Are you a charter school by chance? Just wondering because our charter school started really small like that.
You need help, would the teachers share or help you out in this area? I mean don't they have a little data base of info about their students that they would be willing to share?
At our school the Principal does have veto power over fundraisers and approval is nessasary on anything we send home. If works though. We have only lost one fundraisier so far. Is it just me or was the school started on a hope and a prayer with no real cash on hand? Talk about feeling and sounding like slave labor instead of volunteers! Seriously, here is some sugar and a pitcher, you have enough lemons here. Duties aside, the teachers need to know you are behind them and the school board needs to know you need their help to help them. Serve lemon-aide!
Functions of the PTO
Think PTOs are all about bake sales? Think again. The KES PTO provides refreshments for Open House. The PTO sponsors monthly activities such as Watermelon Day, Sno-Cone Days, Popcorn Days, Cocoa Day, and reading days in edition to the annual float for the Edmonson County Parade, the annual Kyrock Class Basketball Tournaments, Field Day and the annual Kyrock Cookout. We also sponsor the Kyrock Talent Show, purchase attendance prizes, and much more!
This is an excerpt from some of the info we sent out. Also we sponsor the volunteer program and purchase AR prizes.
We did a "Change to Mulch for Safety" campaign when we were trying so hard to raise some extra cash for the playground. The loose change brought us around $1200.00.
Yes, there are confidentiality issues, but PTO members generally have access to the phone #'s. Who calls parents to tell them school is closed for a snow day or other unforseen incident? We have a phone chain and only PTO and class mothers have access to the phone #'s as we make the phone calls.
Okay well if you can't call them, then what you need to do is make a flyer up and send it home. Begging to get people to volunteer to clean.
Is this a public school? and is the town of low, medium, or high economic status? When does your board approve its next budget?
Oh and when you ask for janitorial volunteers I would also send a flyer to every board member!
Our school has 104 students. Right now the teachers are having to clean because the school "does not have funds for a janitor" - so the requested the PTO organize a parent pool to clean the school.
How do you get around the confidentiality issue for calling parents? Our school will not give us telephone numbers, as they say it is confidential. We are just supposed to get parents involved.
By the way, our By-Laws state that we are an organization set up for the purposes of fundraising and childrens activities. How do you get parents to volunteer for classroom help? We too have the "same old 5 parents doing everything"
Like JHB posted. It does vary by school. Most PTO's do fundraising as it is a necessity to raise money to pay for assmeblies, field trips, or whatever your school and the children need or are lacking. I see nothing wrong with them asking you to organize volunteers and getting parents to assist as aids in the classroom.
The one issue here I would balk at is them telling you there are no janitors and it is the PTO's job to clean the school. The school needs janitors! Do they expect someone to be on hand every minute of the school day to clean up messes and fix anything that goes awry? That is the boards responsibility. Plus what are the legal issues? If you mop the floor after a spill and a kid falls on it, could you be sued by the parents?
You are not employeed by the school, so do they have to protect you? Janitors are really important to the school and its proper functioning. I find it almost comical that they think they cannot have them and get parents to do it! How big is your school?
