My guess is many parents haven't heard of these other groups (SAC, SAF, SIT), and it's great for them to be able to bring up an issue at a PTO meeting and be forwarded on to one of the others, perhaps with a PTO officer providing an introduction at one of those meetings.
Such issues can be addressed at the SAC (school advisory committee) which is the advisory body of parents, teachers and community partners. fifty one (51%) must be parents. this could also be discussed at the SAF ( school advisory forum) the " political arm" of the school. This is the body that will seek the intervention of the school district, the political reps in the ciry, county or state. Again most are parents. Beside being the pto prez I also sit on the SAC and the SAF. We get real results. Our SAF team was able to get the didtrict to make changes to the school lunch. The SAF team got school board members to meet with parents, actions taken. The SAC team as done, oh so much. Alot of the school's business goes through the SAC. Believe me, PTO is not the "action point" for these issues you raised. They can be mentioned at PTO meetings but for real action, take it to the SAC and/ or SAF.
School policies and procedures should not be discussed at PTO meetings. The PTO meeting is for PTO issues. If a policy or procedure issue comes up at a meeting, the questions/comments should be directed to the principal or school administration.
As much as we'd like to think we have some power in school, we really don't and shouldn't have. THe administration is trained to deal with policy and procedure and they should be the ones to handle it.
A School Improvement Team (SIT) would be a much better forum for concerns involving the school or district policies, which PTO board members have no authority to change. If a topic comes up in a PTO meeting that it would not be productive to spend time on, the best policy for the PTO board is to explain why they will not be spending time on the topic, and direct parents to those who do have the authority to resolve the issue.
I agree wholeheartedly that PTO isn't just about fundraising. It is our responsibility to help parents become better informed. If there is a serious issue afoot, it would be an excellent opportunity for the PTO board to invite those in authority to participate in a panel discussion or Q&A session at a PTO meeting. It never is helpful, however, for board memebrs to play messenger to the administration or to attempt to resolve issues they have no control over.
I believe that is exactly what PTO is about. The PTO volunteers focus should be on the school/issues not fundraising. Fundraising should be your means to accomplish your goals.
Maybe a parent has an issue that is not clear to him/her and just maybe other parents have the same issue. A PTO meeting is just the place to have this as there should be teacher(s) and the principal in attendance at the meeting. Do we tell our students not to ask questions if they have any? NO, the only dumb question is an unasked question.
The other part of this is that while one person can create change, an army of people help to see the change through.
At our PTA meetings, we have room on each agenda for parents to ask questions, give suggestions, or voice their thoughts. A BRIEF discussion then follows. If the topic is something the principal or teachers can not help us with, the elected school board representative on the PTA board for our school then addresses the issue at the school board meeting. Those parents who are interested will go along to that meeting to help get the point across and answers. The PTA school board representative then brings the answers back to the next meeting as a follow up on the discussion.
It is the parents that make the difference in the schools. Remember, we parents are the ones in the schools regularly to see how the policies and procedures are working. Those policies and procedures are not just affecting the other students at the school/district; but, they also affect your child. Is it better for your child if you keep your questions to yourself? YOU ARE YOUR CHILDS ADVOCATE -- SO PLEASE DO SO!
When I read that first post, it sounded like the principal was directing the PTO that it couldn't discuss an issue. That rubbed me the wrong way. Re-reading it, I'm still not clear whether it was the PTO president/board or the school administration that said that the topics were off-limits.
