Role of the PTA

Parents and Teachers often read to students to help participate in the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program that Metz offered. This is just one of the ways in which loving parents helped support their children’s education.

In an interview conducted by Don Bos with Jose Flores, Mr. Flores discusses the significance of Metz’s bilingual library and the vital role of parents in its creation. Parents had a huge role in curating the library collection. Especially in the early stages, parents were essential in the making of the library as they were one of the main sources of Spanish-language reading materials donated to the school. Mr. Flores also discusses how the Metz Publishing Company wouldn’t have been as successful as it was without parents donating books, helping sew published projects, and compiling bilingual language materials.

 In this image, Students from Mrs. Heimsath's 4th grade class proudly show books donated by the PTA. The Metz Elementary School library was comprised of an incredibly diverse and comprehensive collection of bilingual books made available to the Metz community. Many of these books were donated by parents or the Parent-Teacher Association, the PTA. To learn more about the Metz Library and the Reading Is Fundamental program, check out the Future Best Sellers exhibit!

Metz Parents also facilitated student reading and literacy by supporting the Metz Publishing Company. Parents helped sew, bind, and construct books produced by Metz Publishing Company.

This newspaper clipping, originally published by the Austin American-Statesman on April 14^th, 1974, discusses parents at Metz who published and edited student literary works. Parents donated their money, time, and materials to help bind the books. The newspaper clipping also includes an image of a parent sewing a book. The photo caption reads “students wrote their own books; parents did the editing and binding.”

Newspaper clippings highlighting events/involvement of Metz PTA in the local community