It began in Washington, D.C., as the National Congress of Mothers, founded by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who believed it was up to the mothers of this country to eliminate the threats facing children. Their vision has spread to more than six million members — including mothers and fathers — in all 50 states. In Homer, the organization continues to grow, as parents recognize the valuable resources the organization provides.

Michelle Fournier became president of PTA at Paul Banks Elementary School just as the group of parents, formerly called the PTO — Parent Teacher Organization — finalized the process to join PTA.

"Primarily, PTA offers more national support, a lot more resources and backup. There is a lot less inventing of the wheel because they have so much stuff that has already been tried," Fournier said. "And they have a national voice at a legislative level."

Although the Paul Banks PTA has not tapped into that legislative connection, Fournier said it is comforting to know it exists.

A common misconception of PTA is that its role is strictly fund raising.

"Their main goal is not fund raising," said Janet McNary, president of the parent organization at West Homer Elementary School. "The mission statement is really for improvement and betterment for students with fund raising a step to support that."

As happened at Paul Banks, West Homer is taking steps to join PTA, according to McNary.

"PTOs are wonderful organizations run by parents and staff or community members who work toward making that particular site as good as it can be to support the staff and education programming and the students," McNary said. "PTA is a national organization with basically those same goals in mind, but you can take yourself from being a little group trying to do the best you can, to opening up to a tremendous amount of resources."

Among those resources, McNary listed being part of a nonprofit organization, a network that lobbies for specific issues and the availability of resources for school-specific functions, such as hosting a movie night. Liability and fidelity insurance also are an important part of PTA's offerings, with coverage available for less than $200 a year.

"Nobody wants to talk about that stuff, but it's the reality of doing business," said McNary, who, as the former president of Paul Banks PTO, worried about being responsible for the money made at fund-raising events. "I was always taking the cash box home, counting the money and having to be responsible for it. We were all uneasy with that, trying to figure out how to protect ourselves and the organization."

The other benefit is the level of professionalism associated with PTA, McNary said.

Rachel Roe is president of Homer High School's PTA, formerly a PTSO — parent teacher student organization. The reasons for the change are similar to those cited by Fournier and McNary.

"I found PTA to be really valuable with leadership resources," Roe said. "They have legislative issue conferences where everyone around the state gets together to decide what are the four or five most pressing issues and then they actually have a legislative fly-in and visit with legislators."

Paul Banks PTA hosts family movie nights, with the proceeds given to teachers to be used as needed. An event to encourage reading is planned in March, an annual garage sale is planned for April and a family game night also is planned. Also in April, PTA is coordinating a "Dad, Math and Science" evening, with dads hosting hands-on experiment stations. Recently started, thanks to the hard work of Jennifer Reinhart and Peggy Bordner, is an after-school program with planned activities two days a week.

"And another thing we're doing is trying to buy a climbing wall for the school gym," Fournier said.

At West Homer, activities sponsored by the parent group include an upcoming family game night in March. A movie night in April is being planned to give parents a night off. The group also is helping to organize the school's science fair in March.

Roe is excited about tapping into PTA's Reflection Program, which encourages young artists, and she is enthused about the financial support available for student study camps that offer opportunities for students to pursue subjects of particular interest. This spring, the Homer High School PTA is bringing Cary Trivanovich, a motivational and inspirational performer, to Homer with his message about being drug- and alcohol-free.

"There are lots of opportunities for the children and for the parents," Roe said of what PTA can provide.

"These are very positive groups that work for the betterment of all kids," said Sammy Crawford, president of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board. "The more adults in kids' lives, the better off they are. PTA serves an important role in being some of those really caring adults in kids' lives."

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky.com.