First, the state of Florida published a ranking of 3,078 public and charter schools based on academic performance in standardized testing. The number one school was Bevis Elementary in Lithia. The school reports it was the recipient of 13,000 parent volunteer hours last year and said the many hours parent volunteers spent tutoring students contributed to these results.

Meanwhile, a Grand Rapids, Mich., publication reported on a presentation at Hope College from the founders of the Watts Learning Center in Los Angeles, a K-8 charter school founded in the late 1990s in a historically poor neighborhood. The school has been named California state school of the year four times. It requires its parents to volunteer, attend parent workshops, and participate in parent-student-teacher meetings.

Congratulations to both of these schools.

That question was just put before the School Board in Charleston County, S.C., by a group of parents who want the school district to require that parents and guardians volunteer eight hours of their time each school year. The School Board has no decision yet. The proposal goes as far as to suggest that parents be rated for having met their obligation as “highly engaged,’’ and, if they have not done their volunteering, to be labeled as “emerging.” In Charleston County, reaction has been understandably mixed. The Parent Roundtable – the group promoting this concept – says the idea is to help parents understand how to get involved and it isn’t intended to be judgmental or punitive. That might be hard for some parents to swallow, giving the ratings system. Some parents questioned why the school district would want to create more work by establishing a volunteer tracking system. One parent went as far as to say schools “can not legislate morality.’’

While we’ve heard this mandatory approach has been successful in such environments as private and charter schools (parents opt in when they join the school) it also raises questions about the purpose of volunteers and it underscores how challenging it is to recruit and retain them.

Hey, we all wish we could get a 100% volunteer response like the folks in South Carolina want. But in the meantime, here’s a suggestion for a more down-to-earth alternative from PTO Today. It’s called 2 Hour Power, a free volunteer pledge program where you ask parents to each volunteer for two hours per year. The idea is that it’s a manageable amount so it’s easy to get people to agree. And if they have a positive experience, they’re likely to volunteer a lot more.

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?

Recently, she raised concerns about a school uniform issue to the local Board of Education. The response? The board clearly indicated it had more important items on its agenda. Ouch.

This story started when Kristen Pierotti heard that some parents had raised a question about adopting school uniforms. “I was never trying to dictate what the district as a whole should do, ’’ Pierotti said in an email discussion with PTO Today.

Pierotti said the PTO decided to do a survey to determine if the issue of school uniforms really was important to parents. She said she sent out more than 200 surveys and had a 50% response rate – and 75% of those parents said they were open to the idea of holding a pilot program to see if uniforms would really work.

The issue was then forwarded to the school board, which, in published reports, essentially said it had bigger fish to fry.

“I appreciate that there are initiatives of greater consequence, however, I don’t see that in itself is a reason to close the door on something [for which] there may be a majority of community support,’’ Pierotti added.

So, apparently, a public put down will not deter this PTO. Pierotti said her hope is the school board approves the idea of Lincoln-Hubbard piloting school uniforms so it can be a “test run for the community at large’’ in the near future.

Our first Superstar Volunteer is Sunnie Robles-Schmidt from Santa Rosa, California. Props to Sunnie who has figured out how to juggle her busy family life AND volunteer at both the elementary school and high school. Read Sunnie’s full story to learn more about what kind of volunteer work brings her joy. Congrats Sunnie, for being the first SBLI Superstar Volunteer and for winning $500 for your school!

Do you have a volunteer at your school that you think deserves a SBLI Superstar Volunteer designation? Nominate him or her today – winners get a $500 donation to their school and will be featured on both ptotoday.com and SBLI, just like Sunnie!

The Chattanooga story was particularly touching because the school in need of help had been without a parent group for a decade. It was really trying to make a go of it and those borrowed volunteers made a big difference.

That’s a win-win, as they say, especially for the kids.

While I am excited that I got some excellent technology deals, these gifts come with some serious mommy angst. After the holiday excitement fades, my biggest priority is to teach my kids to be safe and responsible online. And fast. It feels kind of daunting to me! That’s why I am excited that PTO Today has everything I need to know in this category in its Internet Safety Kit! Now, maybe I am a little biased, but I feel like this event is a gift to parents and to a school community. Teaching parents about how to keep their kids safe online… awesome. Getting all the parents in the same room to compare notes and swap stories… even better!

From an event planning perspective, the nice thing about our free Internet Safety Night Kit is that everything in the kit comes on one CD. Just pop it into your computer to download, email and print these tools:

• A FREE copy of Trend Micro™ Online Guardian software (retail value $49.95) to give away at your event
• Easy to follow step-by-step event planning guidelines
• Professionally written Internet safety PowerPoint presentation
• Discussion starters
• Educational videos about online safety, shot by real adults and kids!
• Take home flyers for parents (including a cyber bullying & cell phone handout)
• Promotional materials

If selected to participate, each school will receive 200 gift packs to distribute to parents at an event. Each gift pack will include:

• Family-friendly product samples
• A copy of THRIVE!, our health and wellness focused digest and savings booklet which features tips and high value coupons.

In order to participate in the Happy Healthy School Kids program, you must have a school family event planned sometime between February 1 and March 31, 2012, at which you can distribute the packs to attending parents. This can be any type of event (doesn’t need to be health/wellness focused). There is no fee to participate and you’ll be notified, via email, by early January if your group has been selected.

This program is always a huge hit with parents so be sure to sign up early!

As you know, at PTO Today we are all about helping PTO and PTA leaders build community at their schools. We think that Kinect Family Game Night is a fabulous way to bring families at your school together for a night of feel-good fun that’s a blast for everyone! Kinect™ for Xbox 360 will get parents and kids alike up and off their feet for an energetic night of game playing and friendly competition!

Here’s how this family night works:

• Start by ordering your free downloadable kit materials, which include step-by-step planning guidelines and a reproducible invitation flyer. Hint: straightforward materials and instructions make finding a volunteer to run this night a snap!

• Families will jump at the chance to attend this action-packed night out at school! This new event features a fun evening of physical activity using Kinect™ for Xbox 360, where you are the controller, as well as traditional gym games that will get everyone up and moving! All these activities are spelled out in your kit materials.

To see a Kinect™ Family Game Night in action, view our video and photo gallery! Through videos and photos you’ll get a sense of the fun and energy this event brings to your school community!

Now here’s the really cool part: Order your free kit before 1/31/12 and your school parent group will be automatically entered into the exclusive PTO Today Kinect™ Family Game Night sweepstakes*! One lucky school parent group will win a Kinect™ for Xbox 360® Prize Pack, featuring an Xbox 360 console, Kinect Sensor, a set of games, and a 50” big screen TV! Plus, (3) first prize winners will each win a Kinect Sports and Kinect Sports: Season Two game!

Winter is coming.  What better time to promote a healthy, active lifestyle, and get families out and moving? Order your free kit now!

*No purchase necessary. Open only to school parent group leaders registered with PTO Today. Prizes will be awarded to the registered school parent group organization. Sweepstakes ends January 31, 2012. See Official Rules for full details.

Mafia Moms

In Confessions of a PTA Mafia Mom, by Elsie Love, Elaine joins the PTA only to discover the reason the group is so effective: It uses “blackmail, bribes, threats and quite possibly guns” to get things done. When Elaine confides in the president that her husband is having an affair, her husband suddenly disappears, her children are kidnapped, and she’s forced to go into hiding in Las Vegas. To get her life back, Elaine has to take down the PTA mafia.

“It’s a bit of a mockery of the PTA, but nothing personal,” says Love. The mother of four is a longtime PTA member and school volunteer. This is her third novel.

Murder Mysteries

The main character of Laura Alden’s mystery series is Beth, a single mom and the secretary of a small-town PTA. In the first book, Murder at the PTA, Beth works to solve the murder of the elementary school principal. Several school parents, including the PTA president, are prime suspects.

The second installment in the series, Foul Play at the PTA, was released July 2011. In it, a dad is killed after a PTA meeting. Alden is currently working on the third book.