Toward Understandings of Fundraising PTAs as Sites for Exclusion, Engagement, and (In)Equity

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

PTAs (Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), Organizations (PTOs), and “Friends of” groups) are a growing source of supplemental resources at K-12 public schools. Scholarship documents how these organizations’ resources are distributed inequitably (e.g., Arsnealt et al. 2022), and can serve as sites for community engagement and disengagement (Murray et al., 2020). Across quantitative and qualitative analyses focused on more recent data than previously studied, the four projects in this symposium contribute nuanced perspectives on racial and socioeconomic inequities in PTA spending over time, and present novel perspectives on the ways in which these organizations are inclusive or exclusionary of especially racially minoritized parents and caregivers. All projects orient toward pathways to equity in resources, involvement, and opportunities at public schools.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 7: Social Context and Structural Inequalities

Chair

• Alisha Butler, Wesleyan University

Papers

• Plugging Holes or Hoarding More? Toward an Understanding of Fundraising PTA (Parent Teacher Association) Spending Dynamics at K–12 Public Schools - Claire Mackevicius, University of Oregon

• Hidden Money: School-Supporting Nonprofit Funds and Rising Inequality - Emily Rauscher, Brown University

• When the PTA Is Not Built for You: Black Fugitivity in Parent Engagement - Karla R. Thomas, Northwestern University

• Socially Distanced Schooling: The Limits of Weak Ties Among Parents in a Pandemic - Brittany C. Murray, Davidson College; Linda A. Renzulli, Purdue University; Thurston Domina, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; Alma N. Garza, University of Texas - Arlington

Discussant

• Linn E. Posey-Maddox, Temple University