One of my favorite sections of the website is the Idea Bag. It's a large collection of ideas on a wealth of different topics, from parent involvement to teacher appreciation to great events to meetings to fundraising. Some of the ideas were compiled by our staff, like the list of six ideas for spring family events. But most of them were submitted by individual parent group leaders. One of my favorites is the dads' reading night, shared by Lora Lakin of the Rockford (Minn.) Area Schools. Fathers came with their kids to hear books read by prominent community dads, like the fire chief. They also spent some time learning what the school library had to offer and how to use the online card catalog. What a terrific involvement event!

If you haven't done so already, check out the Idea Bag and don't forget to share some of your own ideas. Things that seem old hat to you may be new to a lot of other parent group leaders.

That's my tip for this week-share with other leaders. Whether it's on ptotoday.com or at a meeting over coffee with PTO folks from other schools in your district, sharing ideas helps everyone involved.