Why Become a PTA Member?

At the Kennedy, PTA’s central mission is to help create community, connect families and students to one another across grades and classes, and fundraise to provide ALL students with enriching experiences and learning opportunities not budgeted for within the limited confines of the public school budget. PTA also advocates at the district level, via the Somerville Council of PTAs and our own Advocacy committee, on behalf of all students and families of Somerville.

 

By becoming a registered member of the John F. Kennedy School PTA, you will be afforded all of the rights and privileges of membership in the Kennedy PTA as well as our parent organizations, the Massachusetts Parent-Teacher Association and the National Parent-Teacher Association. You also will have the right to representation on our Somerville Council of PTAs. 

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Kennedy PTA membership also affords you the rights to: 

• Participate and vote in PTA general membership meetings and elections (anyone can attend meetings, but to make a motion or vote, you do need to be a member)

• Serve on or chair Committees, including 8th Grade Committee, which organizes activities and events throughout the school year. Committee work can mean some extra meetings, but it’s a wonderful way to share your talents and skill-sets and be hands-on in a way to make the events you want to see become a reality, and a lot of planning work can be done remotely.

• Help guide the Kennedy PTA’s decision-making processes - we cannot do this alone!!!! Our bylaws require there to be democratic processes for decision making in our PTA.

• Help organize events and programs that reflect your voice and your priorities for our children

• Help us fulfill our organization's commitment to inclusion of as many families and staff voices’ as possible

• Help build the membership numbers of the Somerville Council of PTAs, MassPTA, and National PTA, all of which are effective lobbying organizations who work to protect the interests of public schools and the students and families they serve and the professional educators who make effective public education possible

 

**YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A PTA MEMBER TO VOLUNTEER FOR PTA OR SCHOOL EVENTS, AND YOU DON’T NEED TO VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME TO BE A MEMBER OF THE PTA.**

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Note For Returning Members:

Returning 2025-2026 PTA members will retain their voting privileges until Sept. 30, 2025, but must submit a new membership form to retain membership status for 2025-26 and to vote in any meetings or serve on committees after that date.

 

Dues: Why do they exist?

Dues are budgeted for, and will be covered by general fundraising like all other budgeted expenses for the year. If you would like to donate directly to the dues fund this year, the link is here: https://givebutter.com/DUES25-26

Our #1 goal is to be inclusive to all members, regardless of their ability to pay or to give their time, which is why we make dues optional on a per-person basis.

 

Our organization must pay a total of $5.50 per member to Massachusetts PTA. $2.25 goes to the Massachusetts PTA itself and $3.25 goes to the National PTA, to cover their operating costs, training and materials for local leaders, and state-level and nationwide advocacy work. We do not add any additional membership fees on top of these dues.

Please note that the donation platform that we are using, GiveButter, charges small fees that you, the donor, can cover or that we, the organization, cover. These are the normal processing fees charged to any business or organization, at a small discount because we are a non-profit. To avoid paying the fees, you are welcome to pay dues by check or we can even arrange for you to pay by cash. 

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Time Commitment from all members: 

We expect very little from any one member - we recognize that most of our Kennedy caregivers are full-time working people with a huge amount on their plates and our educators are no exception. We will likely have some evening volunteer shifts available for various events throughout the year as well as the potential for remote administrative contributions through committee work. We know we'll have plenty of members who just don't have the space in their schedules to help in these ways or maybe can only help one time for an hour for the year or not at all. 

Any engagement is great, truly! And tuning in, amplifying our events and fundraising efforts, and sharing your feedback - whether or not you're a member - is incredibly valuable.

 

Please don't hesitate to email us with any questions at jfksomervillepta@gmail.com

 

Link to 2025-26 Membership Form