Craig writes:
I'm interested to know what you're expecting from teachers or how you would like them to participate. There aren't very many schools where teachers attend PTO meetings regularly, help organize events, work on fundraisers, etc. There are several reasons for that. For one, writing lesson plans, grading papers, etc. can be a time-consuming process. Teachers tend to work a lot of hours during the school year, and coming back after hours may be difficult. For another, teachers with children may want to help out at the (different) school that their children attend. They get involved in that PTO rather than the one where they work. To me, it's important for teachers to focus on their most important job: teaching. If they are generally supportive of the PTO and maybe attend an occasional event, that's great. More involvement is a bonus and not something that I would take for granted. Even though it's called PTO, in practice these are really parent groups aimed at supporting the school and the teachers.
chidek writes:
What do you want from the teachers? We recently polled our teachers because we were feeling the same way you are expressing and the teachers think we want their involvement by attending PTA meetings and events held on weekend and evenings. In reality, we would like them to be involved by knowing what events are going on and being our cheerleaders with not only the kids to promote fundraisers and family fun events, but also to parents. So we've discovered our disconnect and its something I'll work to change next year.
So think about what you want from the teachers and then ask (nicely!) for it. A quick survey could help you tons.
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