Oh that dreadful 6-letter word "clique".........

Our group has been accused of being a clique by some. In the end we decided that maybe we're just misunderstood and it is our responsibility to get the word out and be as welcoming as possible. We may not see members at meetings but we sure make sure to call or email and ask their opinions. We email our minutes to all members and have PTO update in every week's newsletter. Ask the board for the minutes. Tell them what you're good at and how YOU can be involved rather than focusing on what you percieve they are doing wrong. If you're a member and can attend at least one of their meetings, make a motion to change the meeting time and get support from other working parents - either present at the meeting or in a letter.

As a board member, sometimes we get sooo busy trying to do good we get a bit of tunnel vision and don't see what's going on outside the small group. We don't mean to be a clique, we don't need to be teacher's friends, and we certainly don't want parents to think they are not needed.

Wrkngmom - have you "nicely" expressed to the current board how you feel? Consider a letter to get your thoughts clearly together? Are you the only one that feels this way? If not, have other moms and dads sign it. No board member can expect to know what you're thinking if it is not presented to them. After all, we're trying to pack as much as we can into 180 school days. I suffered from working mom guilt for 15 years and sometimes that guilt turned to unspoken hostility which I reflect on now and admit I was jealous of what other parents were doing while I had to go to work.

I quit my job and now get less than recommended human sleep hours staying awake at night and work from home so I can give on average 80 hours a month to the school and PTO. I did this out of guilt initially but wow it has rewards. Being a PTO board member is not a cake walk. Dissolving the PTO benefits no one.

Our school has both a PTO AND a volunteer program. Working parents are needed to write the weekly newsletter, prepare classroom materials for teachers, volunteer in the afterschool program, write grants, make phone calls for the Valentine party, etc and many other opportunities that can be done from home. You don't have to be in the PTO to be involved. There are also many volunteer opps that can be done on weekends - weeding the flower garden, raking the wood chips on the playground, etc. Volunteer any way you can because YOU WILL make a difference in the life of a child, especially your own.

kelgf - I'm a little confused by your post - are you a current board member or thinking of running? I really recommend, as others have, the PTO Today 2-hour power or a similar program. Get people at Open House or registration day. Have materials and someone representing the PTO be present and get people to pledge (in front of their kids :cool: ) to give just two hours and I can almost guarentee they'll end up giving more. Send parent surveys home with the kids with a list of ways to be involved and ask for their email address. Communicate CONSTANTLY without begging, pleading, or threatening.

We have used a little monetary incentive in the past....
We were trying to increase parent involvement AND get those parent surveys turned in so we offered a $5 book fair coupon to every child whose parent turned in the survey and committed to at least 2 hours volunteer time. Needless to say it worked MUCH better than we hoped and 87% of our students ended up with book fair coupons. This meant the PTO didn't get $450 of the cash return from the book fair because we used it to fund the coupons but we also ended up with 348 new volunteer hours logged for the year!

You can get people involved.....please don't give up......and once they get their feet wet they will want to have more of a say in what happens and will become PTO members and *hopefully* board members.

wrkgmom;131852 wrote: I It seems evident that our PTO only wants our money not our involvement in the school or with their group. I believe these board members are self centered people, with goals of befriending teachers to elevate their own children's grades and popularity, not helping all students nor the school. Hopefully the PTO Board next school year will be more open to welcoming working parents and will realize the ideas, skills, and value others can bring to the table to help all students and the school. If the small town mentality doesn't change, I will propose the PTO be dissolved.

I am shocked at the ( using your words) " small town mentality" of this comment, wrkgmom. I don't have the time or energy to even begin to tell you how hard PTO Boards work, and how much time we all put into making our childrens' schools a better place to be. It's clear you have no understanding of what it takes to " run the ship".

DO we make mistakes and not get flyers out on time? yeo, it happens. But, do you also know, that sometimes it's the school secretary who holds those flyers back by mistake, and it's not our fault-and we have to stand and get egged for our bad behavior???

I cringe to think that you REALLY believe that these people who work tirelessly for the benefit of ALL children are really self centered with hidden agendas.

Perhaps it's time for you to take a step back and think about all the work that goes into what your PTO does on an annual basis, and rather than wasting your time and energy criticizing people who work very hard, step up and offer what you CAN do. Email someone and let them know YOUR strengths, talents, and interests and when you can squeeze in a few hours a week, and you may be pleasantly surprised that those self-centered people who want your money may also welcome you with appreciation and enthusiasm.

Have to chime in hear as we implemented the 2 hour program at our school . Even though we had a pretty good level of involvement we always try to improve and with some doubt I approached our principal about doing this...it is amazing the number of parents who have that I don't want to get sucked in role.
Our school numbers increased 100%, our families increased to about 42% ( goal 50%) and the number of people who have been involved in our PTO group has increased about 62%. The thing we are seeing now are parents who signed the two hour pledge, are volunteering more. They found out that it can be fun and it is nice to see them return.
Another group that has grown is the male portion, we are seeing more and more fathers helping out and are planning our first donuts with dad in June. Check put the program as it can help, simple, and it is worth the try. I am so glad we did, maybe we won't reach 50% of our families this year but we are going to be closer than ever before.

Hi mom2 --

We actually have what I think is a more-developed version of a similar concept here at PTO Today. It's 2 Hour Power -- www.ptotoday.com/2hourpower/

Our 2HP program will also be getting some significant upgrades for back-to-school.

Tim

I know where you are coming from! My Co-President and I did 80% of the work this year and it is both time consuming and exhausting. We also have a problem with getting parents to volunteer. For the 2007-2008school year we are going to try this Three for Me program. I think that we need to try a different approach and change the way parents think about the PTO and about Volunteering. Take a look. It might help.

www.three4me.com

I feel the our PTO has been less successful due to their perception of being a stay at home mothers club with no intent reach dual income families for true participation. This school year PTO meetings were scheduled at 9:30 a.m. I spoke to the principal and expressed my desire to attend PTO meetings, but it's not possible to attend at 9:30 a.m., due to my job. I suggested evening meetings. The PTO then scheduled an evening meeting (7:00 p.m.) in March and canceled the night of the meeting with no notice. I was quite angry, as I had changed my schedule to be there. The next PTO meeting, in April, was scheduled for 7:00 p.m., however, the only notice given was in the PTO News which was sent home the same day of the scheduled meeting. This is not adequate notice of a meeting. These actions by the PTO give me less desire to purchase or attempt to sell items for their constant fund raisers. It seems evident that our PTO only wants our money not our involvement in the school or with their group. I believe these board members are self centered people, with goals of befriending teachers to elevate their own children's grades and popularity, not helping all students nor the school. Hopefully the PTO Board next school year will be more open to welcoming working parents and will realize the ideas, skills, and value others can bring to the table to help all students and the school. If the small town mentality doesn't change, I will propose the PTO be dissolved.