PTO Today

How many of you have lamented, “If only I had more time in my day?”

We hear that from parent group leaders all the time! That’s why we’re excited to let you know about some changes to our site that will give you the tools and information you need to do your job more efficiently! Not only that, you’ll also feel more connected to other leaders.

Later this week we’ll be going live with some pretty cool community sections on our site:

My PTO Today will allow you to designate what content is most relevant to you and then track all the articles, message board threads, and blog posts that relate to your interests. Very cool feature for busy leaders.

Community will help you connect with other leaders who share the same roles, interests, and issues.

Ask a Question will let you ask a quick question within specific categories and get concrete advice from PTO Today experts, or community members.

Our message boards will still be your place to have conversations, express opinions, and bounce ideas off of other leaders —  but you’ll see a new look and feel, and some added functionality. Think you’ll like the new ways to connect and identify with your peers.

What you need to know about the upcoming changes:

- The existing message boards will be down between approximately 9 and 10 pm EST on Thursday night. All of your past conversations, user and login information will be carried over.  Note that when the boards come back up  at @ 10 pm, your profile will be turned off.  On Friday morning  it will be back on and you will have the ability to edit your profile so you can participate in the PTO Today Community on a site-wide basis.  Posting anonymously will still be an option.

-Note to night owls: from 1am to 6am EST on Friday night there may be an interruption of service, but ideally we are aiming to make this upgrade as seamless as possible.

- You’ll see in the top navigation bar that our new sections: Message Boards, Ask a Question, and My PTO Today all have the word “Beta” on the tabs. For those of you not familiar with this term, here’s the scoop:
Beta level features are between 60% and 70% complete, generally include all features, but may also include known issues and bugs of a less serious variety. So we’ll be very busy working on enhancements in the weeks to come.

Your feedback is very important. There will be a new section in the message boards called: Comments, Questions and Feedback on the New PTO Today Community. You can also email me directly with your questions and feedback at lgundlach@ptotoday.com

Look forward to seeing you around the community! My username is Lisa @ PTO Today – be sure to friend me when you update or create your user profile.

Lots of articles out there about the economy putting the squeeze on schools, and how parent groups are being asked to pick up the slack.  I just came across this article about a parent group that decided that they were not going let their PTA and school community feel like victims of the economy.  Instead, this creative bunch put together a free all-night, camp out event for their K through 5 families and called it a “friendraiser.”  Love it.  Instead of only focusing on fundraising, this group showed that family nights are the perfect way to build community at any school.

Got your attention, didn’t I? Well this article about a PTA sponsoring a car creation contest certainly captured my interest! Kids who participated in the contest “drove” their car creations to the school’s drive-in. Loved that this event:

• fostered kid’s creativity
• encouraged kids and parents to work together
• promoted learning (how cool is it that it prompted kids to get online and research cars, etc.?)
• created a fun sense of community!

Thought you’d enjoy hearing about this unique PTA event. PTO Today is all for parent groups events that promote learning or tie into the curriculum.

Enjoyed reading a blog called  Musings of a PTO President and her post titled “Do it Before Breakfast” this morning over coffee.  Good reminder to take stock of how you manage and spend your time.

This time of year, as parents and parent group leaders we are all juggling a lot. Ok, who am I kidding?–  it’s not just this time of year! It’s so easy to jump on the merry-go-round and not pause to evaluate what’s important. Love that this PTO blogger emphasizes the the importance of time management on a day-to-day basis, but reminds us to be “mindful” of time and how it relates to the big picture.

We have lots of great articles about planning and organization to help parent group leaders manage their time efficiently.  That’s because we understand that we all want to be involved in our kid’s school and PTO but we also want to spend time with our kids!

If you spend anytime on our website, you know that we are all about  parent groups building community. That’s why we love this idea that a New Jersey PTA came up with; use their school’s PTA website to help neighbors in a down economy.  To accomplish this, they have set up an “items for exchange” section on their website — see the “can anyone use a…” tab. Very cool.

”With the current economy the way it is, it would be kind of nice for neighbors to help neighbors,” said Rodger Lippman, the PTA’s president and webmaster. “Items that may be obsolete for one person can go a long way toward helping someone else.”

Now, that’s the kind of parent group that will attract attention and make people want to join. Thought maybe your parent group would like to take this idea and run with it.

What does your PTO or PTA do to build community or reach out to neighbors? Jump in here and tell us about it.

Every school year we read about new cases of embezzlement from parent groups. Sadly, in this case it’s a principal that is at the center of the alleged theft of PTO funds. Ugh.  Hate to hear these stories, especially when they are preventable.

With the new school year, it’s a good time to take a good look at your PTO group’s financial controls.  What are you doing to prevent theft? Does your group have insurance?  Is an annual audit part of your group’s standard procedures? Please take the time to read these articles and review your systems. It is our sincere hope that this information will reduce the number of thefts this school year.

By now the lastest issue of the issue of PTO Today should be in your PTO or PTA mailbox. Don’t let it sit there — lots of great stuff to make this your best year yet!

Some of the article highlights in this issue include:

• Yearlong Travel Theme Makes Learning Fun
• Creating a Long-Term Plan
• Get Out and Smell the Coffee
• Sample PTO Strategic Plan

Happy reading!

Building school pride and connecting kids with nature are just two of the remarkable ways that Lowe’s Tool Box for Education Grants help schools. To date, they have provided more than $17 million to almost 4,000 schools across the country. What the numbers don’t tell you, is how these grants promote parent involvement in schools and bring communities together. Pretty awesome.

Their fall grant cycle is now open. So, if your PTO or PTA  has a beautification project that you are not sure how you are going to fund, be sure to check out their website.  Also, if you want to see what some other schools are doing with their grant money, visit the Lowe’s Toolobox for Education Facebook page.

Came across this article about how 6th graders are “kids are caught in the inbe-tween” when it comes to school. It asks the question: where do these tweens fit in a school system– elementary school or middle school?  Always an interesting and heated debate.

What caught my eye in the article though, is how the writer suggests that the answer to this question affects parent involvement at the school.

…national research suggests that increasing the number of years a student attends middle school — from two years to three or four — can strengthen student connection as well as parent involvement. Those factors have been linked positively to student achievement.

We all can agree that a parent’s involvement at school has a positive impact. What’s less than clear, relative to parent involvement during the middle school years is: What’s the right type and amount? In other words, tweens aren’t the only ones who feel like they are “caught in the inbetween!”

Volunteering at our kid’s elementary school is a given for many of us. In high school, parents jump back in to extracurricular activities, like booster clubs and graduation projects.  But when our kids hit middle school and are trying to separate — what form does parent involvement take? How much is the right amount to make you feel connected to your kids and their school without crossing the proverbial line?

We have several good articles about parent involvement in middle school. Check them out, then tell us how you think parents should be involved in their middle schooler’s school? What do you think in the *right* amount?

Interested in hearing your thoughts.

Have seen countless articles about how the economy is impacting  back-to-school shopping. This recent article talks about how parents and PTO & PTA groups are getting creative for back-to-school shopping during a recession.  Many are taking advantage of the power of a group to help parents out.

A number of PTA and PTO groups put together packages that let parents take advantage of bulk purchasing savings without having to hunt every item down in the store. Chesak/Martin PTA President Dana Wiley said the “Wrap Paks” that her group assembles have quality items that are cost-effective for parents. The kindergarten package costs $55, she said. But for families where that is still too steep, the PTA has bought a few extra supply kits.

Has your PTO or PTA done anything differently this year to help out in the area of back-to-school shopping?

Share your thoughts and ideas!