Communications

PTA communication is a team effort and it includes

Audience for PTA Communications

  • PTA members and leaders
  • Parents and caregivers
  • Non-English speakers
  • General Public
  • PAUSD Teachers/Educators/Board of Education
  • Media and opinion leaders and partners

Purpose of PTA Communication

  • Connect families and schools.
  • Encourage parent participation.
  • Market the value and accomplishments of PTA.
  • Promote joining PTA.
  • Foster cooperation with the school in keeping parents informed about school functions, regulations and/or procedures on child-related issues. 
  • Work with the media.
  • Promote PTA events that benefit the entire Palo Alto school community. 
  • Inform every family in the school of the aims and accomplishments of the PTA. 
  • Encourage and highlight attendance at PTA meetings and family engagement in PTA projects and activities. 
  • Inform the community about PTA activities and school functions. 
  • Express appreciation to those participating in or contributing to programs. 
  • Tackle barriers such as language and culture.

Approving PTA Communications

  • All PTA communication must be cleared with the PTA president and school principal before printing, publishing or posting. 
  • The principal is responsible for the accuracy of school information and compliance with the State Education Code and school district policy. 
  • The PTA president is responsible for the accuracy of PTA information and compliance with PTA policies. (Article VI, Section 1i, Bylaws for Local PTA/PTSA Units)
  • According to 6th district, PTA Social Media sites (including websites) that are administered and owned by the PTA and not the school, do not need the principal’s approval for posts but it might be a good idea to coordinate in order to maintain a good working relationship with the principal.

Non-PTA Material

In the Standing Rules section of the current bylaws (2024 version), see rule #8: Approving Material for Association Meetings – Any non-PTA material to be distributed at an association meeting must be approved by the executive board prior to the meeting. The above Standing Rule relates specifically to material distributed at Association Meetings, but it is recommended that PTAs use that standard for any material/information that they distribute through their communication platform. 

PTAC’s current Community News section only includes articles from PTAC approved partners such as PAUSD,  PIE, CAC, the City of Palo Alto, PACCC, school-based student run organizations such from Gunn and Paly.  PTAC eNews does not accept solicitations from after school programs, enrichment programs, or other community based non-profit organizations unless approved by PTAC. To avoid any confusion related to what constitutes community news, going forward  PTAC will rename its “Community News” section to “News From PTAC Partners”

If a PTA/PTSA chooses to accept solicitations from community non-profits that are not approved by their PTA/PTSA or PTAC, PTAC recommends that PTAs

  1. Place such articles under a heading separate from their PTA/ School and PTAC sections.
  2.  Include a disclaimer that such information published in the PTA’s communication channel is not approved or sponsored by your PTA/PTSA. This will ensure that non approved non profits do not claim association with your PTA/PTSA to reach out to your communities to seek donations or participation. 
  3. Ensure that such community non profit the PTA chooses to include in their eNews, adheres to the PTA’s Non Commercial, Non Sectarian, Non Partisan policy. It is highly encouraged that PTAs verify the organization’s non-profit status before inclusion in their site’s eNews and other communication.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to PTAC President, president@paloaltopta.org, or PTAC Communications, communications@paloaltopta.org with any communications related issues.

Communication Best Practices 

Do 
  • Adhere to PTA noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian policies.
  • Use the PTA logo in all official PTA communications 
  • Moderate all PTA communication channels (Enews, WhatsApp, Parent Network, Instagram, and other social media platforms)
  • Publish only a summary of actions taken from PTA association meeting minutes.
  • Get written permission before using photos, personal information about students or adults. Use of photographs or videos of children requires a Photography Release form available in English and Spanish
  • Include all PTAC E News information in weekly site Enews publications 
  • Note any scholarship opportunities for PTA sponsored events including parent education speaker events that charge a fee, to ensure everyone in the community can participate. 
  • Abide by copyright laws 
Do Not 
  • Mix personal with PTA opinions and positions when representing the PTA. 
  • Promote data or opinion collection, such as surveys, email addresses, or other information about our students, parents, etc.
  • Promote for-profit businesses even if they are owned by district parents.

PTA And Social Media Advocacy

capta.org/resource/social-media-advocacy-chart/

Commonly Used Moderated PTA Communication Tools 

Commonly used communication tools by Palo Alto site PTAs. Please note that all official PTA communications channels must be moderated for accuracy of information. 

  1. Parent Square
  2. PTA Websites
  3. Enews 
  4. Konstella
  5. Flyers
  6. Banners
  7. Posters 
  8. Moderated Instagram channels
  9. Moderated Facebook pages
  10. Moderated Whatsapp groups

For questions or help with PTA Communications please contact 

Palo Alto PTA VP Communications

Every Child. One Voice. Welcome to the website of the Palo Alto Council of PTAs. Our purpose is to foster collaboration, conduct leadership training, and coordinate the efforts of our site PTAs. This website is intended to be a resource for our PTAs to accomplish their Mission.