Teachers and Classroom Archive

• 36 Ideas for Arts and Science Enrichment - School performers, assemblies, and cultural events can excite students and bring new perspectives. Get started with our list of memorable activities.
• Field Trips: Getting Organized - School-led educational outings are primarily the domain of teachers, but parent groups can still play a role in making them fun and successful.
• National Runner-up: Eagle Project Really Soared - A combined literacy and community service project to save the bald eagle really took off for PTO Today's 2007 Parent Group of the Year national runner-up.
• 10 Tips for Classroom Volunteers - The teachers who need classroom help the most are often too busy to organize volunteer work. These simple steps parents can take will make the volunteer experience more rewarding for everyone.
• How To Choose School Performers - Enrichment activities and school performers bring fresh insight and perspectives. Find the best fit for your school.
• Get Teachers on Your Side - Capture your teachers' hearts—and their help—with a focus on curriculum, classroom tools, communication, and appreciation.
• How PTOs Foster Reading Skills - Parent groups can play an effective role in helping schools improve reading and writing achievement.
• How PTOs Foster Math Skills - Creative approaches to help schools focus on achievement in math and to improve math literacy.
• How PTOs Foster Science Skills - The No Child Left Behind Act places a strong emphasis on test scores and achievement in certain curriculum areas. This story examines how parent groups can help schools focus on achievement in science.
• An Author Visit From the Author's Eyes - An award-winning children's author and speaker shares his best ideas for maximizing the value of your next arts and enrichment performer.
• PTO Publishes Student Writers - A literacy program gets kids writing essays and poetry, with some parent involvement along the way.
• Overnight Makeover: Teachers' Lounge - A little secrecy and ingenuity by the PTO results in a well-received surprise renovation.
• Organizing an Author Visit - Don't be overwhelmed by the thought of choosing an author and planning an event. A few simple guidelines will help you do it successfully.
• Bringing Art Appreciation to Students - "Meet the Masters," an art education program founded and sponsored by the Kings Road School PTO in New Jersey, has been tying art appreciation to the curriculum since the 1980s.
• Permission Slips That Work - Permission slips are often sent home with kids for school activities, but most of them don't provide any legal protection for the school or the parent group.
• Learning About Ellis Island - This simulation of the Ellis Island immigration experience taught kids and engaged parents in a dynamic way.
• Help Build Student Achievement -  An expert challenges PTOs to increase parent involvement in ways that are connected to the curriculum.
• Science Comes Alive on Discovery Day - Local scientists performed engaging experiments for elementary school students in this excellent one-day enrichment program.
• Murals Teach Art, History -  More than just a pretty wall, murals help bring lessons alive and instill a sense of community pride.
• Involvement Ranks Last in School Reform - Parent involvement may be a focus of the No Child Left Behind Act’s school improvement prescriptions, but it’s the least likely to be implemented, according to a 2007 report issued by the Rand Corp.
• Teachers Influence Involvement - Want more parents to get involved at your school? Personal invitations from teachers may be the way to go.
• NCLB: What It Means for PTOs - The No Child Left Behind Act has schools asking PTOs and PTAs to emphasize literacy and other key topics in their activities.
• Knitting Club's a Ball - Kids eagerly choose "indoor recess" to learn a new craft.
• Major Project: Community Garden Builds School Support - A Phoenix group was recognized as the PTO Today 2007 Parent Group of the Year for Outstanding Job on a Completed Major Project for its garden that is part teaching tool, part service project, and part community-building exercise.
• A Play's the Thing - One parent group has turned its annual musical performance into a major fundraiser—and a major way to build community involvement.
• A Literacy Event for Halloween - Pumpkins and poems make an eerily successful combination for a Halloween celebration.
• School Snacks Under Attack - Federal law has some districts limiting the kinds of foods available to students. We talk about what it means and how it might affect your group.
• Getting To Know the Teachers - Parents who cultivate relationships with teachers show their kids that the person standing in front of the blackboard is more than just a classroom figurehead.
• Million Minute Reading Challenge - One PTA's innovative program to get kids excited about books and boost reading scores.
• Teacher Appreciation Done Right - To be meaningful, teacher appreciation must be more than a once-a-year activity. These tips and creative ideas will help make a lasting impression.
• A Playground That Teaches Science - Kids love the unique playground, and teachers have created a 47-page curriculum to go with it.
• Let Teachers Teach - What do you really want, and what should you expect, from the T in PTO?
• Involvement Matters: What To Tell Parents - Hundreds of research studies show that when parents get involved, children do better in school. We sum up the details that every parent should know—and you should tell them.
• Teaching Kids About Character - When respect, kindness, generosity, and other positive traits are covered at school, students gain strong values.
• School Store Stocked for Success - Students learn money management behind the counter of a cafeteria store filled with school supplies and other goodies.
• PTA Group Protests School Choice - PTAs in Richmond, Va., have taken an outspoken stance against the city’s school choice policy, charging that it leads to racial and class segregation.
• Teaching Parents To Be Involved - A California kindergarten teacher gets moms and dads into the classroom.
• Building Student Readers - Students who read books can earn great prizes from the parent group's Little Red Schoolhouse.
• Adjusting to Middle School Involvement - Ways to maintain an active role even after the kids get older.
• 9 Secrets That Keep Teachers Happy - Following these simple steps can go a long way toward making your parent group more teacher-friendly.
• Better Ways To Say Thanks - Try these creative approaches to teacher appreciation to boost morale—without giving out any more apples!
• Science Night, CSI Style - Science is fun when students have to figure out “Whodunit?”
• Rebuilding Relations With Teachers - One parent group regained the trust of teachers by responding to their needs and keeping them informed.
• What Teachers Don't Love About PTOs - Despite the best of intentions, some of the things parent groups do can drive teachers crazy.
• What Teachers Love About PTOs - Knowing what matters most to teachers can help parent groups target their efforts more effectively.
• Field Trip Fees Banned in Iowa - According to the state department of education, schools cannot ask parents to pay field trip costs directly, although PTOs can fundraise for that purpose.
• Yearlong Travel Theme Makes Learning Fun - Parent group leaders and teachers tied a “world tour” theme to all parts of the curriculum, making it a year to remember for the entire school community.
• Bringing History to Life - Ancient Egypt becomes real again through a month of activities for the whole school.
• Make It an A+ Year! - PTOs can make even more of a difference for schools with good planning, good communication, and a focus on building student achievement.
• Reading Challenge Achieves Results - When a PTO matches elementary readers with NASA astronauts, literacy scores soar.
• Start a Parent-Child Book Club - A book club for 1st graders and their parents sparks excitement and shares the joy of reading.
• Teacher Contract Negotiations and the PTO - When disputes between teachers and administrators become heated, what role should the PTO play? These guidelines will keep you out of the fire.
• Academics and Animals - One school's 5th grade curriculum uses community service activities related to cats, dogs, and zoo animals to teach kids science.