Hi! As the room parent representative for our school, I agree that the room parents are not used enough. I have been in the classroom off and on for the last 3 years. I have a lot of time to give, but it doesn't seem like the teachers need me all that much. My energy can be put into other things as well as room parenting....I will bring this up at our August meeting. I'm sure there are more parents that feel this way too.
Laurie in Michigan
I have just been sucked into the "Black Hole" recently. I started with getting my "feet wet" as mentioned above. I am really saddened by the lack of volunteers, and I am sure this is worldwide. The old addage holds true,"20% of the people doing 80% of the work". I have made it a priority to spread the word on a more personal level one by one and hope that we can relieve the burn out rate on those who are in that black hole...Thank you to everyone who is really involved in their child's life.
I agree that room parents are potentially an overlooked resource for additional involvement. I have found with some room parents that they particularly enjoy working within the classroom with their own children and are not as interested in bigger picture more general ways. Lot's of people are afraid of the "black hole" you referred to!!!!
It is always worth asking and we get a tremendous response to requests for room parent volunteers, often getting more than we can use. Last year we sent a letter to the "extras" suggesting other volunteer opportunities. Not much response, but worth a try!!
I am happy to report that we have 3/4 of our board in place for next year. Recruiting is definitely a one on one thing. Our principal was very helpful to me in this regard. Phew...Now I can plan what role I can take next year!!
This post really addresses more than just nominating a new board. In my experience, it seems that we have three factions of parents. Those who are always involved, always there, on every committee, etc. This group has a high burn out rate! Then, group two are the ones that are getting their feet wet and looking in from the outskirts. Would like to get involved, but not sure what is involved, "should i ask? if I do ask, will I be sucked into a black hole and have too much to do because nobody else will come forward" and the third being those that have so much other stuff going on that they couldn't possibly add this to their plate right now. (Notice I didn't add those that do not take an active role in the school experience--that is a whole 'nother story--everyone has their own reasons for becoming or not becoming involved).
Having observed patterns at our school for the past 4 years, I have noticed that there are many inconsistencies that have "turned off" many parents and therefore they stay away from committees and even PTO meetings. As an incoming officer, I would like to see higher utilization of and communication with room parents. Yes, they are on tap for classroom teachers. Sometimes these parents are not utilized as much as they could be or are willing/available to be.
My long winded point: Each PTOboard should have a liason who works with the room parents to incorporate their areas of expertise etc. on school wide events...not just those in the individual classrooms.
Thanks for your responses and encouragement. It is so important to stay open minded and remember that sometimes people are waiting to be asked about these leadership positions. Our board met this week and made our list of possibilities. Now comes the one on one effort. We will still send out a general information and recruitment packet.
My only suggestion is to keep your mind open. There have been many times I thought "oh this person will never do that" and when they were asked they jumped right in. Think of anyone and everyone.... and dont forget that shy lady in the back of the room who always comes to every meeting you might just be surprised. Sometimes people need a little nudge in the right direction.
Good Luck and from experience.... somehow these things ALWAYS seem to work themselves out.
