PTO Today

We hear it a lot this time of year: “I am so excited to be the new PTO president… but I’m also nervous!” Or, “I had a great year this year, but I am already thinking of ways to improve the board for the next school year.” Well, whether you’re new to the job or an old pro, our FREE New Leader Kit will be your new best friend. The insider tips will give you the tools you need to lead with confidence — so you can relax a little this summer.

Suburban Chicago paper reviews recent switch of local group from a PTA to a PTO. Group cites nearly $1,000 PTA price-tag and mis-fit with PTA policy initiatives as primary motivations.

We’ve tracked many of these over the years. Here’s a link to our search results on “PTO PTA” and here’s our PTO v PTA homepage.

This four-year-old group decides that PTA option not working best for them and makes switch to PTO. For more on the PTO v PTA differences, our cover story on PTO v PTA is here.

It’s that time of year when the new PTO cubs start bugging the seasoned PTO mama bears. Yup, I said it Whether you’re the spirited newcomer or the grizzled old verteran, I hope you can find some peace by thinking about what the other side is going through. This column on the gap between old volunteers and new volunteers could help.

Also find this quick diary/blog interesting from a brand new PTOer, attending her first meeting at a new school. Good to hear what the new eyes see. Love the observation about just how much trash can be turned into school cash (and the fact that she’s diving through the home trash to recover school treasure).

Sonya Branch wants what’s best for kids, and she’s not about to let the fact that she works three jobs and is raising two kids on her own get in the way of making a difference. Branch is also a brand new PTA president,  working to establish a parent group at her son’s middle school. This article chronicles her efforts to recruit officers and get parents more involved at a struggling school. Fantastic work!

What’s better than a parent group? A parent “supergroup”!

Parents from five elementary schools in West Springfield, Mass. have formed a new group that “transcends school boundaries,” The Republican newspaper reports. As one of the leaders explained, each school PTO will continue its own work, but by coming together they “can do a lot of great things.”

Nice summary here of a new middle school PTO’s process. The stapler story rings so: a) true, b) classic, and c) kind of sad. Only correction I’d make is the idea that a lawyer is needed to get started as a 501(c)(3). These guys must not have found our Start-Up Guide.

Now it’s the Dallas PTA council that has its charter revoked by state PTA. Similar story in Maryland this past spring. Bureaucracy is a lovely thing.

Maryland feature takes look at why PTOs need insurance. Need more info? Here’s our feature on same topic. And details on the PTO Today insurance program for parent-teacher groups (with lower rates than ever before!).

Love it! This Mississippi school celebrates launch of its new PTO. Good things already happening. More on the way.