PTO Today

It was heartwarming to see school districts pay tribute to parent volunteers recently on National Parent Involvement Day (Nov. 15).

Here are a few examples:

• The school district in Lawrence, Kan., hosted its annual Friends of Education reception during American Education Week (Nov. 11-17) to recognize parent volunteers. Many parents were honored, including one volunteer who brings her 100-pound dog, a Goldendoodle named Lily, to school twice a week to give a boost to the kids.
• Parent volunteers in the Hudson, Wis., school district received a public thank-you when the local newspaper published an article to highlight their many contributions, including mentoring programs, sponsoring student art and music shows, donating food to needy families, and hosting family reading nights. This kind of publicity lets the community know just how much parents are giving back to the schools.
• The Connecticut State Education Resource Center honored for the first time several parents with a Parent Involvement Recognition Award. One recipient, Claudia Oscasio of Torrington, Conn., was recognized for her work on behalf of the students who are learning English as a second language. As -one of the SERC consultants said of the volunteers, “They’re awesome.’’

If you are thinking of honoring your volunteers, remember that the small things really count. It matters to do something as simple as publicly thanking helpers at your meetings and in your newsletters. This article has some really fun and simple ideas to recognize your crew and give them well-deserved recognition throughout the year.

This is a safe assumption: If you are willing to dress up in a duck suit to help at your child’s school, then you’ve got spunk.

So, let’s just say that Nydia Villafane has some serious spunk! A mother of three, full-time working mom, and all-around helper, Villafane is the latest recipient of the SBLI Superstar Volunteers Program.

Villafane didn’t ease into volunteering but instead jumped right in when her daughter started kindergarten. She pitches in wherever there’s a need, from handling Box Tops collections to face painting at the annual Santa breakfast. And, yes, she was even willing to wear a duck suit to sell tickets for an annual local charity event.

Villafane’s selection has the distinction of kicking off the second year of the SBLI Superstar Volunteers program, a team effort of PTO Today and SBLI (The Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts). The program, which began in January 2012, gives well-deserved national recognition to school volunteers who are nominated by their peers. We profile these superstars on our site and the SBLI site, and SBLI donates $500 to each superstar’s school!

In its first year, the SBLI Superstar Volunteers program recognized 18 volunteers from a huge number of nominations. You can read more about the 2011-2012 winners here. Because the program has been so popular, SBLI and PTO Today decided to extend the program for another year! An additional nine will be selected in the program’s second year and each will receive $500 for his or her school.

So, keep sending in nominations and letting us know about the great volunteers at your schools! We believe stories like Nydia’s inspire everyone and show how volunteering really does make a difference!

We have soldiers stepping up, a PTA taking a stand on a controversial social issue, a district launching a parent academy to teach volunteering and, oh yes, a school giving a great big thanks for parents who give so much of their time!

Special Volunteers: For the fourth year in a row, soldiers from the 67th Signal Battalion from Fort Gordon helped out at the nearby Cedar Ridge Elementary School Field Day in Grovetown, Ga. More than half of the students have a family member connected to the military. The soldiers assisted in 12 different events and a news report said there was also a little dancing going on. Sounds like a great time!

Tackling bullying: The state PTA in Indiana just passed a resolution that says all schools in Indiana “should adopt anti-bullying policies for LGBT students and that these same students deserve to learn in a safe environment.’’ In the resolution, the PTA said it will publish an article in its statewide publications about issues surrounding LBGT bulling and encourage local units to work with schools on establishing policies to “protect LBGT youth.’’

Volunteer recognition: The Arizona Charter Academy in Surprise, Ariz., recently hosted a luncheon to say thanks to more than 80 volunteers who regularly help out at the school. One volunteer received the “Alumni of the Year’’ award for regularly devoting 25 hours a week to the kindergarten class.

Teaching involvement: The Kailua, Hawaii school district last week started a parent academy to help parents become leaders in working with schools. This follows several other recent steps within the state to get parents more engaged in order to boost student performance. The academy is intended to get information to parents about the schools in the hopes that that will encourage them to get more involved.

While attending our PTO Expo in Marlboro, Mass., yesterday, I had the pleasure of chatting with two women, one of whom was the outgoing president of her group and the other was the incoming president. The outgoing president said she had been looking for someone to take over for a long time (we all made a few jokes about how fun that can be!) and now she was working with her replacement, spending time with her and helping her along.

Too bad it can’t always be that way. Seems like when we can come up with some kind of mentoring, job-shadowing, or job-sharing approach to bringing new volunteers into the fold, we are all a lot better off.In one of our recent and informal Facebook polls, we asked our community how they learned the ropes when they first became volunteers. About a dozen of you said you got help from a veteran, which was great to hear! But just as many reported that you didn’t receive any help. A little disheartening.

In this same poll, several of you also said you got some on-the-job training, while others said they learned by observing what others did. But a few also said they learned by “making it up” as they went along.

It’s tough being a new volunteer and it is so great when a more experienced person reaches out. Many of us can remember that feeling of being a newbie and not really knowing what to do. Hey, when I first joined the PTO at my daughter’s school, I was so clueless that I felt like the board spoke its own language. As silly as it sounds now, I didn’t know what the PTO president meant when she said, “We’re starting magazines this week.’’ Starting what? Collecting magazines? Reading them? Of course, she meant starting the magazine fundraiser. But I had no idea.

So, here’s to the buddy system! If you are interested in mentoring ideas or other tips for helping new volunteers, check out this article about orienting new members. Also, this story offering a new volunteer’s perspective gives great insights!  This Idea Bag item gives suggestions on how to manage volunteers so they enjoy what they are doing and everyone is productive.

We‘re building up an impressive list of parent volunteers in our Superstar Volunteers program, a joint effort by PTO Today and the Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts (SBLI) that kicked off in January. Throughout this program, we’re selecting stellar parent volunteers from around the country and giving them well-deserved national recognition, along with a $500 donation for their school from SBLI!

Their stories are so inspiring we’d like to give our Superstar Volunteers to date another shout out because it’s National Volunteer Week (4/15-4/21)! And the good news is we’re not finished! We still have several Superstar Volunteers to select now through the fall and each will receive a $500 donation for their school from SBLI! (If you’d like to nominate someone, please tell us a bit about this person on our Nominate a Volunteer page.)

Our newest Superstar Volunteer is Audrey Covello of Schererville, Ind.,who has boundless energy to give to Forest Ridge Academy. Covello has the typical modesty of many volunteers, saying the school deserves credit for creating such a great environment for the children. But plenty of parents and teachers say Covello is selfless, often showing up at events and helping out even when her own children are not involved.

Audrey Covello joins a list of Superstar Volunteers that now includes: Ed Bala of Fayetteville, N.C., Lynne Millar of Tracy, Calif., Cathi Knickrehm of Oak Park, Ill., Gary Parkes of Woodstock, Ga., Jeanette Tanafranca of Troy, Mich., Joanna Bradshaw of Fort Meade, Md., and Sunnie Robles-Schmidt of Santa Rosa, Calif.

You can read all the Superstar Volunteers profiles to date here.

Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School receives a $500 donation from SBLI .

And if you know a volunteer at your school that deserves “Superstar” recognition, you can submit a nominee at our Nominate A Volunteer page.

Pictured at right are students from the Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School in Fort Meade, Md. receiving a $500 donation from SBLI to honor local volunteer Joanna Bradshaw’s “Girls Rock’’ program, which is dedicated to building self-esteem and encouraging physical fitness in young girls.

Congratulations to all these great volunteers – and all our future winners!

We are excited to let you know that PTO Today and The Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts (SBLI) have teamed up to celebrate school and parent group volunteers from across the country. You may feel sometimes that your tireless volunteer efforts go unnoticed. Take heart, PTO Today and SBLI think that volunteers deserve recognition beyond their school walls. Starting this month, we’re kicking off a joint program called Superstar Volunteers. As part of this program, we profile a new Superstar Volunteer and their unique volunteer story every two weeks, from January through September. Here’s the really cool part: SBLI will donate $500 to the school of each volunteer we profile.

Our first Superstar Volunteer is Sunnie Robles-Schmidt from Santa Rosa, California. Props to Sunnie who has figured out how to juggle her busy family life AND volunteer at both the elementary school and high school. Read Sunnie’s full story to learn more about what kind of volunteer work brings her joy. Congrats Sunnie, for being the first SBLI Superstar Volunteer and for winning $500 for your school!

Do you have a volunteer at your school that you think deserves a SBLI Superstar Volunteer designation? Nominate him or her today – winners get a $500 donation to their school and will be featured on both ptotoday.com and SBLI, just like Sunnie!

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

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.

Before my tip, a request/recommendation: If you’re a Facebook user, you should definitely follow PTO Today on Facebook. Tons of great interactions and PTO and PTA discussions and insight happening there.

And actually, my tip this week comes from a Facebook connection I made with an involved PTO mom. Her advice (and I concur): Never give an outright “no” to an offer of help from a parent at your school. It sends exactly the wrong message and is the first step in getting a clique reputation.

Yes, you may have enough help for this particular effort (and too many volunteers can be almost as bad as not enough), but take the time to explain that to the parent offering — and always have another nice volunteering opportunity (or even better, a few choices) to connect that parent with. The worst thing you can do is to simply say no and hope she calls back again later. Most often, she won’t. And she’ll think your frequent requests for help are hollow.

It actually takes work and attention to cultivate more new volunteers. Little steps mean a lot. And little mistakes can do real harm. If this is a challenge for you, you might also like this article about 13 keys to build involvement.

Good luck!

If you’ve been reading these weekly emails, you know we here at PTO Today believe it’s important to thank your volunteers loudly and thank them often. We encourage you to reach out to new families. Help out your school’s teachers and staff. Give public kudos to the principal for her vital support.

But with all that, don’t overlook the accomplishments of one of the most important players at your school — your parent group. If you haven’t yet publicized all the great work your PTO or PTA has done this year, it’s time to polish up that horn and toot it.

Telling your school community about all the classroom supplies, enrichment experiences, family events, and more provided by your group isn’t an ego trip. Actually, it’s important on two levels: first, it builds your reputation as a successful group that does great things for the school and is worth getting involved in; and second, it’s really the best way to show parents that the hours they’ve volunteered and the money they’ve helped raise has had tangible results. They can share the pride in those accomplishments, and isn’t that a great feeling to share?

And while you’re tooting, take the time to put together a Parent Group of the Year entry. We started the Parent Group of the Year search more than 10 years ago to help give school parent groups the recognition they deserve. Entering is easy — just tell us your story in your own words. We’ll be awarding thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.

The deadline to enter is June 1. It’s always fun and inspiring to read the stories that come in; we’d love to hear about what your group has done, too. Good luck — and thanks for all you do!