PTO Today

One of the cruel twists of running a school parent group is that while you are often surrounded by hundreds at school or school events, the actual leadership job can be fairly isolating. Very few people can relate to the unique challenges of managing a group, avoiding drama, handling a principal, running successful events, and more, all within a school setting. That isolation can lead to burnout.

That’s why I highly recommend that all PTO and PTA leaders find some outlets for sharing the challenge with other folks who can empathize. Hearing you’re not alone, understanding you’re doing a good job, keeping your chin up — those things all can help you make a difference for the long term at your school. It’s OK to need support.

My tip this week — three ways to find that support:

1. Check out the vibrant communities on ptotoday.com and on our PTO Today Facebook page . Thousands of leaders sharing ideas and solutions (and occasional frustrations) that only other leaders really understand.
2. Create your own group of leaders locally. Reach out to some other local schools and their officers and schedule a monthly coffee. I wrote a column called ”Get Out and Smell the Coffee” on this subject a while back.
3. Finally, check out our 2012 PTO Expos coming this spring. We’re bringing our unique brand of fun and idea-sharing — and, yes, empathy — to 14 cities from February through April. And right now, we even have a 2-for-1 special on our already very inexpensive (just $10) ticket prices. Learn more about the Expos (and sign up!) here.

Well, it’s January and the holidays are squarely behind us. Every January I do the same thing: I sit down and regroup about how Christmas and New Years went. I write down what went well and what I would change. I jot down decorating ideas, fun family event ideas, and reminders of what made me crazy this year. I think back-to-school season for PTO, PTA, HSA leaders is a lot like the holiday season. You do your best to be organized, and then you dive head first into this insanely busy time. Have you regrouped with other volunteers on how your back-to-school season went?

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?

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.

Is your group extensively using email yet? If not, you simply have to make it part of your 2011-12 plans. Now’s the time to set the stage.

Why email? When compared with traditional PTO and PTA printed flyers, email is less expensive, more green, and far easier. Most important, email is more effective (reaches parents more easily) and is preferred by your target audience of parents.

The first step is getting the email addresses and the back-to-school forms are the easiest place to start. Work now to get the forms right to collect email addresses and permission from all of your parents this fall. Here’s a sample email opt-in form.

And how do you send the email? There are multiple options, but I think you’ll really like our Parent Express Email tool. It’s free and easy, and — with our tech guys working hard all the time — it’s getting better every month. Whether you’re new to emailing parents or you’ve been doing it another way (like your personal Outlook account), I think you’ll find Parent Express (PEX) to be your best option. Give it a try.

What can you do now that will have your group better prepared for August and September?

I’m serious. I know you’re tired. I know you have spring fever as bad as the kids. But I always hear groups saying “We’ll take care of that this summer.” And I hardly ever see anything getting taken care of in the summer.

The result: a rush of last-minute craziness the week school starts (when you’re already slammed) and — worse yet — missed opportunities to make a great impression during the most important impression time of the year. Ugh.

So, what can you do? Work now to get a couple of new leaders in key spots for the new school year. Don’t save that for August. Send something home now to all the new families for next year welcoming them to your school. You’ll forget that step or be too busy in August. Pick a date now for a welcome event for new families or parents. Update your PTO website now (because all the new families will be checking it out this summer). You get the picture.

Want some inspiration? Try these links from the site:

Make Planning a Priority

PTO Year-End To Do List

“Sign Fairy” Eases First-Day Jitters”

And if you get a minute to share on our message boards, we’d love to hear about what your group is doing to get set up for next year.

It’s really easy (and tempting!) to take the rest of the year off. Try not to. You can have a big impact on next year with a bit more effort now. Good luck!

First of all, happy teacher appreciation day. Wednesday was officially National Teacher Day, and if you need any last-minute ideas, check out these simple ways to say thanks to teachers and staff.

I’m writing this on the way back from a really neat night put on by Common Sense Media regarding digital literacy and keeping our kids safe online.

It’s such a key topic (and often an intimidating one) for all parents, and we’re seeing more and more PTOs and PTAs playing a role in getting good information out to parents. I thought I’d highlight a few resources for you here:

1. Have you looked at hosting an Internet Safety Night for your parents? With the help of our friends at Trend Micro, we have a free kit that makes putting on a night like this easier than ever. Definitely worth considering.
2. You might also think about using your PTO or PTA website or email list to share the following very cool winning videos from Trend Micro’s recent “What’s your Story?” contest, which asked folks to create their own videos about Internet Safety. You have to check these out (and hopefully share them). They’re really great:
   • The grand-prize winning video is “Where Are You?“
   • And check out this cute runner-up video from some 3rd graders: “Be Respectful…Keep Your Comments to Yourself“

I hope these help. Look for more from us around these topics (and cyberbullying) in the months to come.

We’d love to hear what your school or parent group is doing related to Internet safety. Please share on our Facebook page.

Do you know another parent group leader (or someone starting to get into this crazy stuff, or thinking about it) who could benefit from ptotoday.com or from these email newsletters?

Once a year I make this request: If PTO Today has been helpful to you, would you please do us a favor and forward this note or recommend our site or our newsletter to a leader you know? We’d really appreciate it.

Here’s all you need to do:

1. Forward this email with a note telling your friends how gosh darn cool we are; or…
2. Send your friends a link to ptotoday.com or the PTO Today Facebook page
3. Get your friends to sign up for this newsletter themselves.

We really appreciate your help in spreading the word!

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about Facebook and Twitter for PTOs and PTAs. While they’re both fine, I actually think email remains the current best communication tool for parent groups.

Has your group made email a core tool yet? And do you have a good system for it? If not, you’re missing out on a cheaper, quicker, and more effective alternative to the traditional print flyer system. Parents prefer it, and it’s way easier on your volunteers (and teachers). And that’s a pretty good combination.

To help with the process, we’ve actually created a free tool called Parent Express Email for PTOs and PTAs to manage email addresses and easily send out good-looking, effective emails to school parents. Give it a look for your group.

Whether you use Parent Express Email or another tool, you really ought to be on the email train in 2011. The key is to make it work for the long term for all your parents and volunteers. Using one mom’s Outlook Express account just isn’t the way to go anymore.

Two links for you:

1. Our feature on group email communication tips for PTOs and PTAs
2. That link again for PEX: ptotoday.com/parentexpress

Have you begun to think about elections yet? It may seem early, but now is the time to start recruiting officers for next year. Some people are born leaders and are willing to jump into any leadership role. The rest of us take some convincing. Your task is to make potential leaders feel comfortable about assuming a new, larger role.

Target the people who are most ready to take the next step. These are people who are already significantly involved — they volunteer often, attend meetings, and/or chair a committee.

Show them you have the resources to help them do the job. A written job description and a binder with key information are a good start.

Let them know they’re not alone. Encourage potential new officers to job-shadow current officers. Formalize a procedure in which incoming officers meet with retiring officers to discuss the specifics of the job. Your goal is to open lines of communication so new officers don’t have to reinvent the wheel each year.

Here are some more resources that will help you smooth the transition process:

• Officer transition: planning ahead
• How to create a PTO procedures book
• Basic officer job descriptions and characteristics

Name tags are huge. Yep, name tags.

If you’re a PTO leader, then you probably know most of the key players at your school — the principal, your fellow officers, the teachers, the most-involved parents. For you, attending events and meetings is a comfortable thing.

But what about the brand-new attendee just checking you out? Do you think she feels the same way? For her, attending the first meeting is like going to sit at the cool kids’ table in the high school cafeteria. The new kid feels intimidated and not part of the in crowd (even if the “cool kids” in this equation are a bunch of really nice moms who love new volunteers). The people in the in crowd know each other and have all these customs that are foreign to the new kid.

That’s where name tags — or at the very least, taking time every time for introductions — come in. Even if your regulars think that introductions are a waste of time, it makes a huge difference even if you have just one newbie. Your goal is to make all of your efforts as welcoming as you can for new parents; aren’t those the parents you have the most trouble attracting (and keeping)?

We have several really good articles and columns about welcoming new folks to your group. I think it’s one of the most fundamental traits of a thriving parent group.

• Make New Families Feel Welcome
• Is Your PTO a Clique?
• Rate Your Involvement IQ

Good luck!