PTO Today

Well, it’s January and the holidays are squarely behind us. Every January I do the same thing: I sit down and regroup about how Christmas and New Years went. I write down what went well and what I would change. I jot down decorating ideas, fun family event ideas, and reminders of what made me crazy this year. I think back-to-school season for PTO, PTA, HSA leaders is a lot like the holiday season. You do your best to be organized, and then you dive head first into this insanely busy time. Have you regrouped with other volunteers on how your back-to-school season went?

What would you like to do differently for back-to-school 2012? How can you make it better? Now is the time to think about it. I bet getting more parents involved at the very start of the school year is TOP on your list!

Here’s where PTO Today comes in. Make your back-to-school life a whole lot easier and productive — sign up for our Back2School program. It just kicked off and boy, are people signing up quickly! They know that participation in our FREE Back2School program is a fantastic way to get helpful tools and resources to make a great first impression on parents this fall. That first impression can make or break your year, in terms of involvement!

Here’s what Back2School participants receive:

• Jump In! magazines and coupons
• Back-to-school event planning guide
• Chance to receive parent sample packs
• And more!

If you are not familiar with our Jump In! magazine here’s the scoop: It’s a magazine that’s brought to you by the same team that produces PTO Today magazine — for you to pass out to parents at a back-to-school or parent/school event. Parents love the insightful articles that are meant to help parents bridge the school-home connection, as well as high-value coupons from family-friendly brands.

If you’d like to hear what other parent group leaders thought of the Back2School program, check out their testimonials and photos. If you still have questions, visit the Back2School FAQ. Sign up is here.

So, what are you going to do differently for back-to-school 2012?

One PTA found a way to take the sting out of back-to-school shopping for families. The Reeves-Hinger Elementary PTA in Canyon, Texas, bought supplies for all the school’s students and had them set up on desks on the first day of school. The group spent $10,000 and purchased all but three items on each list. The preK-4 school has approximately 750 students. That’s a lot of no. 2 pencils!

Judging from my news feed, things are heating up in parent groups across the country. So refreshing to read how PTOs and PTAs are making the first day of school fun and memorable for anxious kids and teachers! Here are some of the highlights:

–One Missouri PTO brilliantly sponsored a back-to-school event that let students and parents check out their classroom and local businesses set up booths to hand out goodies to connect with families. “The businesses give so much to PTO.This is our way to support them,” said, PTO Co-president Cherie Horn said.  Sounds this school is thinking ahead and starting their year off right!

–Like how this Illinois PTO recognizes that going back to school is not a picnic for students — so they start the year off with a back-to-school party!

–This PTO’s First Day Celebration invites parents and kids to the first day of school! What a great way to emphasize how parent involvement is encouraged and valued.

–One Texas school hasn’t started yet but their PTA has been busy buying back-to-school supplies, in effort to help cash-strapped parents. Bet these families will be more likely to say yes to that call to volunteer!

–Kudos to this Illinois PTO for kicking off the school year by getting kids involved in a community service program. Kids at this elementary school are learning the valuable lesson of helping others by bringing in gently-used backpacks and school supplies to send to Tanzania.

Remember, if your school is in the news we’d love to share it with other parent groups. Share your story on our Facebook page or by emailing me at lgundlach@ptotoday.com.

Hey football fans, are you doing the happy dance now that it’s “game on” for the NFL?  We sure are! That’s why we are super excited about Back to Football Friday! We’d like to invite you to share your NFL pride and build some serious school spirit by signing up for Back to Football Friday! Also, keep an eye out for the Back to Football Friday poster in the August issue of the PTO Today magazine and start building that spirit.  If you haven’t already registered your school to participate, be sure to register now at www.NFLRUSH.com/contest.

Here’s how it works:

• Once you’ve registered, start planning a Back to Football Friday celebration for Friday, September 9th! Invite your school community to get creative and show their NFL team spirit at the celebration… and get those cameras ready!
• After the celebration, submit 3-6 photos of your awesome event and answer the 3 questions in the entry form (each 100 words or less) to complete your submission before the contest closes on Thursday, September 22nd.
• Here’s the really cool part: the schools that showcase the most NFL pride have a chance to be one of 34 NFL PLAY 60 Super Schools. These grand prize winners will receive a $10,000 NFL PLAY 60 health and wellness grant* and an NFL team celebration that will include a NFL PLAY 60 ultimate gym class at your child’s school. Check out these photos of one of last year’s winning schools at their NFL team celebration.

What a fabulous way to start your school year out on a spirited note!

* Awarded in the form of a check made payable to the winning school.

For the list of the NFL Teams’ training facility or city center locations, please click here.

No Purchase Necessary to Enter. Registration starts 12:00:00 p.m. ET on 3/15/11, ends 2 weeks following the conclusion of the first 2011 NFL regular season game. Entry Period starts 9:00:00 a.m. ET on the day after the first 2011 NFL regular season game and ends 2 weeks following the conclusion of the first 2011 NFL regular season game. Must be a legal resident of the 50 U.S. or District of Columbia 18+ years and either a school Administrator, Teacher, PTA leader or PTO leader representing a public, state-accredited private school or vocational school with grades between Kindergarten and 8th. For the purposes of this Contest, a school Administrator is defined as a Principal, Vice-Principal, Dean, Superintendent or Health and Wellness Administrator. Void where prohibited. For complete details, click here for the Official Rules.
“NFL Team Celebration” prize consists of a visit to the school associated with the Grand Prize winning Entry for a portion of a school day by one or more cheerleader(s), mascot or NFL player(s).

Wow, can you believe that July is almost over? For some of you, August means the start of school. No doubt you are in the thick of getting your kids ready and working on organizing your PTO or PTA back-to-school projects and programs. For those of you who don’t start until late August or September, I bet you are already thinking about how to get more parents involved in the next school year – c’mon, admit it : )!

Speaking of parent involvement, thought you may be interested in a neat webinar that Shutterfly (one of our Back2School 2011 partners) is hosting!

Here’s the scoop:
Webinar Topic: Parental Engagement

Audience: Teachers, room parents, principals and district administrators

Date/Time: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 2:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)

Webinar overview: “Strong parental engagement with their children’s classroom experience is highly correlated with successful learning outcomes, especially in earlier grades. But how can you build parental involvement in today’s world of busy and diverse families? This web seminar will explore a new program for improving the parent-school relationship called Classroom Connections Challenge from Shutterfly, which provides schools with Share Sites: free, private classroom websites for safely sharing information, photos, videos, calendars and more.”

For more information and to register for free click here.

Sounds like a terrific way to get geared up for the best school year yet!

A hearty congratulations to newly-elected officers! We have heard from many of you that you’re excited about your new role, but also a little nervous. No need to worry, we’ve got you covered! In this video, Tim gives some good advice to get you started.

Here is the article that Tim refers to in the video:  A Tale of Two Volunteers.

New parent group officers in years past also gave the following articles a thumbs up:

23 Essential Tips for New Presidents

38 Ideas to Start the Year Right

7 Steps to Grow Involvement

Build Support for New Ideas

16 Tips for Executive Board Members

The Truth About Cliques

Another tip for newbies: Make sure you register your new officers with PTO Today to stay on top of all the new programs and tools (and to receive a free Communication Handbook.) Also, if you are interested in receiving a tip a week from Tim and learning about the next free giveaway or sample offer from PTO Today and our partners, be sure to opt in to our Leader Lowdown Newsletter.

One last piece of advice: connect with other leaders! Sometimes being a parent group leader can be isolating. Our message boards, Ask a Question section, Facebook page and Twitter feed are great ways to chat with other leaders and swap stories and ask questions… maybe even brag a little.

Again, congrats!

In this week’s video blog Tim answers the much-asked questions: Can we carry money over to the next school year? — and —  How much money should we carry over to the new school year?

Related links:
Budget Basics for PTOs
How to Manage Your Budget
What Every Treasurer Should Know

Does your PTO or PTA have a rule of thumb for how much money you carry over to the next school year?

Word on the street is that many groups are working on their fall PTO or PTA planning right now.  Wouldn’t it be great if you could start your school community off on a spirited note next fall? It’s such a hectic time of year for families … they (and you!) need some fun.

That’s why we are so excited to partner with the NFL and their Back to Football Friday program (for the second year in a row!). The NFL would like to invite YOUR school to participate in Back to Football Friday this fall! This fun, FAN-tastic event is a great way to drum up some excitement at back-to-school by rallying that school (and team!) spirit.

Here’s how it works:

• Register your school at www.NFLRUSH.com/backtofootball
• Plan a Back to Football Friday Celebration anytime during the first 2 weeks of the 2011 NFL regular season this fall – invite everyone at your school to celebrate by wearing their NFL team gear to school.
• 34 winning schools will be named NFL PLAY 60 Super Schools and receive an NFL team celebration and a $10,000 NFL PLAY 60 health and wellness grant*!

Registration is open. Once registered, be sure to upload photos of your event (learn more at  www.NFLRUSH.com/backtofootball).

Look for a  complimentary Back to Football Friday poster in the August issue of PTO Today Magazine!

*Grant awarded in form of a check made payable to winning school.

No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win in the Back to Football Friday Contest (hereafter, “Contest”). Registration starts 12:00:00 p.m. ET on 3/15/11 and ends two (2) weeks following the conclusion of the first 2011 NFL regular season game (“Registration Period”). Entry Period starts 9:00:00 a.m. ET on the day after the first 2011 NFL regular season game and ends two (2) weeks following the conclusion of the first 2011 NFL regular season game. Open only to those who are, as of registration date: (i) legal residents of the 50 U.S. or District of Columbia; (ii) 18+ years; and (iii) either a school Administrator, Teacher, PTA leader or PTO leader representing a public, state-accredited private school or vocational school with grades between Kindergarten and 8th. For the purposes of this Contest, a school Administrator is defined as a Principal, Vice-Principal, Dean, Superintendent or Health and Wellness Administrator. Void where prohibited. Subject to Official Rules available at www.nflrush.com/backtofootball during Registration Period or by sending a SASE for receipt by 11/4/11 to: Back to Football Friday RULES, P.O. Box 17009, Bridgeport, CT, 06673-7009. Sponsor: National Football League.
“NFL Team Celebration” prize consists of a visit to the school associated with the Grand Prize winning Entry for a portion of a school day by one or more cheerleader(s), mascot or NFL player(s).
© 2011 NFL Properties LLC. All NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League.

Have you reviewed your bylaws recently? In this video blog Tim talks about why it’s important to take a look at your bylaws through the lens of prospective volunteers. In other words, what are your bylaws saying about the spirit of your group? Your goal is to grow parent involvement, right? Listen to what type of laws should be eliminated, so your group is not perceived as old-fashioned and unwelcoming. No need to unnecessarily scare off volunteers!