PTO Today

In all my discussions with parents and with PTO and PTA leaders, I’m hearing more and more about email as the new must-have tool for groups.

And it’s funny — the primary driver of this is actually parents, not leaders. A huge percentage of your families are now running their home lives using basic technology tools. Whether it’s a shared family calendar or looking up old emails on their iPhones or forwarding emails and to dos between mom and dad — parents now, finally, much prefer email to a printed flyer or letter home in the backpack.

The good news is this trend is also easier on leaders and saves trees and money. If your group hasn’t collected emails and asked permission to contact parents that way (here’s a form you can use to help), and if you’re not using email as your primary communication tool, you’re missing out on a chance to connect more easily and more effectively with more parents.

And the additional good news is that PTO Today has a free email system that makes this even easier for groups. Our Parent Express Email (PEX) service manages your email contacts and allows you to send professional-looking emails to your entire parent population or to specific groups within your school (like 3rd grade parents or board members). It couldn’t be easier, and we have videos and great customer support to walk you through the quick steps of getting started and learning the system.

With the craziness of back to school behind us, now is a great time for you or another volunteer at your group to get a system like this in place. Your parents prefer this type of communication, and it’s easier (and less expensive!) for your PTO or PTA. What’s better than that? Learn more about Parent Express or get started.

Instead of a tip this week, I have a resource to offer you that will help get your message across about the importance of parent involvement.

It’s from our sister website, SchoolFamily.com. If you haven’t visited SchoolFamily yet, it’s filled with information to help parents help their children succeed in school. Topics range from how best to help your child with homework to tips for communicating with the teacher to explanations of academic expectations for each grade level.

The resource is a newsfeed from SchoolFamily to use on your own parent group or school website or blog. It features articles on the importance of getting involved in your child’s education — articles like ”5 Reasons To Get Involved.” You can get the newsfeed for your website here:

SchoolFamily.com newsfeed for parent group and school websites.

As encouragement, we’re offering a copy of PTO Today’s Parent Involvement Toolkit to any parent group that uses the newsfeed. I think you’ll like the newsfeed. It’s easy to use, and it will make you look good for providing helpful information to parents.

Kind-hearted, sincere volunteer types are sometimes too honest for their own good, especially when it comes to involvement. There’s value in fudging it a bit when you are trying to change the culture of your school. Faking it works.

In employment circles, they say you should dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. For PTOs, you should act like (and talk about) the parent group you want to be, not the parent group you currently are.

If you’re trying to create a sunnier atmosphere where parents feel welcome and appreciated, start being sunny. Start talking about sunny-ness. If you’re trying to foster an atmosphere of involvement, talk openly and often about the help you’re receiving and how great your school is.

People follow leaders and are attracted to success. If your group is struggling and you continually share those struggles, then very few people will step up to try to save a sinking ship. But if you can position your group as the place where people (already) are and as the group that’s (already) doing great things, your odds of attracting people and doing those things go up.

As we enter our next presidential election cycle, learn from the candidates — spin, spin, spin. In this case, you’ll be doing it for all the right reasons.

No matter your budget, frequent thank-yous — to your volunteers, your fellow leaders, your principal, your custodians, your office staff, etc. — are the best investment you can make as a PTA or PTO.

We hosted a coffee for local PTO and PTA leaders last week here at the office. The topic of volunteer appreciation came up along with my advice to thank more people more often. One of our guest replied, “But we can’t afford that.”

It got me thinking that some leaders think appreciation always has to be a gift or a luncheon or a plaque. No way! While tangible appreciation has its place, that kind of paid effort isn’t nearly as effective as a simple written or spoken thank-you shared soon after an event or a contribution. The two-line email. The quick, public mention during your meeting. The note in your newsletter. Those are the things that pay dividends well beyond their cost.

If your group doesn’t have that habit now, it could be the best change you make this year. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, if you don’t personally have that gene (it’s not natural to everyone), try to find a volunteer who does and appoint him or her as your official or unofficial Czar of Thanks. It can fundamentally change how your group is perceived by the wider community at your school.

Looking for more on appreciation? Check out these resources from ptotoday.com:

• Last-Minute Appreciation Ideas (these quick and easy ideas work for more than just teachers!)
• Volunteer ”Perk Points”
• Appreciation Letter

I have school auctions on my brain this week as we prepare for the auction at my children’s school this Friday night. With that in mind, I’ll give you three quick tips from my experience as an observer of auctions around the country and as a long-time attendee, donor, and buyer at our own auction.

First — open bar! OK, OK, just kidding. We can’t afford that bar tab, but it is important to do all you can to make your event a fun night out. For most schools, there aren’t that many fun adult evenings built around the school. More couples attend and we’re all in better spirits (and typically bidding more) because our event organizers make sure the evening is more than just a boring fundraiser. Music, themes, decorations, good food, and yes, even cocktails — these are all good investments in turning your auction into an annual success.

Second — don’t feel like your ticket price needs to be the big moneymaker. You want bodies and more bodies in attendance, both to make the evening more fun for all (see above) and because more bidders equals higher winning bids. Price the ticket to attract as many attendees as you can. And trust that you’ll make your dollars from bidders and goodwill. Even those who attend and don’t buy anything will grow closer to your school, especially if you don’t gouge them on the ticket price.

Finally — take the time to organize at least a couple of truly unique items that will generate buzz and that can be purchased only through your auction. These typically aren’t “things” but experiences. A very popular teacher at our school throws one pool party per year at his own pool. He makes it fun, and the rarity of it makes it a big moneymaker. Another school I know auctions a seat in the front of the fire engine during the town’s annual gala parade. Very cool.

We have a great article with tips to make your auction a success. Also, if you’re considering adding an online auction to your event (or already have one), you might be interested in one of these upcoming free webinars: All About Online Auctions at 2 p.m. Nov. 9, and Maximizing Your Online Auction/Intro to Mobile Bidding at 2 p.m. Nov. 16.

Are you good at thanking people? Is your PTO or PTA good at thanking people?

While many groups thrive at organized volunteer appreciation and teacher appreciation, they often fall short on the more basic and more important everyday thank-yous that can make a huge difference in long-term engagement.

I’m not talking about big gifts or parties. I’m talking quick emails, one-line mentions in the newsletter, or a simple shout-out at a meeting or event. It’s amazing how powerful those little steps can be. For sure, the recipient of your thanks feels good. But thanking frequently and publicly and broadly also affects the impression of your group with the entire wider audience at your school. Your group isn’t one that takes help for granted; instead, you’re one that knows how busy everyone is and appreciates every little bit of assistance you receive. That’s a powerful message.

If it’s not your strength (it doesn’t come naturally to me, for example), make “thank-you chairperson” a new job within your group. Seriously — find someone with the gene and let her go nuts. Your whole group and school will be better for it.

We have a great piece online about appreciation and thanking volunteers and helpers. And — from me — thanks for all you do for your school. You’re making a big difference.

Get out and smell the coffee. That’s my tip for this week. I wrote a column for PTO Today magazine with this title a couple of years ago, and it remains one of my favorite simple but underused ideas.

The concept is to call another school in your area, get in touch with the PTO or PTA leader, and make a date to have coffee together. No agenda — just a chance to chat about your respective groups and your schools. I bet you’ll be surprised at what can come from a simple get-together like this. Just the act of talking with someone who is dealing with the same types of concerns that you are can be powerful.

You might find some ideas or solutions in things the other school has done. Or maybe you’ll even be able to create a partnership — supplying volunteers for each others’ family nights, for example, so more parents can spend the night with their children. Even simply sharing calendars so your fundraisers don’t overlap can be helpful.

I can’t guarantee you’ll come out of your meeting with any concrete results, but I can guarantee it’ll be well worth the price of a cup of coffee to make this contact.

By the way, a great place to meet other leaders, of course, is our PTO expos. To kick off this year’s season, we’re running a slogan contest on Facebook for our expo T-shirts. Stop by and share your best fun phrase!

Three facts: First, this is about the busiest time of year for PTO and PTA leaders; second, this is the time of year when new parents first express interest in helping out at the school; and third, it takes work and patience (which are in short supply) to get a new volunteer started.

One key tip: Do not let your busyness get in the way of bringing in those new volunteers. Do whatever it takes right away to say yes to (or to find a job for) every new parent who asks to help. Connecting with them and welcoming them now is the most important thing you can do these days for the long-term health of your group.

If you delay — or worse, say no — those new parents will think you don’t want their help. Their enthusiasm will wane. The clique word will creep in even when it’s not your intention. Ugh.

I love this article about little things PTOs and PTAs do that hurt involvement. Saying “not yet” to willing volunteers is at the top of that list.

Are you involved in any kind of hunger-fighting work this fall? If you are, please take a second and connect your school with Schools Fight Hunger and the Fall 2011 Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. It’s completely free for schools and PTOs and PTAs, and you’ll get:

• One of the best program planning kits (for any kind of program!) we’ve seen. The vinyl banner alone will bring your food drive up about 6 notches.
• Info on how you can make your fall food drive so much more through what amounts to a matching donation program from ConAgra Foods. Very cool.
• The ability to make sure your school gets full, public credit in the national tally of schools doing this good work. (See the national register.)

It’s awesome for schools that already do this kind of work (makes it easier and better) and it’s a perfect start if you’ve been thinking about starting a food drive at your school. Get connected here.

Finally, if you know the student council president or the National Honor Society adviser or if you have a sister in Topeka who’s involved with a school food drive somehow, could you please forward this note? We’re pretty passionate about getting schools connected to this good work. Hope you can tell.

One of my favorite leadership maxims is also a powerful tip for growing your PTO or PTA.

If your group has success, praise and thank widely. You want as many people as possible basking in the sunlight of a hard-earned win. And yes, that applies even if you did nearly all the work and saved the event yourself. Here are some tips for appreciating and thanking volunteers.

Similarly, if your group makes a mistake or drops a ball — fess up, apologize, and refrain from pointing fingers. “We’ll do better” is 8 million times better than “Sarah’s mom shouldn’t have screwed this up.” The latter is a surefire way to lose Sarah’s mom and a whole bunch of other volunteers.

This tip goes double for dealing with your principal. Take every chance you get to publicly thank her for support or helpful efforts (even overstating it). Honey works well with nearly every principal I’ve ever worked with. (Here’s a column of mine on the care and feeding of your principal).

P.S. — Have you checked out SchoolFamily.com lately? It’s our sister site aimed at helping parents navigate the school years. Bet you’ll find some great stuff there for you and your family. Hope you enjoy and perhaps share it with the wider group of parents at your school.