PTO Today

Save time!

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that we have reorganized the popular File Exchange section of our site. We’ve added new categories, renamed a few, and moved around a bunch of files that were getting lost — so leaders can easily find the forms, flyers, letters, and surveys that they need. Hopefully, the changes will also take the guess work out of where to put something when you upload files to share with others.

Some new categories include:

• volunteer recruitment
• fundraiser forms & letters
• fun run, walk-a-thon
• spaghetti dinner
• holiday shops
• audits
• community service

New file additions of note include a slew of generic parent group logos and a new email opt-in form.

Thank you to all who have uploaded documents to share with fellow parent group leaders. We hear from leaders all the time that the file exchange is such  a powerful resource.  Happy sharing and swapping!

I’ve said for a long time that the key to growing involvement is to start by getting parents into your building. You don’t grow involvement by asking for help. You grow involvement by serving. Many attendees at your family events yield more volunteers down the road. Not to mention the fact that — even if those attendees never volunteer — your school is already a better place for everyone when parents are interacting with teachers and one another.

I elaborated on this concept in a column called ”Open Doors, Lots of Them’‘. I think you’ll like it. But it’s worth mentioning that how you open doors is almost as important as opening those doors in the first place. How’s your hospitality? Do folks feel welcomed? What about guilt? Is there ever an element of guilt in your approach, as in: “Thanks for coming; this took a lot of work, maybe you could help next time.”

While it’s certainly true and understandable, it’s also exactly the wrong way to build involvement. Treating people well and avoiding guilt is what gets people talking positively about your group and coming back to more events…and eventually volunteering. Of course, that can also work in the reverse if you’re not taking the time to make your events feel special.

We’ve had a ton of community talk about family events and involvement in recent weeks. I hope you’ll join in. You can also follow me on Twitter.

Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of why we volunteer for our school’s  PTA or PTO. We’ve all been there at one time or another: maybe it’s a committee chair who doesn’t follow through on what they said they’d do… or the fact the only non-board member who shows up regularly for meetings is a nay-sayer who consistently tries your patience. Whatever form the distraction takes, don’t let it steal your focus away from the reasons you volunteer in the first place. Your kids.

A Connecticut mom recently shared her PTA volunteer journey in a blog titled To PTA or not PTA? Her vote was clearly “to PTA.”  She supports her choice by listing all the reasons why involvement matters, including the fact that  it boosts student achievement.  For me, this benefit meant the most:

I have such a great support system in the school. I know my children’s teachers. I see them on a day to day basis.”

You can debate whether your PTA or PTO is clubby or not, til’ you’re blue in the face, but the only way you realize the aforementioned kind of connection with the school is by volunteering.  Do you agree?

So if you are feeling momentarily discouraged, be sure to read her post for the full list of benefits of volunteering. It’s a good reminder. And if that’s not enough, read our One Last Dance article to remind you just how fast it all goes. Sniff.

Neat that some folks in Minnesota think that parent involvement in education is so important, that they set aside an entire month to celebrate it!   According to this recent article, October is Minnesota Parent Involvement Month —  a time to celebrate the powerful role parents play in their children’s education.  Wouldn’t it be nice if every state did this?

But I guess I am preaching to the choir! We know if you are on this site you care a tremendous amount about being involved in your child’s education. Bet you wish there were more parents at your school that shared your passion! If you’re nodding your head, check out our Parent Involvement Toolkit! And remember, it doesn’t hurt to remind parents – again- why involvement matters.

Lots of articles out there about the economy putting the squeeze on schools, and how parent groups are being asked to pick up the slack.  I just came across this article about a parent group that decided that they were not going let their PTA and school community feel like victims of the economy.  Instead, this creative bunch put together a free all-night, camp out event for their K through 5 families and called it a “friendraiser.”  Love it.  Instead of only focusing on fundraising, this group showed that family nights are the perfect way to build community at any school.

Enjoyed reading a blog called  Musings of a PTO President and her post titled “Do it Before Breakfast” this morning over coffee.  Good reminder to take stock of how you manage and spend your time.

This time of year, as parents and parent group leaders we are all juggling a lot. Ok, who am I kidding?–  it’s not just this time of year! It’s so easy to jump on the merry-go-round and not pause to evaluate what’s important. Love that this PTO blogger emphasizes the the importance of time management on a day-to-day basis, but reminds us to be “mindful” of time and how it relates to the big picture.

We have lots of great articles about planning and organization to help parent group leaders manage their time efficiently.  That’s because we understand that we all want to be involved in our kid’s school and PTO but we also want to spend time with our kids!

If you spend anytime on our website, you know that we are all about  parent groups building community. That’s why we love this idea that a New Jersey PTA came up with; use their school’s PTA website to help neighbors in a down economy.  To accomplish this, they have set up an “items for exchange” section on their website — see the “can anyone use a…” tab. Very cool.

”With the current economy the way it is, it would be kind of nice for neighbors to help neighbors,” said Rodger Lippman, the PTA’s president and webmaster. “Items that may be obsolete for one person can go a long way toward helping someone else.”

Now, that’s the kind of parent group that will attract attention and make people want to join. Thought maybe your parent group would like to take this idea and run with it.

What does your PTO or PTA do to build community or reach out to neighbors? Jump in here and tell us about it.

Yes, we’ve all known that, right?  But the Wall Street Journal has highlighted some new research which defines those differences.  Very interesting stuff.

I summarized my thoughts on it (and linked over to the article) on our sister site, SchoolFamily.com.   (http://www.schoolfamily.com/blog/2009/08/24/new-research-on-middle-school-parent-involvement)

Are there ways you can use this insightful research to change your approach to middle school PTOing and PTAing?  Hope so.

Tough op/ed in yesterday’s Boston Herald on still-controversial PTA-dedicated seat on state board of education. As far as I know, Massachusetts (my home state) is the only state in country with such an arrangement for PTA, which is curious considering that Massachusetts schools are very nearly the least PTA-centric schools in the country (far, far more PTOs  than PTAs in the Bay State).

The article get a few items wrong, in my opinion, especially where it equates PTOs with bake sales and implies that local PTAs don’t do that kind of work.  Fact on that count is that local unit PTAs and local PTOs are virtually the same on the types of activities they run.  Both great and generous and enthusiastic supporters of their schools and kids.  This political bent is typically reserved for the state and national levels of PTA.

Will continue to follow this story.  Is surprising that the PTA appointee is implying that parents’ own voices should be over-ridden by those who supposedly know better.  That’s the kind of approach schools have taken for far too long and that parent involvement experts (the PTA among them) have been trying to change.  Hopefully, it was a mis-characterization of Ms. Kaplan’s point of view.

“Clique” is the most difficult word in the PTO dictionary. It’s thrown around like a weapon by school parents, and it truly hurts (and often angers) when a parent group leader hears it about her own group. There’s a real divide between parents who think the PTO isn’t open to outsiders and leaders who are dying for more help.

I was reminded of this while reading the passionate comments on this article about Iowa PTA membership being down. So many of the commenters express frustration that they didn’t feel welcome in the PTO or PTA at their child’s school. It’s eye-opening.

As much as I know that the commenters are wrong, the solution has to come from us PTO leaders. If we want more involvement and more engaged parents, we have to proactively combat that clique image. You may not think you’re a clique, but the folks you’re trying to recruit do. And that’s what matters.

As I said in a column I wrote about PTO cliques, “If even one parent thinks of your group as a clique, then you are a clique.” Perception matters.

There are several tips in the column, but the best one is to address the clique issue head-on. It’s OK (even refreshing, frankly) for you to stand up later this month at back-to-school night and say “We know that lots of folks think of the PTO as a clique, but it’s not that way at all. We know it’s hard to feel comfortable with a new group, but we’d love to help you get involved.” That kind of welcome and acknowledgment can make a big difference.

Of course, you then actually have to be welcoming to new volunteers. We have some great content to help make your group more welcoming and increase parent involvement. Good luck bringing ‘em in!