: Chuck Saylors’ Installation Speech at 2009 PTA National Convention

My boss might answer the full-time part of that question a little differently than me, but I’ll admit I am a blessed individual.  I work with a very dedicated and supportive group of people who are great supporters of public education—and I’m married to a saint.  My business associates and family are simply the best!

It goes without saying that I deeply appreciate the honor you have given me by allowing me to serve as your new national president.  I follow in the footsteps of many great and dedicated leaders—ladies who have given their all for the betterment of children and youth.

Let’s talk for a minute about honoring our past and setting our sights on the future.  PTA has spent the last 112 years doing great things for students, teachers and families.  But it’s time for us to take our collective efforts up a notch!  The demographics of our families, schools, and the country itself have changed quite a bit since 1897.  However, PTA's membership still looks a lot like it did at the time of our founding.

Currently over 90% of our members are female, over 80% are white, over 70% live in suburban America, and over 50% have a household income over $75,000.  We should never doubt that our past is rich—but to have a successful future, we must not only honor those who built PTA, we must reflect America today.  How do we do this?  It’s easy.  We just ask America to join us!

We also need to address an even harder question: “How committed are we as an organization, and individually, to seeing that PTA truly reflects America?”  Do we believe in making PTA diverse, or not?  If not, why not?  Do you believe that you’re helping or hurting PTA’s growth and service?  Ladies and gentlemen, we can no longer afford to do things the same way and expect different results.  If you believe that we must reach out to all communities in America, then take this cause to heart, and home.  If you do not—if you believe that we have done OK and things will get better on their own—then you need to search your heart and soul to find out if PTA is still relevant for you. This is a hard conversation, but one we can no longer afford to avoid.

So let’s talk about membership, the MORE initiative, and dads getting involved.  Right now, less than 10% of PTA members are men, and there's absolutely no good reason for that to be true.  We need to grow that number, without question.  I'm not asking PTA to recruit four million dads overnight, but I am asking you to help me raise the participation of male role models.  One of our goals will be to increase our male membership to 20% over the next two years.  We launched the PTA MORE Alliance this past year to reach out to men, and with those new partnerships and resources we're seeing some tremendous success.  But PTA will never have enough men involved unless the members who are already here are willing to help me ask them to join and get involved!

The same holds true for our youth. For an organization that is dedicated solely to the support of children and their educational success, we are sorely lacking in participation from those very students themselves.  Our youth have just as much of a vested interest in their academic achievement as we do, and they ought to be standing with us when we speak up on their behalf.  So I'm also asking you to help us increase the participation of students in PTSAs from the current 5% to at least 10%.

With our country’s economic crisis, each of us is facing challenges at home; our families have to make hard choices and our PTAs are seeing reductions in income. We need to be mindful of these challenges while at the same time remaining an engaged and supportive part of our community.  If a family is not in a position to join PTA or participate in a fundraising campaign, be supportive.  Find ways to be creative in engaging families with financial challenges, always encouraging them to be a part of the PTA family.

For several years, PTA has also worked with the Department of Defense Schools to see that our families overseas have the voice they need.  Closer to home, we are seeing increased deployments.  These deployments affect more than the communities where bases are located—they affect Main Street.  With the increased use of National Guardsmen and Reservists, we see moms and dads from every corner of every community being asked to leave their family behind as part of their service to our country—and they need our support.  We are proud to say today that our efforts there are expanding.  Soon you will see formal agreements between PTA and organizations like the National Military Family Association and Military Impacted Schools Association to help expand the services PTA provides to all military families.

Another goal we have for the next two years is for our PTA leadership to personally visit every House and Senate office on Capitol Hill. Our visibility in the halls of Congress is vital as we work towards the re-authorization of No Child Left Behind and the Child Nutrition Act, as well as the development of Core State Accountability Standards.

We need to be advocates at all levels—local, state and national—to ensure that all of our children have a safe, secure, healthy, and technologically equal learning environment.  In rural America, we have students attending school where the building is without drinkable water or enough power to operate a computer lab.  In urban America, we have students attending school where the plaster is falling out of the wall and windows are rotting in the frame.  Is this how we want to treat our future?  Is this how we, the most powerful and successful country in the world, want to be seen internationally?  My sons, Tyler and William—who are both being educated in new buildings—should be able to leave their schools tomorrow, move anywhere in America, enroll in a new school tomorrow, and have the same advantages.  But that’s not the case. Our presence on Capitol Hill, and in our state Houses throughout America, is critical!

We face an awesome opportunity related to training. Today we are introducing the PTA Center for Learning and Growth. This long range training model will provide local units, states, and our national organization with a continuing education process for PTA leaders at all levels. Over the next year many of you will have a chance to provide your input on how such a program would be designed. Our goal is to roll out actual classes for the Center next year in Memphis. Be assured that Betsy and I are committed to making this program a true success for the long-term.

Now is the time for serious people to get engaged.  In a day when PTA faces membership challenges, the need to grow our base, expand opportunities for all families, expand our services to our states and units, and much more, we need serious people.  Serious people who will embrace new ideas, new methods, and a new look.  Serious people who will make PTA the “family experience” it needs to be.

As we start on this journey together, we see ourselves being asked, “Who Is PTA?”  The answer is, “We are!”  Now please join me in helping to make our PTA, America’s PTA.