I have been working toward the same thing. Higher attendance at our meetings. I agree with the comments here. Its not about getting them at the meetings, its about getting them involved.
Our newest idea this year is after reaching out to parents on a school wide basis, we start reaching out to groups of parents. Currently there are 3 groups we are reaching out to.
1 - band parents... we are about to work a fund raiser to help pay for the cost of marching band.
2 - steppers club - we have a drill team called the steppers. their uniforms and an upcoming competition was more than our families could realistically afford, so we have decided to assist in the fund raisers, and we voted to fund up to a certain $ amount after fund raisers are finished.
3 - 2nd grade is taking an overnight trip to the zoo. The teachers are running some fund raisers and our PTO wants to give a specified $ amount per student to this cause. (parents will need to pay for their spot by fund raisers or in payment).
So, we have generated a letter that basicly says "we want to do this to help your childs group. We need you to help us make it happen. join us for a planning meeting........."
I dont know how it will work, because we are just now at the planning stage of this, but I think its going to be a good thing!
We also don't get a lot of parents to come to our meeting, but that is not a priority. We send home a weekly reminder. We list all upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. We have a voice mail number and an email address in which parents can reply. Parents can look at it and know whether or not they are available to help. We have always had plenty of volunteers. We never turn anyone away.
I am a new pres this year, K-5, 211 students.
I thought I wanted more people at the meetings and I tried like heck to get them there, but they did not come and in the end I have decided to put my efforts into getting more people to volunteer for all the activities planned. I really don't care if they don't show up for the meetings(just makes the meeting last longer than necessary)and you gotta admit meetings aren't that fun. Anyway, I have gotten more volunteers than ever and that's what is really needed. At least in our school. Also, we don't charge a fee/dues. Last year for our Halloween Party we got 8 volunteers, this year we had 52. You can e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need ideas on getting volunteers.
I have found that communication is a big thing. We put together an email list. We asked for a volunteer to do the newsletter and someone put together a website. Just these things have gotten people involved, because the don't have to be a meeting to know what is going on. We send out notices whenever anything is coming up so that the teachers can put it in their classroom newsletter.
This is my first year serving as Co-President of an elementary school PTO in Ohio. The school is K-5 and has about 270 students. The previous President was with the organization for quite a few years, she was Pres for at least 5 or 6, and my co-pres and I are wanting to get more parents and teachers involved and perhaps break a few bad habits. Currently the only faculty members that attend are the Principal, who is an honorary VP, and our VP who is a parent and teacher at the school. Really, the only people who are ever at the meetings are the officers and maybe one or two others. This is very disheartening for me! I want to get more people involved. Does anyone have any ideas about getting the teachers to be more involved as well as more parents? I am already planning on making some changes next year when members sign up and pay their dues. Thanks!
