A previous version of this report incorrectly described Anna King as the former president of the PTA; she is the president-elect. 
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Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

State PTA Threatens To Disband Magnet School PTA After Its Asian Parents Reject Anti-Merit Woke Policies

Teachers Union Honchos Infiltrate PTAs, Depriving Parents Of Their Own Group

How The PTA Sold Out Parents For Politics During Schools’ Biggest Crisis