PTO Today

On the scale of Painful to Fun, where would you rank your parent group’s meetings? I’ve written a lot over the years about how parent group leaders tend to overemphasize meetings. Meetings are a helpful organizational tool; they’re not a measure of parent involvement. Lots of groups have great overall involvement despite attracting only five or 10 people to monthly meetings. 

Still, many leaders use meetings as a recruiting tool. “How can I get involved?” “Come to our meeting on the second Wednesday.” If you do that, and even if you don’t, efficient and well-run meetings will make more people want to participate and will lower the stress level on your regulars. 

My number one tip: Limit meetings to a maximum of one hour. If you set an agenda and follow it, get officers together to prepare in advance, and let committees do the detail work, you can do it.

Here are some links that will help:

The One-Hour Meeting Manager

Handout: Robert’s Rules for Beginners

9-Point Meeting Checklist

More meeting resources

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