Parent groups are as varied as the people who run them, their communities, and the schools they serve. It’s no wonder, then, that each year’s Parent Group of the Year entries are filled with innovative ideas, events, and approaches to solving problems. Here are 21 we especially like from this year’s entries. Congratulations to these creative thinkers!
Monkey Money
The Madison Avenue Upper Elementary School PTO in Madison, Miss., raised $23,700 to build a new outdoor classroom. Their trick to selling loads of cookie dough, pizza, and other food items to reach their goal: offering to the highest seller a stuffed monkey that screams when pressed. The monkey was outfitted with a $100 bill in its pocket.
Which Teacher’s a Turkey?
The Thornburg Middle School PTO in Spotsylvania, Va., holds an annual Turkey Feather Contest. The contest allows students to purchase paper turkey feathers for their favorite teacher or administrator. The feathers are in turn attached to paper turkeys representing the teachers. The teacher or administrator who ends up with the most feathers has to wear a ridiculous turkey suit during the school’s lunch shift and at dismissal and bus-boarding time. The sale raises about $500 each year.
Smelly Feat
What were 359 pairs of old athletic shoes doing (aside from not smelling too great!) outside the front doors at Finland Elementary in Columbus, Ohio, throughout the 2005 school year? Believe it or not, they were helping the environment. Finland’s PTA collected them from families while participating in Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program. The shoes were then sent to Oregon for recycling and made into surfaces for playgrounds and tracks.
The Royal Treatment
At Queen for a Night, held by the Sacred Heart School PTO in North Quincy, Mass., mothers and others get to taste, see, and shop and buy it all. The night offers appetizers, a silent auction, raffles, and a fashion show at the school. Attendees can stroll down Queen’s Marketplace, a boutique-like venue, and shop for jewelry, candles, clothing, and services such as manicures, pedicures, massages, and expert fitness and training advice.
Eye-Popping Popcorn Sales
Volunteers from the Macy McClaugherty Elementary/Middle School PTO in Pearisburg, Va., sell a whopping 235 bags of popcorn to students each week. Why are students bursting to buy? The PTO randomly inserts certificates to Dairy Queen and a local pizza shop into some of the bags.
Dollars for Scholars
The Machias Elementary School Parent-Teacher Group in Snohomish, Wash., offers two scholarships to the two most deserving high school seniors who attended Machias. The two students are invited to speak at sixth grade graduation and are awarded the scholarships in front of the sixth graders. PTG leaders at Machias say that although the scholarship doesn’t directly benefit the school, the awards show the students that if they work hard, get good grades, and are involved in the community, they will be recognized.
Prime-Time Sleepover
Each year, the Acushnet Schools PTO in Massachusetts holds a literacy-themed sleepover at the school for children in grades 3-5. More than 70 volunteers lead 175 students through a night of crafts, guessing games, races, and quiet reading for 15 minutes every hour and a half. Students are awarded tickets for good behavior that they can use in a raffle held the next morning. One of the evening’s highlights: a bedtime story read by the principal.
The Write Stuff
The Kendall Elementary PTO in Boerne, Texas, has its own on-site publishing arm. A team of parents who call themselves the Knight Life Publishing Co. type, laminate, and bind students’ literary works. Readings are then scheduled at a local bookstore where the published authors can read their works to friends and family. The group also puts together an end-of-year event, the Family Reading Kamp Out, in the school’s library.
And They’re Off
The Summersville (Ky.) Elementary School PTO holds a weeklong series of fundraising contests centered on the Kentucky Derby. Students pay 50 cents to participate in contests such as Run for the Roses Red Day, Most Creative Horse Name, and Most Unusual Derby Hat Day. Winners for each contest are awarded small prizes.
Book Fair and Fun Fest Combo
The Ponte Vedra-Palm Valley and M.K. Rawlings Elementary Schools PTO in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., held a Spring Fest Family Fun Night on the last evening of the school’s weeklong book fair. Families shopped for books and enjoyed a bounce house, face painting, hot dogs and smoothies, and an outdoor concert. The PTO also arranged a professional photographer to take family portraits at a discounted rate. The evening brought in $4,000 in book sales.
Family-Friendly Festival
Last year, the Cedar Grove Elementary PTO in Smyrna, Tenn., changed its approach to its fall festival. Instead of running the event as a fundraiser, the group charged just enough to break even. Some other changes: distributing carnival tickets to teachers to give out for students’ good behavior, and having the dinner catered by a local barbecue restaurant so volunteers could enjoy the event. Festival planners also created a silent Super Teacher Auction featuring items donated by teachers, such as homework passes and tutoring services. Other items included trips and activities with teachers, such as movies, ice skating, and bowling.
Find It All Here
Are your volunteers always calling you at home to ask you where to find “stuff” at school? The John M. Moriarty Elementary PTO in Norwich, Conn., has a solution. The group produces handbooks for all of its programs at the school along with a “Where Do I Find the...” list. The list shows PTO contact names and numbers and gives new volunteers directions for things such as booking the school gym for an event and making coffee. Also included: pictures of activities and events over the years, with notes on what worked well and what didn’t.
What To Say
Volunteers at the Poquonock School PTO in Windsor, Conn., know just what to say to get parents to come to meetings and forums hosted by professional speakers: They follow a script, prepared by board members, to invite families. The script is helpful in keeping conversations flowing, and it also reminds volunteers to sound welcoming and friendly.
Teacher Feature
Each month, the Newbury Elementary PTO in Ohio puts a mystery Feature Teacher on its bulletin board in the school lobby. The group selects a teacher and finds out interesting facts about that person’s family, hobbies, and schooling, among other things. The clues are then posted on the bulletin board, with arrows leading to a covered panel. Parents and students try to guess that month’s Feature Teacher based on the clues before lifting up the panel to reveal the picture and name of the mystery teacher.
Chains of Love
When teachers or staff members at Mill Plain Elementary School in Vancouver, Wash., are ill or on leave for a personal or family emergency, the PTO is there with compassion and support. The parent group coordinates a project known as a “love chain.” Strips of paper are cut for students to write heartfelt messages welcoming the staff member back to school. The strips are then looped together and hung in the teacher’s classroom. Another way the group shows they care: displaying a huge jigsaw-themed bulletin board that reads “We Love You to Pieces.”
Adopt a Teacher
The Coeur d’Alene (Idaho) Charter Academy Parent Volunteer Organization runs an adopt-a-teacher program. At the start of the school year, teachers and staff members fill out a brief bio detailing their birthdays, favorite hobbies, and other information. The PVO then circulates the list among the families who want to provide anonymous notes, goodies, and gifts to the teacher or staff member throughout the year.
Shop ’Til They Drop
In addition to running a Christmas shop, the Shongaloo School (PreK-12) PTO in Louisiana runs a Mother’s Day store and Valentine’s Day store for students to purchase small gifts for their families. PTO volunteers assist with setting up the shop and gift-wrapping the items for students.
Strawberry Sales Forever
For five weeks each year, the San Elijo School PTO in San Marcos, Calif., sells fresh strawberries to raise funds for the school. Every Wednesday, a local strawberry grower delivers trays of the fruit to the PTO at school. At dismissal, PTO volunteers walk the pickup loop and sell the strawberries to parents in their cars while the principal makes spirited announcements urging parents to buy every last package. Sales are about $200 each week during strawberry season.
Meet the Chefs, Help the School
The P.S. 41 (Greenwich Village School) Parent Association in New York City benefits from an annual Meet the Chefs event held by the Carmine Street Block Association. The food extravaganza put on by the organization showcases the best chefs and cuisine of the city’s South Village restaurants. Families purchase “tasting tickets” from the PA for each of the 35 restaurants they wish to sample at $5 per tasting or $20 for five tastings. In the past two years, the event has raised more than $8,500 for the P.S. 41 parent group.
Hosting Success
The parent organization at Greenland Central School in New Hampshire held a dinner dance and auction to raise funds for a new playground. But the dinner segment had a twist. Instead of the usual sit-down meal at a banquet hall or function room, people were entertained and fed in groups of 12 to 24 at 10 different “host homes.” After feasting on a gourmet dinner prepared by the host at her home, everyone gathered at a local country club for a dance with live and silent auctions, a DJ, dessert and coffee, and a cash bar. The event raised $26,000 for the group’s playground fund.
Fund a Project
Another auction twist: Fund a Project from the St. Philip the Apostle School PTO in Pasadena, Calif. Months before the auction, the group decides on a major project to fund at school. At the auction, parent leaders make a presentation illustrating how important the item is to the school. The auctioneer then opens the bidding at $2,000, lowering by increments of $100 until all parents have contributed an amount that works for their budget. Successful Fund-a-Project initiatives for the PTO include laptop computers and a mobile computer lab, air conditioning, and a new music program.
