PTO Today

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.

With budget cuts plaguing schools across the country, many parent groups are looking to auctions to bring in the big money. The articles in this week’s news round-up demonstrate how PTOs and PTAs are getting more creative with their approach to school auctions, with impressive results:

• A walk-a-thon and silent auction proved to be a winning combination for this California school. Congrats to this spirited group for raising $40,000 while encouraging healthy habits.
• By combining a family bowling night with a silent auction this PTO hopes to build community and raise a little money. Sounds like a fun family affair.
• Free admission, food, drinks, children’s entertainment, children’s art gallery and 50 themed baskets all add up to a fabulous family event and a fun auction.
• Adults only for this Burgers and Brew auction event. Attendees get a chance to bid on some fun items while listening to the high school jazz band. We wish this PTA the best of luck on their first ever auction.
• Online auctions seem to be growing in popularity. This school is part of the trend of schools kicking off an auction fundraiser with an online offering,  followed by a live event. Very neat how they are following up their online auction with a small gallery walk featuring kids’ masterpieces and a dessert bar.
• Kudos to this school for a unique auction experience. In addition to bidding on art, attendees get a chance to create art. Unique activity at this event: judging student’s edible art creations. How fun!
• Love how this school takes the something for everyone approach to their family event/silent auction.  To name a few, families can enjoy water activities, rock climbing, a game cave, and classic car show.

Did your school host an auction this year? Share your stories and event photos on our Auction page!

Does your parent group have anything planned for Earth Day? If not, think about borrowing one of these great ideas.

Eco-Fashion Show

Students modeled clothing they created from recycled materials at an environmental assembly organized by the PTA at Samuel Staples Elementary in Easton, Conn., for Earth Day 2010. The PTA’s Green Task Force planned the event, which included a student play about taking care of the earth.

Beach Cleanup

Blue Point (N.Y.) Elementary students spent a day at the shore with their families in September, but they were too busy picking up trash to lie on the sand. The PTA-sponsored cleanup, which took place at a local beach, was tied to the International Coastal Cleanup initiative. The group picked up 170 pounds of trash, including 1,373 cigarette butts and 215 bottles and cans.

I had the privilege of talking to parent group leaders at our recent PTO Today Expos. Connecting with folks in our community and on Facebook and Twitter is great, but there’s nothing like talking face to face with passionate PTO and PTA volunteers. It was so fun to hear about what various groups are doing for programs and events. You can probably guess what most of our conversations centered around… how to get more volunteers and how crazy the end of the school year is!  I was impressed by how many leaders said they don’t let up on volunteer recruitment in the spring, despite busy family schedules.

I found it interesting that many leaders said they had considerable success signing up volunteers at spring Family Movie Nights. What I heard is that families have so much going on this time of year, that the last thing they want is have another event that requires a lot of band width.  Word is that families love the low-key aspect of Family Movie Nights. A table set up with volunteer sign-up sheets near the snacks inspires parents to contribute to future events. Parents are much more likely to sign up for a shift when they feel like part of the school community and after they had a good time a school family event. Leaders also told me that finding a volunteer to run a Family Movie Night is easier than most because you can hand them a kit with:

One mom, who runs their Family Movie Nights, said that they start movie nights off outside. They light their playground and let the kids play for 45 minutes. Kids love it because they get a kick out playing on their playground at night and parents love it because the kids get their wiggles out.  After a bit of fresh air the families head inside to get cozy on sleeping bags to watch a movie. Apparently there is something about the relaxed atmosphere that makes parents want to give back to the school and parent group by volunteering an hour or two.  Give it a try and let us know how it goes!

This past Monday I asked folks over on our Facebook page what projects they had cooking.  The responses made one thing infinitely clear: spring is crazy busy!  Can you feel the PTO or PTA leader fatigue setting in yet? The last thing you need is to have fewer volunteers for your spring events and programs, right? In this video blog Tim Sullivan talks about a common mistake that leaders often make this time of year — a mistake that can cost you good volunteers and your group’s reputation.

Have you gone back to your volunteer interest surveys recently? How are you doing for recruiting volunteers for spring events and programs? Here are a few articles that may spark some ideas on how to get more parents involved in your end-of-year events:

http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/8-25-ways-to-catch-and-keep-volunteers

http://www.ptotoday.com/filesharing/document/89-pto-today-10-reasons-to-get-involved-color

http://www.ptotoday.com/2hourpower/learnMore.html

http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/262-build-your-volunteer-base-11-ideas

http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/419-dont-say-it

Here are the highlights of the featured articles for this week. Hope you’ll find something that sparks an idea– big or small– for an upcoming event or program.

• Batter up! This PTO has about 2,500 people attend their pancake breakfast. Wow. That’s a whole lot of pancakes. More importantly, that’s whole lot of school and community spirit!
• Now here’s an idea: offer a $5,000 jack pot to get parents to come to your fundraiser. The only catch is that event tickets are $100 per couple. A night out with other parents and a chance at $5k — sounds worth it to me.
• Speaking of prizes, this school is enticing parents of  freshman to come to their information night with a free chili dinner and a chance to win one of four Kindles. Nice.
• We always say that family nights are a terrific way to build community at your school. This PTO has the right idea… they are running a “Minute to Win It”  family challenge, followed by a family movie night.  Sounds like a fun night!
• Like the twist that this PTO put on their school auction:  the auction items are re-gifts.  Re-use, recycle and raise money for the school. Genius.
• Kudos to this school for hosting an environmental fair before green was hip! Really like that more 120 kids are involved in their 15th annual school environmental fair.

Don’t forget to let us know if your PTO or PTA event gets press! We’d love to include your story in our round-ups. Email me at lgundlach@ptotoday.com.

Here’s this week’s question from our Ask a Question section:

kczech asks:

Anybody have difficulty getting teachers to participate at school carnivals? At my school the teachers seem to think that they need to be paid if they participate.

Craig writes:

It would be great to have teachers participate in all PTO and PTA events, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen. In truth, I don’t blame the teachers. They have their own families and private life to worry about, and chances are at least some of them have their own children in other schools where they would like to be involved. When you meet the kind of resistance that it sounds like your group has, you’re better off moving on. Focus on getting teachers to help you in the most key ways — distributing your communications in the classroom, helping you collect fundraising money, working with you to plan field trips and other curriculum or enrichment-related events. You might try to get a teacher representative at your events, but from your description I doubt there’s anything you can do to get broad attendance from teachers. Read the articles Let Teachers Teach and Get Teachers on Your Side for more on this topic.

Related links:

http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/262-build-your-volunteer-base-11-ideas

http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/1089-three-creative-carnival-ideas

http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/1088-classic-carnival-activities

How is your group doing with recruiting volunteers for your school carnivals? Do your teachers participate?

Can your PTO or PTA give free admission to an event to a family in need? Or buy a coat for a student without one?

The short answer is yes, you can do that kind of work if your group decides that’s where it wants to spend its dollars, especially if the amounts are fairly nominal.

If your group’s mission is something along the lines of making your school a great place or serving the kids or growing community at your school, then you can certainly make an argument that serving the less-well-off at your school and ensuring that those students and families can thrive and participate would fit your mission.

The question then becomes: Should you? And that really should be decided openly at the group level. There are lots of ways to spend your dollars and focus your attention. Is this right for your group?

Personally, I hope that nearly all of your school events are free so that admission passes aren’t necessary for any family. As far as the free coat or the financial support, it’s certainly noble, and dedicating a percentage of your budget to helping the less fortunate can be a great lesson for all. If you do go that route, my advice is to work through a school staff member or a local agency. Keep the PTO itself out of the business of determining who is or is not in need.

I’d love to hear how your group handles this question and whether you use some of your funds to help less fortunate school families. We have a thread going on our message boards and another over on our Facebook page about this topic. You might also be interested in this column about defining the role of a PTO.