PTO Today

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.

Save time!

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that we have reorganized the popular File Exchange section of our site. We’ve added new categories, renamed a few, and moved around a bunch of files that were getting lost — so leaders can easily find the forms, flyers, letters, and surveys that they need. Hopefully, the changes will also take the guess work out of where to put something when you upload files to share with others.

Some new categories include:

• volunteer recruitment
• fundraiser forms & letters
• fun run, walk-a-thon
• spaghetti dinner
• holiday shops
• audits
• community service

New file additions of note include a slew of generic parent group logos and a new email opt-in form.

Thank you to all who have uploaded documents to share with fellow parent group leaders. We hear from leaders all the time that the file exchange is such  a powerful resource.  Happy sharing and swapping!

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.

Check out this article about a North Carolina elementary school that is getting their students moving to raise money for their school. The Hendersonville Elementary School PTO put together a fundraiser called “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: Move Across America.”

How does it work? Kids choose different ways to exercise and each way has mile equivalent associated with it. Then the kids log their exercise and total up the miles. The goal of the school is to exercise for 24,902 miles. That’s the distance around the earth! Wow!

What a great way to inspire healthy habits, sharpen math skills, and build community at the same time!

Let’s face it, PTO school events can make or break your parent involvement equation. A well-planned, well-attended event not only builds community — it brings in more volunteers! Our new Event Planning Kit takes all the guess work out of creating PTO events that rock. Download your free kit today and learn:

• The Power of the Big Idea
• How to Make Your Family Night a Winner
• 36 Ideas for Arts & Science Enrichment
• The Scoop on Field Trips: Getting Organized
• Tips for Better Flyers
• How to Implement an Event Evaluation & Planning Form

And you’re one step closer to achieving unforgettable events in the 2009/10 school year.

Came across this article about a Rapid City Elementary School “joining the green scene.” Kudos go to their PTA group for taking a lead on this initiative in their school.

Working in conjunction with the non-profit organization, Michigan Green Schools, Rapid City Elementary is pledging to be more environmentally friendly and to educate students on the importance of good ecological and environmental practices.

This article is a must read for any school who is looking for ideas of ways to make their school more eco-friendly. Also, lots of great ideas about how to teach kids about conservation and the environment.

Always nice to hear about parent groups involved in Green Initiatives at their schools.

This recent article talks about how the Chipman Middle School planted an edible garden and plans to plant a floral garden in the fall. The school’s blog has some great pics of the project! Love this quote:

We feel proud and satisfied that our committee has achieved a major goal: Chipman Middle School will have a garden which adds beauty to the school campus, softening the cement and concrete; the garden will teach lessons in nutrition, science, discipline and patience; we have learned that we can come from many different places to work together.

Some great ideas. If your PTO or PTA is looking for a way to get families together and make a difference in your school and the environment, check out our Go Green Night kit!

If you’ve been reading these tips for a while, you know how much we value parent involvement. The research makes it so clear that increasing parent involvement is perhaps the most important thing your group can achieve.

As your group gets better at involvement, you should think some about how you can increase your impact even more. Some of the most effective first steps to bringing parents in and making a connection are fun, welcoming events like a movie night or a carnival or a spaghetti supper. I’m a big fan of the value of community around a school.

As parents do start getting engaged, though, the research makes a strong case for integrating your family events with academic goals of the school. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to have the language arts teacher droning on to parents about the reading curriculum. But what about a Family Reading Night ? How can you merge other academic goals and your family events? That’s a second-level involvement step that can have an even greater impact at your school.

The whole thing is kind of a ladder. Like getting your kids into swimming — first you get them to the pool, then they dip their toes in the water, then they splash around some, then they can maybe swim a few strokes in the lanes. Creatively connecting the classroom with your family events can be another step on the ladder for your school next year.

For those of you who have been involved with a playground fundraising effort, you know that it’s an ambitious and rewarding project. Just look at the faces of the children at a new playground grand opening and all your efforts are instantly rewarded.

The tenacity of the elementary school PTA featured in this recent article is admirable. To date they have raised 37K and secured matching grant funding.But what makes it even better is that they are holding a barbecue and silent auction to raise even more money. Why? To replace the gravel on the playground with compressed wood chips — a wheelchair-friendly product that will let their special-needs preschoolers enjoy the playground. That’s going to be one awesome playground.

The Fairview Elementary School in Palo Alto, California sure knows how to throw a party. Check out this Discovery Fair they recently held.

What a great example of parent group leaders, teachers, staff and families working together to build a memorable event for their kids — and all involved. They seem to have successfully tackled the question of how to get more parents involved.