PTO Today

I’ve been following this story in the Del Valle district in Texas with interest, largely because it is so unusual. The super there is taking a fairly strong stand against the formation of an independent parent group of any kind. Most of the articles on the topic have been referring to PTAs, but I understand that the policy is meant to apply to any independent (from the district) parent group. There was an editorial in the Del Valle paper last week about the PTA and PTO controversy.

The district and its schools do have school-organized and run parent committees.

In general, I think this is bad policy. It’s obviously bad from the public relations perspective – this super may not be against parent involvement, but it sure is playing that way in public perception. But I also think it’s wrong on the merits. Schools and districts should be supporting organized and empowered parent partnerships, not running scared from those. I certainly understand when districts want to place some collaborative limits on their parent groups (mandating, for example, an annual audit or asking that fundraisers be run a certain way), but this Del Valle approach takes those concerns way too far.

The one area where I agree with the super is in my opposition to dues for parent groups. We actually have an active topic on “dues or no dues” on our message boards right now. But if the parents in Del Valle want a parent group of their own – whether with dues or without – then they should be helped and encouraged. That’s clear. Here’s hoping this policy gets changed ASAP.

Kind of a controversial tip for you this week, and it starts with a question: Has your leadership started slipping into a “this is what works for us and we’re the only ones involved, anyway” mindset?

While I understand the thinking, slipping into that mindset is a sure-fire way to close off involvement and to earn a clique reputation, even if it’s undeserved. Think about the one parent (who barely knows you guys) who has been thinking about getting involved. Will she feel comfortable finding your house and entering this very social, personal atmosphere? Unlikely. She’ll probably choose to stay home.

But that’s just one scenario. Have you stopped doing introductions and welcomes and nametags (because, well, most of us know each other)? Have you started just scheduling the regulars to volunteer (because no one else ever wants to help)?

Leadership isn’t easy, and good leadership is often not convenient. Taking those extra steps to be welcoming and open to even the few newcomers is part of the job. Work at keeping at it even when it feels pointless. It’s not. If you do have only a small handful of core volunteers, then just one or two more can make a big difference. And remaining open to that help is essential to bringing in the newcomers.

I would love to hear whether you’ve experienced this in your group or worked to solve it in some way; please join the discussion we started on our message boards. We also have a ton of other great articles and resources on getting more parents involved.

Is your group — like so many others — putting a focus these days on keeping children healthy? From exercise (and eating right) to the H1N1 virus to cough and cold and even to hand-washing, there are just so many concerns these days that affect our kids’ health.

It’s been interesting to watch so many groups getting proactive on the issue. Groups are spearheading flu clinics at school and hosting family events around healthy habits. Two great volunteers at my school just put together a weeklong health and wellness program, including a blood drive, pilates in the classrooms, and a road race. Love it.

With that in mind, we’ve recently put together a new dedicated space on ptotoday.com just about what groups are doing about Healthy School Kids. It’s already a nice resource and will get better each month as we add even more of the best ideas we find from parent groups around the country. And — bonus! — we also expect to have a whole host of free offers (samples and the like) from health-focused companies available for “Healthy School Kids” groups, starting in the next month or two. Check it out now (and preregister your group) at ptotoday.com/healthy-school-kids.

I’ve said for a long time that the key to growing involvement is to start by getting parents into your building. You don’t grow involvement by asking for help. You grow involvement by serving. Many attendees at your family events yield more volunteers down the road. Not to mention the fact that — even if those attendees never volunteer — your school is already a better place for everyone when parents are interacting with teachers and one another.

I elaborated on this concept in a column called ”Open Doors, Lots of Them’‘. I think you’ll like it. But it’s worth mentioning that how you open doors is almost as important as opening those doors in the first place. How’s your hospitality? Do folks feel welcomed? What about guilt? Is there ever an element of guilt in your approach, as in: “Thanks for coming; this took a lot of work, maybe you could help next time.”

While it’s certainly true and understandable, it’s also exactly the wrong way to build involvement. Treating people well and avoiding guilt is what gets people talking positively about your group and coming back to more events…and eventually volunteering. Of course, that can also work in the reverse if you’re not taking the time to make your events feel special.

We’ve had a ton of community talk about family events and involvement in recent weeks. I hope you’ll join in. You can also follow me on Twitter.

For Texas at least, this is a bit of a man-bites-dog story, as this Del Valle district is enforcing a rule specifically banning formally-affiliated PTA groups from its campus.

It’s especially unusual since the Texas state PTA has been aggressive in promoting exactly the opposite policies, trying to get local school boards to make PTA the default choice in their schools. I give the Del Valle super credit for guts, as it’s often so much easier to give in to the organized PTA in a state like Texas than it is to stand up for a concepot that doesn’t have an organizational backing (PTOs are stand-alone). The Del Valle reasoning is same as most of the groups we see going PTO – why should parents have to pay dues to belong to the parent group at their own child’s school?  It’s a good question.

While some PTOs choose to charge dues; all PTAs must charge dues.  It’s a fundamental difference.  In the end, my conclusion is the same:  I’m for parent groups and involvement, no matter the acronym.  Did find this article intriguing, though.

Two quick notes:  1. Our PTO v PTA page sheds even more light on the issue; and 2. Our PTO Expo is actually coming to Texas (among other places) this spring.  I’ll be giving a keynote at the Texas event on best PTO and PTA habits.

A story we’ve just added to ptotoday.com, ”Communication Tips for Better Involvement,” has an idea that I really like. One creative group took their volunteer signup sheet and made it into a giant bulletin board in the school lobby. If you want to run a game at the spring carnival or read to kids at the Family Reading Night or cook spaghetti at the annual pasta feed, just put your name down in the appropriate place on the bulletin board. Everybody can see at all times which activities are planned, what volunteers are needed, and who has signed up. If you change your mind, you just erase your name.

The reason I like this so much is that it sends a strong message that PTO is about every parent in the school. Running these events is something that we all do together, not something planned and run by a few officers who you may not even know.

The way you communicate says so much about your group. In fact, many parents may only know you by your communications. You’ll improve your image if you keep things upbeat; emphasize that PTO is about everybody, not just the officers; don’t send so much home that people start to ignore it; and, of course, always check carefully for errors before you send anything out. You’ll also find great tips for improving your newsletter, website, flyers, and more on ptotoday.com.

Which one did you use this fall?  Which one is the best choice for your group?

This is always a big discussion on our message boards and in our PTO Today community, mainly because the differences are so stark.  I recently received an email about this topic from an expert that brought a fundamental new concern into the debate.  I’ll explain below.

First, to set the table what we’re talking about here,  is whether you should run your fundraiser so that all sales are paid for up-front (pre-pay) or whether you should take orders and then collect money only at delivery time (post-pay).

I can give you three facts in this debate:

1. Almost all group will make more profit with post-pay– usually a lot more.

2. You will likely have a bounced check or two or get beaten in another way in post-pay (though #1 still applies).

3. There’s some extra work involved with post-pay, as sellers need to go back and collect money at delivery time.

This expert I heard from – a long-time salesman in the fundraising business – gave this perspective:

“A postpay sale is going to generate some “no pay” sales.  That’s a given as “the cost of doing business.”  It is also true that a postpay sale generates approximately double the sales volume of a prepay sale.  As an example, (one of my schools) had a total sales of about $4,500 on their prepay fall fundraiser in 2007.  They switched to postpay in 2008 and had a total sales of over $20,000.  They more than quadrupled the fundraiser profit that they could spend on behalf of the children, and did it with the same size of enrollment.  Yes, it takes a little effort to collect all the money, but they liked the additional money so much that they are doing a postpay sale again this fall.

A second reason relates to the issue of trust.  When parents are told they must have the money up front, they are reluctant to ask their co- workers to buy, lest the co-worker be insulted, thinking that the parent doesn’t trust them.  An even worse situation is one where a school will not accept checks at all. This indicates a severe lack of trust and is pretty much guaranteed to make parents decide not to participate at all.   If you have less than half the parents participating on a fundraiser, you have a lack of trust on the part of the parents in the school administration, simply because the parents feel that they are not trusted.”

The new factor for me was a discussion of how our credit card and debit card and online banking society has made prepay so difficult. Years ago in a prepay sale, the neighbor or co-worker or aunt or uncle pulled out a check and paid for their order on the spot.  Today, I haven’t carried a check in my wallet in several years, and I rarely have more than $20 or $30 in cash in my pocket. Many days, I couldn’t help the prepay seller, even if I wanted to.  The stats show that I’m far from alone in using plastic and online banking (and few paper checks) in my daily routine. This is a huge factor making prepay so difficult.

Hadn’t thought of that.

I’m interested in your take and your experiences on this. Did you prepay or postpay this year? Seeing any trends at your school? Love to hear ‘em.

PS – Are you following us on twitter yet?  @TimPTO and @ptotoday.

How great is it when your group has that one mom or dad who’s a pro at writing PTO letters or designing PTO flyers? It’s like your own little marketing department, and it makes a big difference in how your group is perceived at school.

The trouble is, though, that most groups don’t have that design pro or, when you do, her darn kids grow up and she moves on. It’s so frustrating trying to find just the right words for the letter or searching through bad clip art for the flyer when you’re just not that good at it. Worse yet, your group is sometimes judged by the quality of those amateur productions.

So the question is, does your group have some sort of storing or sharing system for last year’s and this year’s forms and flyers so that next year’s volunteers (possibly you again) will start out ahead? It’s an important concept. And it’s the spirit behind one of the most practical, most popular parts of ptotoday.com. Called the PTO Today File Exchange, there are already more than 700 various forms and flyers up there for you to borrow from. Here are three great examples of really practical files for you:

• Committee Chair Success Tips
• 112 Suggested Auction Items
• ”10 Reasons To Get Involved” Flyer

Take them, make them your own, and make your work that much easier. And if you like your own results, upload them back to the File Exchange for another leader to use. Kind of cool.

Man, it’s been fun watching our community functionality explode these past few weeks.  Reminds me of when we first launched our message boards back in 2000.

Then, our boards were really the first web home for PTO and PTA leaders to share ideas and solutions  (and sometimes commiserate).  There was nothing else like it on the web.  Those first few months it was like we’d invented the wheel or provided oxygen to a drowning man.  The enthusiasm was palpable, and there was this “where has this been?” reaction.  Well more than 100,000 posts proved that our boards were helping tens of thousands of leaders.

In the ensuing 9+ years, all kinds of sharing came around.  From facebook to myspace to sub-groups on the big parenting sites – over time our message boards became less cutting edge.  More importantly, they became less essential. Still great and uniquely active – but there were other places to get similar feedback, many of them with all of the bells and whistles of Web 2.0.

That’s why I’m so excited about our new PTO Today Community.  It has all that stuff – the profiles and the private messaging and the ratings and the friending – plus several other “only at PTO Today” tools that make life easier for PTO and PTA leaders.  And all of it is integrated in our community. There’s our Ask a Question feature for quick responses (from many)  to your most perplexing questions.  There’s our File Exchange for sharing the best flyers and letters and posters from other groups.

And the action is back!  That’s the cool thing.  It’s like that first launch in 2000 – new leaders finding out that ptotoday.com is the most practical site on the ‘Net  for helping them do their jobs. Love that.

Just check-out our PTO Today Community homepage for a snapshot of just how much is happening every day.  Dozens and dozens of new members; new files in the Exchange; new questions; new answers; new threads in the still-great message boards.  It’s the place to be.  Hope you’ll make it work for you.  More activity, more leaders getting help and helping others, and more great groups helping kids.

Now, a request:  Here’s my community profile.  (Yes, I’m “Rockne”) I need some PTOtoday.com friends.  Seriously.  We can’t have Lisa Gundlach, our Community Host, out-friending me so badly. ☺ Send me a friend request, and we’ll be connected.

Look forward to seeing you on (and all over) the site.

We keep learning more about how parent involvement (and the role of PTOs) can and should go beyond just volunteering at school. Reaching out to parents, serving families, addressing key school-parent challenges — those are the types of habits that make your group even more effective for your school.