PTO Today

I just ran across this t-shirt site (and this one shirt, in particular), and I think I’ve found the best door-prize ever for a Kindergarten welcome event. Cool stuff. Thought I’d pass it along.

Love the spirit and the results of this North Carolina PTO’s efforts. Group put together a fun family event (during summer break, no less) where incoming students brought in books from home to donate to school classrooms.

The results? More than 300 books for the school and a whole bunch of kids already feeling connected to their new community. Nice.

Jersey columnist does a nice job capturing the spirit of a local PTO’s “flocking” event (think: pink flamingos on a parent’s lawn).

Writer includes my take on events like these, but — as happens — the editing process changes things a bit. Basically, I’m a big fan of events like this. Think they add a ton of fun and spirit to a school year, and more fun and more spirit are definitely good things when a PTO is trying to connect with parents.

But even if these events make a few bucks, they shouldn’t be mistaken for fundraisers. Or at least not for good fundraisers. It would take an awful lot of pink flamingos (and more parents than you likely have in your school) to make as much from an event like this as you’ll make from a well-run, more traditional fundraiser. Better to think of your big fundraiser(s) separately from a spirit effort like this. Pink flamingos? Great. A really successful big fundraiser? Great. Pink flamingos as a really successful big fundraiser? Unlikely.

Agree or disagree? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Excited to introduce all of our ptotoday.com readers and users to a new site we launched just this morning — schoolfamily.com.

It’s from the same team of involvement experts who bring you ptotoday.com, but you’ll see that the focus is subtly but importantly different. Where ptotoday.com is all about the challenges of being a great school PTO or PTA leader, schoolfamily.com is all about the challenges of being a great school parent. Example: ptotoday.com might talk about how to put on a spaghetti supper for 400, while schoolfamily would talk about why attending a spaghetti supper actually matters.

We’re excited about how this kind of new content can help you (as a leader) accomplish even more. Hope you’ll share the new site with all your parents, as helping parents “get it” when it comes to getting involved is what you’re all about and what schoolfamily.com is all about.

(We’d also love your ideas on how we can make schoolfamily.com even better.) Enjoy!

Yup, turtle races. Love the creativity of these PTOers in Massachusetts, who are planning a ton of activities centered on a man-made river (in the schoolyard) with plastic turtles floating downstream. The article contains really good detail on the build-up and plans for the turtle race event, which is a big fundraiser for a new playground project. Nice job.

Story is a great example of the “doing fewer things but doing those things better” philosophy that we’ve written about in the magazine for years. This is the kind of event that — done well — can change the reputation of a PTO for the better.

Washington Post today presents a comprehensive look at progress made with school nutrition changes.

Of course, the interesting parts for me are the several references to parent groups’ role in the issue. Article tries to make the case that parent groups and parents are part of the problem, whereas I submit that parent groups and parents are playing a rightful, common-sense role in making sure that new regulations (as they often do) don’t go so far as to be crazy. A pizza party, cupcakes for a birthday, and popcorn for a movie night are not the problem.

We’ve actually had a good debate on this same topic over on the message boards, regarding one PTA’s troubles with a Donuts for Dads event. Hope you’ll jump in to the discussion.

Good to see some common sense in Connecticut. We posted this blog entry about a Connecticut bingo crackdown back a few months ago. Well, it looks like sanity has prevailed, as some new regulations have come down that appropriately cover (and allow) simple family bingo-type events.

I don’t know if Ana Markowski has been reading PTO Today and our parent involvement pages, but — man-oh-man — does she ever get this stuff! I just loved reading this comprehensive piece in Minneapolis Star-Trib detailing how Markowski and her PTO have involved more and more parents by getting creative, being fun, and *serving* parents — those are the key ingredients for every group.

This one’s well worth the read for all leaders. Have you (or can you?) been instituting any of these habits at your school?

This California (where else?) school and its PTA put together a great, comprehensive all-school event around the environment and healthy habits and fun.   Check out their Eco-Extravaganza here. 

Especially neat, in my opinion, because these guys really went all-out.  Goes with a column I wrote a year or two back saying Go Big or Don’t Go at All.  Basically, I think PTOs and PTAs do far better when they do fewer things in a big way than a lot of things in a so-so way. You agree?

Just a little link to a calendar item about a school hosting a Get Movin’ Night this weekend. I’ve been to a couple of these, and they’re a great mix of fun and physical activity (even if your school doesn’t have its own pool!). You can check out our Get Movin’ Night here and all of our School Family Nights here .