Not sure that I can help much as far as starting from scratch, although I was with our group when it started. i think the key is what direction do you want to go. The first thing we did was have a couple of monthly meetings first.
From there you should be able to feel out how much interest there really is. If you plan on going non-profit you should incorporate first(this protects your officers of being liable) you should get a federal id number which is used for alot of stuff(like opening up a checking account). From there you could apply for your 501c3(these require bylaws and officers)
If that's not the way you want to go then you will need to work with the school as far as having a account to keep money. Fundraising wise I would recommend something that doesn't take alot of hands and since it will be your first one stay away from pershiable items until you get a method done for pickup. There are so many fundraisers out there, I guess I would feel out what sells in your community and try to stay away from things that everyone sells.Try to beat other groups to the pitch, we try to get our first one out before anyone else...means more $$$
As far as getting involvement you need to sell your group. part of that is advertising, advertisning, advertising. Put something in the local paper, get a picture in there, school newsletters are good, flyers in report cards, etc. Being middle school this is going to be a hard thing to do, maybe for future reference you can talk to your elementary group at years end and you might get some that were involved at that level. I think alot of parents dont realize that middle schools have groups.
As far as diversity I cant say that is an area that i can help with, we are a poorer school so we do try to have alot of free family events. I think you need to get a fundraiser going as soon as you can and then you will have some money to help kick things off....good luck not sure i was any help

Bump. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Anybody? Did I ask in the wrong forum? Is there nobody here that has started a PTO where there was none before?

And what about the diversity, the fact that we have so many willing parents for which English is a 2nd language (if at all)? We would like to work together. While having a translator seems cumbersome, having two separate groups (one English-speaking; the other, Spanish-speaking) seems potentially off-putting.

Or does this board not get as much traffic as I thought?

Our junior high (7/8/9) has never had a PTO--at least since my eldest (now a college sophomore) started there.

Last year we got a great new principal, and in the spring he invited people to come and get a PTO organized. We started with an encouraging turnout, and lots of enthusiasm, but without a plan these great intentions turned into a proliferation of committees, none of which really got off the ground.

At the end of the year, we had a small group, attempting to get organized, and it looked like we were on our way, with a President (me), secretary, fund raising committee (2 people), and by-laws committee, who were all going to work on a few things over the summer, and our first "regular" PTO meeting would be the week before school starts (tonight, 8/11).

As it turns out (after making a bunch of phone calls last night), not much happened over the summer. The fund raising committee didn't do anything (the chairman essentially quit when she decided to send her child to another school, and the other gal didn't know what to do). We have no budget, no money. So joining the NPN is not an option in the near term.

We didn't get any by-laws drafted--but have found plenty of links to others' and intend to look at those, adapt what we like, and have something ready to vote on this fall. I am not concerned about the lack of bylaws at the moment, but realize that they are necessary and important.

I've been a PTO president before (at the elementary level), as well as held many leadership positions in Cub Scouts. But I've never been in charge of getting a NEW group going. I expect there to be growing pains, and want to be careful not to "bite off more than we can chew," and fail. I want to choose a few things to do well, but could really use the advice of folks who've been in this position (or something similar).

Another challenge we have is a diverse student population. Lots of low-income students who ualify for free and reduced lunch (probably about 50%), as well as many hispanics with interested parents who don't speak English, whom we want to include. I never learned Spanish (I grew up in the Northeast, where learning French seemed to make more sense). Anyone out there with experience communicating with a community like this?

You're welcome to e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., as well.