CHICAGO – For the first time in more than 100 years, the national Parent Teachers Association will have a man as its chief executive officer.

The appointment of Byron Garrett, 35, comes at a time when the country's leading parent advocacy group is struggling to retain its members.

The selection of Garrett, a black former school principal, also underscores the PTA's efforts to get more men engaged in their kids' studies and reach out to ethnic and urban communities.

Garrett, who signed a five-year contract with the PTA, will be working in tandem with 47-year-old Chuck Saylors, the organization's first male president-elect, who was picked last year.

PTA studies show that more men are getting involved with the organization; 10 percent of its members were men in 2008, up from 3 percent in 2003.

“I think I am still pinching myself to say 'wow' because I think it's a significant decision,” Garrett said. “It's the sign of the times.”

Garrett will be officially introduced at the PTA's national convention on Tuesday in San Diego. He succeeds Warlene Gary, 61, a longtime children and education advocate, who retired after nearly 5 years as CEO.

Garrett may seem like an unexpected choice to head the PTA – he's a newcomer to the organization with no children of his own. But he said his experience in management, public policy and youth development makes him qualified.

Nearly 112 years old, the Chicago-based PTA unites 26,000 local organizations across the country to involve parents in schools, advise them on issues of child health and upbringing, build communities, raise funds and engage in education advocacy on the state and federal levels.

Today, the organization has about 6 million members – about half its size from its heyday in the early 1960s. Some experts say only a quarter of the nation's nonprofit parent groups are members of the PTA, and choose instead to operate as solo organizations that focus efforts and resources on local communities.

“The field of potential members is bigger than ever before and PTA member numbers are dropping – that is not a good sign for the PTA,” said Tim Sullivan, president of PTO Today, a media company specializing in parent teacher groups.

Garrett said he plans to focus on attracting new members and developing resources.

He joked that even Miranda, the career-focused lawyer in the hit movie “Sex and the City,” attends PTA meetings.

“This tells me that the public recognizes what PTA is in terms of the organization,” he said. “And now the question and challenge for us is how do we make that real to the average person.”

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