President Archive

Whether you're a new leader or a veteran, you'll find tons of ideas and tips for presidents in the articles below. When you're done reading, head over to the Message Boards to connect with other leaders facing the same challenges.

Articles with a plus sign () are available to PTO Today Plus members only.

• 10 Mistakes Parent Groups Make - These common problems can undermine your parent group's success. Learn to identify and fix them early.
• 11 Midyear Problems and Solutions - From low turnout to conflicts with the principal, our PTO answer guide will help make your whole year great.
• 38 Ideas To Start the Year Right - From getting organized to getting to know the school's families, a great year for the parent group starts with some advance planning.
• 17 Dos and Don'ts for Presidents - Get off to a fast start and keep the momentum going all year long with our list of essential dos and don'ts for leaders.
• Insurance: Do You Need It? - Without insurance, your group and your officers may be at risk. Here's what you should know to assess your needs.
• Becoming a Great Leader - Even if you have no experience, you can be an effective leader. Just play to your strengths.
• What Should PTOs Pay For? - Tighter school budgets mean parent groups are asked to fund more and more items that used to be paid for by the administration.
• You're Elected! Now What? - An overview of what lies ahead for first-time board members, and tips for getting off to a strong start.
• Budget Basics for PTOs - Budgeting upfront makes all of your financial decisions easier. Follow these steps to create and use a budget for your PTO, even if you've never had one before.
• Rate Your Leadership Skills -  Take the quiz to see what your strengths are as a leader and determine which skills could use some work.
• Energize Your Parent Group -  Tips to build interest and enthusiasm, then keep the momentum going all year long.
• Energize Your School - A strong parent group can instill pride, promote a positive attitude, and get parents involved in the school all year long. Follow these tips to help your PTO build—and maintain—school spirit.
• Get the Principal on Your Side - The right—and wrong—ways to build communication with school administrators.
• Balancing PTO and Personal Life - It can be challenging to find balance. But a little strategy, a little organization, and a lot of support from friends and family go a long way.
• Whose Rules, School or PTO? - Collaboration between PTO and school is crucial to success, but it's also important to know who has final say when disputes arise.
• Visibility: A Leadership Challenge - You've done the work—do people know about it? Getting your group's name and message out to a wide audience, in the right way, is an essential part of success.
• From Controversy to Consensus - The way you handle the decisionmaking process can determine whether a difficult issue grows into an acrimonious fight.
• Care and Feeding of Key Volunteers - Your core members are so important to the success of your group. Make sure they're getting what they need out of their volunteer experience.
• Polish Your Delegation Skills - Doing it all yourself leads to burnout—and isn't good for your parent group, either.
• Create a Mission Statement - Talking clearly and intentionally about group goals can inspire your PTO and help make decisions to achieve them.
• Leadership Is Learning From Others - Valuable lessons are all around if you know where to find them.
• When Conflict Splits Your Group - Ways to prevent controversy from escalating, and how to bring the PTO back together if it already has.
• Build Support for New Ideas - When members resist change, reduce the chance of conflict with patience and understanding.
• Procedures Book: Your PTO's Instruction Manual -  Newly revised guidelines on how to create policies and procedures books for your leaders. This tool can make a big difference for your group.
• Are You Ready To Lead? - Being an effective parent group leader requires a commitment to the big picture and a willingness to let others help achieve those goals.
• The Secret to Successful Leadership - The most overlooked skill—delegation—might just be the best one you'll ever learn.
• Make the Principal Your Partner - Good communication about priorities and respect for each others' roles makes for a strong partnership.
• My First Meeting: Presidents Remember -  Parent group presidents recall the worrying, the nerves, and the lessons learned from their first time wielding a gavel.
• My Life as President - A parent group president reflects on lessons learned during her term in office and offers down-to-earth suggestions and advice.
• Keep Up With District-Level Issues - For a greater understanding of the issues facing your school, have a delegate regularly attend meetings of the school board.
• Preventing Theft: Why It's Crucial - Theft from PTOs and PTAs is all too common. It doesn't happen because there's a criminal in your midst. It happens because need meets opportunity—opportunity you can and should prevent.
• Figuring Finances for Events - How to build a simple cost model and estimate the start-to-finish finances for your group's new events.
• 501(c)(3) for PTOs - How to make your PTO tax-exempt. We sort through the mumbo jumbo and tell you what to expect—from the process and the IRS.
• Find Your Leadership Style - The best leaders recognize their natural tendencies and use that knowledge to respond appropriately in different situations.
• Robert's Rules: What You Should Know - Robert's Rules do help you run an effective meeting. And you don't have to know a whole book's worth of details—just a few key concepts.
• Quiz: Rate Your Involvement IQ -  See how your group's attitudes and practices for building parent involvement measure up.
• 9 Stress-Busting Organization Tips - A little planning and organization now will help you breathe easy the whole year through.
• Protect Volunteers From Legal Risks - Having a few key policies in place can minimize the risks to parent volunteers.
• 16 Tips for Executive Board Members - What you should know about representing your parent group in the community, tips for working with school support staff, and secrets for a successful transition.
• 23 Essential Tips for Presidents - What you should know about your group's finances, how to build a strong executive board, and tips for recruiting committee chairpeople.
• Change Your Micromanaging Ways - Could you be a micromanager? If so, you're probably limiting involvement in your group. Here's how to lighten your grip without having everything fall apart.
• 9 Ways To Spot a Micromanager - Do you find yourself giving all the reports, working at every function, and fielding all the questions about your parent group? You just might be a micromanager.
• Celebrity Leadership Quiz - What’s your leadership style? Find a celebrity match for the way you lead your PTO.
• Build a Strong Executive Board - Working to form a cohesive executive board can pay off in long-term success for your parent group.
• Measuring Meetings - There are much better ways to gauge the success of your parent group than counting how many seats get filled to go through a monthly agenda.
• To Build Support, Celebrate Success - Make publicizing your group's good works and thanking the people who contributed to your success a year-end priority.
• Public Speaking: Overcome the Jitters - Some advance preparation and a few best practices will help your next presentation go smoothly despite any butterflies.
• Three Decisionmaking Methods - These processes for reaching a decision can help parent group leaders get past (or avoid) a stalemate.
• Are You a Leader or a Manager? - Good leadership and effective management call for different skills. Depending on the situation, you'll need to decide which of those skills to employ.
• Responding to Criticism - To deal with criticism effectively, leave your emotions out of the conversation.
• Is It Time To Pass the Gavel? - Questions to ask yourself if you're thinking about retiring from your PTO leadership role.
• Use PTO Experience To Get a Job - The skills you develop as a parent leader and school volunteer can give you an edge when going back to work.