Our PTO Lapsed for a year after the previous officers got burned out trying to do everything themselves. This told me that if this was going to be a success, the biggest job will be getting (and keeping) volunteers.
This year I called the principal and asked if he minded if I set up a table at the beginning of the year open house. He agreed, and I arrived early with a card table from home and set up where I could see eeveryone entering the building.
We had decided membership would be free, so parents would not be able to use that as an excuse not to join.
The message was this.
Sign up for any reason.
If all you want is to know what if going on in the school, that is fine. You don't have to attend meetings. You don't have to volunteer at events. If you can that's great.
I also claimed to the men that I get double the commission for getting a man to sign up. (just as a joke) That got a few more men involved.
We went from a membership of 0 to 50 parents and teachers.
We publish minutes via email and mail (only to those that don't have email) to save money.
To figure out how to get events started, the school has a PR committee that we teamed up with that is lead by a go getter teacher.
I would start by sending home a letter telling parents how they can sign up to volunteer. I send home a letter at the beginning of the school year along with copies of both clearances that are required by the school board. Our school pays for the clearances so it doesn't cost anything but time for parents to volunteer. Once you get parents to respond, you can have a meeting to start planning fundraisers, programs, and activities for the school.
As far as grants are concerned, Lowes Home Improvement Store offers grants to schools every year. There are two deadlines throughout the school year. Maybe you can apply for a grant from them to help with your library. Good luck!
While I cannot give you ideas on grants...i can tell you that a huge amount of our involvement has come from my personal commitment to communicate with folks via many forums...websites, fliers, emails. I have found that to be an invaluable source of feedback and involvement and also find folks very willing to give and give and give....d
I am the President of Houston Heights Learning Academy. We are a small charter school. We have not had an organized PTO before. I am in dire need of ideas and suggestions. How do I get paernts invovled? I need grants from companies. Our school does not have a Library and I would like to have one this year. We need bookshelves, books, etc.
