I think your best course of action would be to get involved this year, do a great job on your piece of the PTO pie. And then run for president next year. You'll have made connections, gained credibility, and be in a much better position to put your experience and talents to work for the greater good. It will be hard to sit back and watch people make mistakes, but until you build the relationships, your best intentions might be unwelcome. Maybe it comes from working primarily with woman, but that's the way we are sometimes. Gotta play by "the rules".

Don't go down too hard on the principal. She mihgt seem to be the logical one to support the council idea, but probably not. If your PTO asserts its independence (as many of us do), then your principal really doesn't have any authority over the group. She DOES have a school to run first and foremost. I bet she doesn't have any idea how the PTOs at neighboring schools are run, so it's unlikely she'd automatically see the value in your council idea. Plus, it's early in the school year, and she is swamped getting things in order. If the problems you describe are long-standing, she might not even see them as problems anymore. But if the issues are new this year, the @*#$% will eventually hit the fan and then maybe she'll be motivated to take a more active role in helping smooth things out for the good of the school. Hang in there. One day, your PTO (and your school) will benefit from your skills.

Thanks for the replies - just to forward and bold, that's what I thought.

I wish the principal would just recommend the council to the other principals or talk to our president about leadership expectations, etc...but she wont I already asked. The principal seems like the right person to handle this because its her school and a parents group that functions well is in her best interest. Exactly what she said to me in the main office where everyone to hear "I am not getting involved in the parent organization, I have a school to run" - I get her point but come on.... when there are issues the principal needs to step up. And the gossip train is really going to run with these issues. - Sorry, just a rant.

I also already spoke to a couple of people on our board and they don't want to take on another resposibility or "club", they also don't want to talk to our president because they feel it will be to confrontational and not taken as trying to be helpful.

I think I am just going to leave it alone to much personal risk of being "badly labeled" within the district to try and solve this problem.

Thanks again for the advice.

C

Sound like the solution for your area might be the 'humble' approach.

Find leaders in other groups besides your own to take on the council task.

Discretely and individually talk to leaders of other groups and find out if they have had and solved this kind of problem before and enlist them to participate in leading such a council. Perhaps their is a highly respected community leader whose name will draw others to come participate.

Perhaps you can be a background player and quietly do logistical work to make it easier for the "other" leader.

(Just an idea)

christag;136940 wrote: Hello all,

I am new to the boards and to the semi-new to the whole PTA/School thing. We are having problems (of course) in our parent group. But nothing that I feel that can't be resolved with some direction and leadership training. Our issues are the basics - lack communication, no follow up, no expectations, no solid goals, etc... and they are causing major problems, hurt feels and people quitting left and right.

Anyway, long story short our principal does not want to get involved. So I have decided to step up to the plate using my professional management experience to speak to our executive committee for the greater good of the group/students, etc...but...because I am just a member and don't hold a position as of yet I am worried about perception - I don't want the training to be seen as me thinking I am the "end all be all and master problem solver."
Establishing a club would hopefully solve that problem.

Here's where I need the advice would you come to meetings/workshops for just parent leaders. First I would ask just the other school's parents groups leaders to come to the workshops then if all goes well we could open the club to other districts.

My vision: A club where parents leaders can learn the how toos and gain the skill sets for running an organization...and discuss their issues without the principals and everyone and their brother.

so your thoughts - would you come???? what am I missing to make this happen and should I get support from the superintendent? or just stick to my original thought an

Thanks,
C

Hi Christag --

There's actually a fairly decent comparison between what you're feeling/observing and what I felt and was observing 10-15 years ago, when we started PTO Today. Then, I was attending a couple of hundred PTO and PTA meetings per year and watching groups often struggle with very similar challenges. That was the fundamental driving force behind starting PTO Today, to try and help leaders (new crop every year) do their so0importnat job more effectively.

Local groups often do what you're talking about in the form of a town-wide president's council or officer's council, which can be as informal as meeting for coffee once per month to share notes, celebrate wins and commiserate on frustrations. Nice when that forms.

But my guess is that you're coming in and trying to make that happen without first kind of "earning your voice" through volunteering in the trenches and moving up to leadership may not be received that well. Just a guess, though. Use your gifts -- absolutely. And share them subtly and effectively as widely as you can. Over time -- as folks see your abilities -- you'll be ina better spot to make even more change. My thoughts anyway....

Tim

Every school is different and every set of parent leaders is different so I can only say how it would be perceived at my school. Bringing someone in that has no connections to the school to offer training to parent leaders would be a great idea but someone who walks among us "telling" us how to act would not go over well.

Hello all,

I am new to the boards and to the semi-new to the whole PTA/School thing. We are having problems (of course) in our parent group. But nothing that I feel that can't be resolved with some direction and leadership training. Our issues are the basics - lack communication, no follow up, no expectations, no solid goals, etc... and they are causing major problems, hurt feels and people quitting left and right.

Anyway, long story short our principal does not want to get involved. So I have decided to step up to the plate using my professional management experience to speak to our executive committee for the greater good of the group/students, etc...but...because I am just a member and don't hold a position as of yet I am worried about perception - I don't want the training to be seen as me thinking I am the "end all be all and master problem solver."
Establishing a club would hopefully solve that problem.

Here's where I need the advice would you come to meetings/workshops for just parent leaders. First I would ask just the other school's parents groups leaders to come to the workshops then if all goes well we could open the club to other districts.

My vision: A club where parents leaders can learn the how toos and gain the skill sets for running an organization...and discuss their issues without the principals and everyone and their brother.

so your thoughts - would you come???? what am I missing to make this happen and should I get support from the superintendent? or just stick to my original thought an

Thanks,
C