This week’s tip is (sorry!) some homework.

I know school is over or nearly so, and I know you want to go to the beach or pool, but there are a few last steps to close out the year well.

Of course, we have those steps laid out perfectly for you in “Your PTO Year-End To Do List.”

If you can’t do them all, please take a few minutes for these two:

1. Check the school summer schedule and best dates for school office staff and principal.  You know you’re going to need them over the summer, so be prepared.

2. Ask each of your event chairs to really complete an event wrap-up form, while memories are still fresh. This small step will make a big difference next year. We have a sample post-event evaluation form on our File Exchange.

Good luck!

School’s ending soon and that means transitions for kids, parents, teachers—and PTO leaders.

For many new leaders, it can be a scary time if there’s no transition strategy to bring them up to speed. We heard about one group recently that is taking an unusual approach. The six-member executive board agreed to step down as a group, retaining committee responsibilities while an entirely new group of six will step up to board positions. The idea is the new board will have mentors on hand.

But there are many ways to tackle the transition challenge. For example, PTO leaders of the Temple Independent School District in Temple, Texas, will come together this weekend for a morning workshop on PTO basics. Run by the district, the event is intended to give new leaders a primer on PTO group management.

Attendees will get an overview on bylaws, budgets, and nonprofit status as well as discuss ideas for recruiting volunteers and collaborating with each other.

“It started because one PTO parent was so frustrated by being dumped into the deep end,’’ says Regina Corley, PTO president at Western Hills Elementary in Temple.

That parent was Corley, who described a situation that will ring a bell with many PTO leaders: She stepped up to run the PTO at Western Hills in 2009 when a group of grade 5 parents, who had been on the executive board for a long stretch, moved on.

“They left and we didn’t know what to do,’’ Corley says. “We had a tough, tough year.’’

Since then Corley has been on the board in one capacity or another and will serve as president again this coming year.

But in 2009, she and her fellow board members felt overwhelmed. “I remember our first fundraiser,’’ she says. “We all just looked at each other when we realized we had raised $15,000.’’

At the time, Corley was also the director of communications for the school district, a job she wrapped up earlier this year. She shared her rough-start story with the superintendent and they talked about ways to help PTO leaders become more informed. That eventually led to the idea of the workshop and the first one was in 2011.

The district now keeps a copy of each group’s bylaws and budget on file, and new leaders can access those documents when they take over a group.

“What’s come out of it is we have strong, functioning PTOs,” Corley says. “So the next time a group of grade 5 parents moves on, the new officers won’t be completely lost.”

For any leaders who need transition tips, we have many resources on this important topic, including:

Help Prepare New Officers for Success

Officer Transition Survival Kit

You’re Elected! Now What?

8 Tips for Passing the Gavel

For most PTOs, bragging is not in their DNA. But what if I told you that a bit of bragging could help your kids and your school and your group in a big, big way?

When it comes to our annual Parent Group of the Year search, that’s exactly the case. You don’t apply for the pats on the back, you apply because the recognition can really energize your group and help you do even more for your school in the years ahead.

Oh yeah — and the prizes are pretty great, too. This year’s sponsor, Labels for Education, is offering $3,000 plus 100,000 Labels for Education points to the grand prize winner.

And lest you think only the “amazingest” supergroups have any chance, that’s just not the case. We have categories for just about everyone. And groups of all shapes and sizes have been honored in the past. See for yourself in our Parent Group of the Year archives.

One thing — our deadline is coming up on June 3, so the time is now for getting an entry form in. More details and the entry form are available on our website.

My advice: Take the time to brag a little. And share your bragging with your whole school community. Folks are attracted to success, and a little self-marketing can go a long way in advancing the perception of your group.

Here are some more ideas to inspire you:

• 2012 National Winner: Service to the School and Beyond
• 2012 Idea Gallery

Good luck!

There’s been quite a run of PTO and PTA embezzlement stories in the news lately, and it’s scary stuff. Groups worry that it could happen to them and wonder how they’d get through it.

Well, Karlyn McConico knows.

The PTO president at Avondale West Elementary in Topeka, Kan., McConico recalls the day in late March when the group’s secretary told her a rumor was floating around that the group was out of cash and wouldn’t be able to fund its upcoming annual carnival.

“We were like, ‘What?’,’’ McConico says. As far as she knew, the finances were in order. “We had just had a board meeting,’’ she adds.

But McConico decided to investigate and took a solo trip to the bank where she was confronted with the harsh truth: The PTO account was nearly empty. Because the matter is under investigation, McConico was unable to share details of what exactly was missing or who is under investigation. But she did sum up that day by saying, “To have the carpet pulled out from underneath you, it was sickening.’’

McConico, along with the group’s vice president and secretary, decided to tackle the problem head-on. They reached out to the administration and made a quick decision to contact the police. Then they called an emergency meeting for parents to inform them of the lost funds and to let them know the carnival, which was scheduled for April 19, might not take place. The parents immediately began to rally and said the carnival couldn’t be canceled. An emergency carnival meeting was scheduled for the next day.

“We saw a tenfold increase in the number of parents involved,” McConico says. “Parents mobilized to get the word out to their contacts and employers, and social media was flooded with announcements about our predicament.’’

In addition, local media began covering the story. Before long, donations were pouring in, including two gifts of $2,500, one from a local company and the other from a person who had attended Avondale Elementary in the 1960s and wanted to make sure the kids got their carnival.

McConico says the carnival took place on schedule and was one of the best the school had ever seen. Because of the generosity of the community and profits from the actual sales at the carnival, the PTO made between $7,000 and $8,000 and will have more than enough to cover its other end-of-year events.

Now looking back, McConico says she and her team realize that they could have done more to ensure that financial best practices were, well, really practiced. “Routines and traditions get established and they don’t always allow for transparency,’’ she says.

They are now focused on turning that around. “We are restructuring our bylaws and other protocols have already been assigned,” McConico says. “We have two parties on the checks and two doing the resolutions of bank statements.”

One other piece of advice from McConico? If you are worried that your group doesn’t have solid financial best practices in place, say something. “When you want something to change, be willing to be persistent,’’ she says. “Keep bringing it up and push for things that will make your organization smarter and stronger.”

For more help and resources for your group, check out these articles:

5 Smart Financial Controls

What Every Treasurer Should Know

How to Manage Your Budget

Handling Cash: 6 Simple Steps

Here at PTO Today, we’ve been talking about Teacher Appreciation Week for months. In my particular role, I have read and posted countless articles and file exchange printables with amazing suggestions for honoring teachers, ranging from detailed and creative creations and events like school-supply “cakes” and theme luncheons, to quick and easy tags to attach to small gifts.

Unfortunately, none of this information made its way to my life outside of work. In an example of “the cobbler’s children go unshod,” I had not given time or thought to how to mark the week for my son’s teacher (I’m the room parent) until, oh, about three days before the week was starting. I hadn’t participated in any planning in the past, and it must have just slipped my mind. After that panicked realization, I sent a quick email to my co-room mom to which I hastily added a couple of links to some of the articles I’d spent so much time looking at, and asked for her thoughts.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend what followed: a plea to the parents on our email list to send a contribution (if they wished) to the classroom within two days (they responded amazingly); a last-minute phone call to a local businesswoman and friend who sells lovely handmade soap; and a race to some local stores to get our teacher some gift cards, one for lunch and another for classroom supplies. By the time I put the soaps, the cards, and some chocolates in a nice bag and brought it to the school, I was all but panting.

But you know what? She loved it all, and especially, I could tell, the effort and acknowledgment. It really means a lot to them, which is my takeaway from the whole experience.

Next time I would certainly like to be more creative, or organized, or at least timely. But it’s also reassuring to know that for teachers, no effort is too small or hastily assembled. It’s truly the thought that counts.

Over the past couple of weeks, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting several thousand PTO and PTA leaders at our PTO Today Expos. Our last was a week ago today in Pennsylvania.

It’s my favorite rite of spring, getting this high-volume, in-person reminder of the power and enthusiasm and passion of school parent volunteers. What you’re doing makes a huge difference for your schools, and that’s always so clear when I see so many of you together in one room. Here’s a piece I wrote a few years back called “Just a PTO? Say It Isn’t So” on the power of parent volunteers. It’s as true today as it was then.

I hope we can see you next year at one of our events.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our six national PTO Expo sponsors, who helped us bring these events to you all across the country. So our thanks to:

World’s Finest Chocolate

Great American Opportunities

Chuck E. Cheese’s

Otis Spunkmeyer

BRAX Fundraising

Flower Power

With the end of the school year coming, PTO and PTA leaders are naturally focusing on getting everything wrapped up. One of the items to include on your to do list is a little planning for next year.

Gather your officers together to discuss ideas, chat about a preliminary budget, and share vacation information. Putting a few things down on paper now can help you hit the ground running in the fall. Here are some resources to aid the process:

• The article “Creating a Long-Term Plan” provides strategies for transitioning from one year to the next.
• “Your PTO Year-End To Do List” gives 15 tips for closing out the year and getting ready for the fall.
• We also have a year-end committee report to help collect helpful information.
• And our free School Family Nights kits, like Family Reading Night, Go Green Night, and Family Science Night, help you plan fun and effective events for welcoming back your school community. Have you hosted one at your school yet? They’re great for building involvement.

It’s official. There’ll be another chapter for Entertainment Promotions, the maker of the coupon book that filed for bankruptcy in March.

The interesting twist is that Entertainment Promotions will be back with the family who founded it 50 years ago. The company announced this week that it had been acquired by HSP-EPI Acquisitions, LLC, a group led by Lowell Potiker, the son of company founders Hughes and Sheila Potiker.

Entertainment Promotions also said it will release its 2014 Entertainment Books on schedule. It intends to rehire the majority of its workforce within the next few weeks.

Last month, the company announced it had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which typically means liquidation of assets to pay off creditors. It then announced the court had approved a plan for it to resume operations and bids would be accepted to purchase the company in April.

During Screen-Free Week (April 29-May 5), families are sometimes challenged with what to do once all the devices are turned off. So why not encourage students to charge up their imaginations this week with the NFL Play 60 Invention Contest ?

If they submit a new idea about staying active, they have a chance to win up to $5,000 plus an NFL-sponsored grand prize 3-day trip for the winner and a parent or guardian.

The NFL Play 60 Invention Contest is under way now and runs through July 12. Kids can enter the contest by submitting an idea in a choice of categories. They are prompted through a series of five questions and can submit photos with their entry as well. The contest is open to children ages 6 through 12.

The categories are:

• Active indoor or outdoor games
• Fitness equipment or training devices
• Exercise equipment
• Football-theme games or activities

There are step-by-step guidelines on the NFL Play 60 Invention Contest website that will help kids and parents get details on the contest. Plus, there’s a fun brainstorming tips section to help get the creative juices flowing.

We all know that parent involvement matters and that it is critical for parents and teachers to work as a team to provide the best school experience possible for our kids.

But Knapp Elementary in Lansdale, Penn., and its Home & School Association are taking it to a whole new level.

This Saturday, April 27, the school is hosting its first ParentCamp, a full-day event with more than 20 discussion sessions for parents and teachers. The day is billed as an “unconference’’ by school principal Joe Mazza because the idea is to encourage parents to talk and engage, rather than to provide a series of lectures to them.

Attendees can choose from a variety of sessions that cover such topics as transitioning to middle school, becoming a connected parent, understanding Internet safety, using Twitter and other technologies, and identifying substance abuse. Parents and teachers from Knapp as well as other school districts will run the sessions.

The Home & School Association believes this event will get resources out to parents who want to partner with teachers and staff on behalf of the kids. “Parents want the best for their children and want to help, but don’t always know how, where to begin, or what questions to ask,” said Gwen Pescatore, president of the parent group.

Mazza says his own experience at an educators conference called Edcamp last summer sparked the idea for ParentCamp, and the Knapp parent group “worked hand in hand’’ with him to put the event together. The Edcamp Foundation is a national group that provides a model for Edcamps for  “participant-driven professional development.”

“This is in its infancy,” Mazza says of the upcoming ParentCamp.  “We are hoping other schools can look at this as a way to engage parents and teachers.”

ParentCamp is open to Knapp Elementary parents as well as parents from surrounding districts. The event is free and so far 125 people have registered, leaving open seats for 75 more.

Also, if parent leaders are interested in learning more about the event, Mazza and others will be tweeting throughout Saturday with the hashtag #parentcamp.