PTO Today

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.

The PTO at Pine Grove Elementary in Rowley, Mass. knows how to tell a good joke. When the school entered a contest for a makeover of its PE equipment room, the PTO helped produce a video top 10 list of the reasons the school deserved to win. Apparently the message got across, because Pine Grove was named a runner-up in the contest, earning a $1,000 prize.

It’s not the first time the PTO has used humor to make a point. Last fall we wrote about the group’s great communication efforts in our article Send a Powerful Message. One way the group reached out to parents made a big impression–a Letterman-inspired list of the top 10 reasons parents should come to meetings and join the PTO!

Love to see good results from a program we played a (small) role in.  Here’s a great result ($10,000 grant) from this past year’s Love Your Veggies school grant program, sponsored by Hidden Valley.  PTO Today — through our connection with so many schools — helped manage the back-end of this program for Hidden Valley.

Check out the Love Your Veggies program for your school next year.  Nice dollars and nice, healthy cause. 

Today is National Teacher Day.

Don’t worry if the holiday snuck up on you. The NEA has some cool electronic greeting cards your kids can email to their teachers. As an added bonus, the teacher’s name will be included on what’s being called the nation’s largest teacher thank-you card. (You can snail mail your own cards to be incorporated into the giant card, too.)

Today’s also a good time to think about ways your parent group can appreciate teachers all year long. Be sure to check out our article on this topic, Teacher Appreciation Done Right, which has great ideas on how to do just that.

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?

Here’s a new twist (and I bet it will be the first of many of these). Talented volunteer puts together a video selling the importance of volunteering at school. Professional editing and a soundtrack make it really slick. Love it! I feel like I’m watching Oprah:

We’ve always said that if announcing: “Meeting next Tuesday at 7PM” is your main involvement-building strategy, then you’re in trouble. These guys clearly get that.

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?

I just got the heads up that our editorial team posted 2 new articles…just in time for elections & transition season!

What Every Secretary Should Know

What Does a Vice President Do

A few other sections that are useful for new board members (and those you’re encouraging to join the board!)

Officers & Board

President

Secretary

Treasurer

Vice President

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 .

Thought I’d give a quick heads-up that my favorite new tool on the site — our File Exchange — has been redesigned and upgraded. Better than ever.

You can check out the File Exchange here.

What’s the File Exchange? Think of it as a treasure box for PTOs and PTAs. If you’ve written a great letter on getting involved or created a great flyer for teacher appreciation — load it to the File Exchange so others can use it, too.  And next time you’re sitting down to create a brochure or flyer or letter for this project or that — get a head start with a visit to the File Exchange first.

Have anything to share???