NATCHEZ — Despite the fact that it wasn’t even a school day, the Mississippi Parent Teacher Association still hosted its annual training meeting on Saturday.

Vice President of the Mississippi Parent Teacher Association Deloris Irving said Saturday’s meeting allowed PTA members from all over Mississippi a chance to network and share ideas.

And one of the key ideas discussed at Saturday’s meeting was centered on getting increased male involvement in the PTA.

“We’re not just moms at a bake sale,” Irving said.

The PTA is one of the nation’s largest child advocacy groups, Irving said.

And to make the group even more powerful, more men need to get involved with the group, she said.

Irving said schools across Mississippi that have PTA groups with high male participation have better performing students.

To drive the point home, Barney Schoby II also spoke on the need of increased male involvement at Saturday’s meeting.

Schoby is the PTA President at McLaurin Elementary School.

Schoby said his future work with the PTA will include working to implement programs to attract new male membership.

Schoby said the need for male participation is important because for some children that PTA works with have no male role models at all.

“This could be the only exposure they’ll get,” he said. “We want to make it count.”