As of this year, FISD has the second highest PTA participation rate in Texas, with nearly 25,000 members across all schools. 

“A number one priority for us, aside from supporting at that local level, is advocating for all kids and making sure every child’s potential is a reality and we do that [by] advocating at the local level, making sure that every kid is treated the same no matter what their background is, what their family is, how old they are,” President of the FISD Council of PTAs Cyndi Arakas said in a Community Impact article. “We make sure that everyone is treated equally throughout the district.”

Students, teachers, and parents alike fostering a strong sense of community has been a catalyst to earning this distinction. 

“We have a great community [that] loves to kind of help out with the schools,” PTSA staff liaison said. “We have a great sense of parent involvement that I see as well in the classroom. The teachers are really going above and beyond to make sure that everything is kind of communicated with parents, with community members. And the students as well have a great buy-in, which I think is really cool. So everyone’s just really engaged in making sure that community is one of the most important things.” 

PTA is important to parents because it allows them to be more involved in their child’s school experience. 

“It helps parents voice their concerns and opinions on different school matters that specifically pertain to their child,” junior Panvi Patel said. “[Parent-Teacher Associations discuss] any school matters – local or global issue, book bans [are an example].”