PTO Today

This week’s tip is (sorry!) some homework.

I know school is over or nearly so, and I know you want to go to the beach or pool, but there are a few last steps to close out the year well.

Of course, we have those steps laid out perfectly for you in “Your PTO Year-End To Do List.”

If you can’t do them all, please take a few minutes for these two:

1. Check the school summer schedule and best dates for school office staff and principal.  You know you’re going to need them over the summer, so be prepared.

2. Ask each of your event chairs to really complete an event wrap-up form, while memories are still fresh. This small step will make a big difference next year. We have a sample post-event evaluation form on our File Exchange.

Good luck!

For most PTOs, bragging is not in their DNA. But what if I told you that a bit of bragging could help your kids and your school and your group in a big, big way?

When it comes to our annual Parent Group of the Year search, that’s exactly the case. You don’t apply for the pats on the back, you apply because the recognition can really energize your group and help you do even more for your school in the years ahead.

Oh yeah — and the prizes are pretty great, too. This year’s sponsor, Labels for Education, is offering $3,000 plus 100,000 Labels for Education points to the grand prize winner.

And lest you think only the “amazingest” supergroups have any chance, that’s just not the case. We have categories for just about everyone. And groups of all shapes and sizes have been honored in the past. See for yourself in our Parent Group of the Year archives.

One thing — our deadline is coming up on June 3, so the time is now for getting an entry form in. More details and the entry form are available on our website.

My advice: Take the time to brag a little. And share your bragging with your whole school community. Folks are attracted to success, and a little self-marketing can go a long way in advancing the perception of your group.

Here are some more ideas to inspire you:

• 2012 National Winner: Service to the School and Beyond
• 2012 Idea Gallery

Good luck!

Over the past couple of weeks, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting several thousand PTO and PTA leaders at our PTO Today Expos. Our last was a week ago today in Pennsylvania.

It’s my favorite rite of spring, getting this high-volume, in-person reminder of the power and enthusiasm and passion of school parent volunteers. What you’re doing makes a huge difference for your schools, and that’s always so clear when I see so many of you together in one room. Here’s a piece I wrote a few years back called “Just a PTO? Say It Isn’t So” on the power of parent volunteers. It’s as true today as it was then.

I hope we can see you next year at one of our events.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our six national PTO Expo sponsors, who helped us bring these events to you all across the country. So our thanks to:

World’s Finest Chocolate

Great American Opportunities

Chuck E. Cheese’s

Otis Spunkmeyer

BRAX Fundraising

Flower Power

With the end of the school year coming, PTO and PTA leaders are naturally focusing on getting everything wrapped up. One of the items to include on your to do list is a little planning for next year.

Gather your officers together to discuss ideas, chat about a preliminary budget, and share vacation information. Putting a few things down on paper now can help you hit the ground running in the fall. Here are some resources to aid the process:

• The article “Creating a Long-Term Plan” provides strategies for transitioning from one year to the next.
• “Your PTO Year-End To Do List” gives 15 tips for closing out the year and getting ready for the fall.
• We also have a year-end committee report to help collect helpful information.
• And our free School Family Nights kits, like Family Reading Night, Go Green Night, and Family Science Night, help you plan fun and effective events for welcoming back your school community. Have you hosted one at your school yet? They’re great for building involvement.

Simple message this week: You’ve got to get your PTO and your school connected to TeacherLists.com.

It’s too simple, too helpful for your parents and teachers, and offers too many rewards and giveaways not to sign up. It would truly be a shame if your school misses out — give it a look (or forward this to the right person at your school) today.

Here’s just a brief summary of the great stuff it offers, if you get your 2013 back-to-school supply lists posted on the site:

• You can win 250,000 eBoxTops for your school from Kleenex! Click here for full details.
• You can win a $5,000 Teachers Lounge Makeover from TeacherLists.com and PTO Today. Check that one out here.

And that’s not even mentioning the fact that your parents will love how easy it is to find your school’s lists or that teachers love all the free supplies that our sponsors have been making available.

For PTOs and PTAs, we even have a free promo pack to help you get the word out at your school. You can order that here.

Whether it’s this week or next month — when those lists come out, you’ve got to get them posted on TeacherLists.com. It will be very, very worth your while.

Last week, I recommended borrowing great ideas on our Pinterest page. This week, I’m asking you to share.

It’s simple: What has your group done that teachers have appreciated most?

Big ideas, small ideas, all ideas — we’d love for you to share what’s gone best at your school, either on our Message Boards thread or Facebook post.

Of course, if you’d prefer to borrow some more, we have plenty of great ideas for teacher appreciation, including:

• Creative Twists on Teacher Appreciation
• Better Ways To Say Thanks

I’ll admit that I’m a Pinterest newbie myself, but have you seen what our editors (and some of our really creative followers) have been posting over on the PTO Today Pinterest page? There’s some pretty great stuff — bet you can’t spend five minutes over there without finding two or three new ideas for your PTO or PTA. 

And don’t be afraid to use those great ideas. We’re all volunteers in this crazy parent group world, and time is our biggest struggle. If you can borrow a great idea rather than creating your own, more power to you.

We have a similar “borrow” tool on ptotoday.com called the File Exchange. It’s a great place to get exactly the form or flyer you need in one-tenth the time. Borrow away.

Do you ever wonder if your school volunteering actually makes a difference?

It really does on so many levels (thank you!), so today I’d like to highlight for you a couple of links just about parent involvement. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that schools with higher parent involvement see better outcomes for kids. It’s a fact. And your group makes that happen. It’s huge.

Here are just a few articles and links you can trot out next time you’re wondering:

• Make the Case for Parent Involvement
• Secrets That Build Involvement
• 2 Hour Power Pledge Program

Just as teaching math is essential and a well-organized school is essential, so too is parent involvement. Keep up the good fight.

There’s so much talk about teacher appreciation and volunteer appreciation that the whole concept can get intimidating.

Is it a brunch? Do you have to wash everyone’s cars? Deliver flowers?

While I love all those things, I think we may be losing sight of the most effective, simple appreciation tip of all: actually saying thank you. Often.

The beauty is how quick and effective this can be. Get home from a nice event, and it might take you 5-10 minutes to fire off three short emails to the key volunteers complimenting the effort and offering your thanks. Two sentences. Twenty words. Seriously.

And those quick, immediate emails can be way more effective than a brunch for 50 people six months later.

In that spirit — thank you from PTO Today and from me for all the great work you’re doing at your school. You’re making a huge difference

As we enter decision season for fall fundraisers, let me share with you my least favorite way of measuring a fundraiser’s success: by its profit percentage.

Far too many groups insist that they won’t even consider a program if it’s not 50 percent profit. That kind of statement tells me clearly that a group isn’t thinking broadly enough.

Your goal with any fundraiser is to help you do your important work well. And that comes from gross profit (how much total money your group keeps when all is done), not from profit percentage.

Anyone can offer you 60 percent profit if they jack up the price to your parents and hold back on the support and prizes and product quality. There’s a small chance you might make more money this year going with profit percentage over all else, but probably not next year when you try to sell to those same parents.

I have a lot more on this topic in my piece called “Good Fundraising Is More Than Just Profit.”
 
And we have tons of additional fundraising resources, including:

• How To Choose a Fundraiser
• File Exchange: Fundraising