your situation sounds so close to mine. I just moved to town a year ago and pow! I became our PTO president.Wehat i have done this year is talk talk and talk to who ever would listen.When i saw a parent i let them know what was going on and just to let them know who i was and if they had any ideas i let them know that i was there to listen. It has been a slow start but once people got to know that we had a different attitud this year and that it wasn't about a few women and their ideas people have been getting more involved.
We started to have a weekly coffee morning with free coffee for parents and teacher. I got a list of parent and teacher who would donate treats for the mornign and we have been getting a lot of new parent to pop in and visit.
I just would like to let you know that some days i feel sad because of the lack of parent involvment but i get over it quick and just try a little harder and it all works out. So keep up the great work and this is a great place for support and ideas.Go get'em!! :cool:
Parents who want to volunteer in the classrooms at our school, sign up at registration. We then give each teacher a list of who signed up for his/her classroom. We also distribute a pamphlet to each volunteer that explains what they may be asked to do in class, making sure they sign in at the office, and confidentiality. I like the idea of an orientation meeting, maybe done in conjunction with our first PTO meeting of the year.
I am very interested in setting up a better volunteer plan. It is so disorganized now. I want to have some kind of orientation, or at the least, a written document with tips on how to be a good volunteer and what needs doing. I would like to start a mentoring program of experienced volunteers to help less confident parents get involved in the classroom. I think this will also convert the teachers who don't want parents in the classroom because they don't have the time to show a new volunteer what to do.
At last nights executive board meeting I encouraged everyone to put more emphasis on face-to-face recruiting of volunteers and to start encouraging their friends and the other parents of children in their kid's classroom to join the various PTA committees.
I also did a lot of delegating by putting a single person in charge of every upcoming event. It helps that I see most of the board on a daily basis at the school so we all get along pretty well.
AAh, sounds kind of familiar. I have served as President of our PTO for 2 years now. The year before I took the position we had a President who resigned due to job change and disappeared. Before that we had a President who I have the feeling was only using the position as a community involvment mark on his job review. Attendance at meetings and volunteer participation had slipped. I won't take all the credit for the turn around-I have had the great fortune to get a group of board members and volunteers who are really enthusiastic and give their all. I think enthusiam is the key word for us. We all LOVE doing this. I relay that in every communication: every note and newsletter, every speech at round-up and at every meeting. I make a point of speaking to EVERY parent, not just the familiar faces. Attendance at meetings has tripled and volunteerism is up too. Also, one point I always tried to communicate from the beginning is that this organization exist to benefit the children of this school--that means your child is affected by everything this group does. I write a newsletter every month that is included in the school's newsletter. I also send out a meeting agenda two weeks before the meeting to let everyone know what will be discussed. I have my name and phone number on everything, and I stand out front every day to pick up my kids, so I can chat with parents. If you want people to help, you have to let them know what's going on and make them feel welcome and needed.
Final tip--Use this forum to get questions answered and get support. It's a great resource!!
Hyway, Through no skill of my own, our PTA has a pretty diverse group of volunteers. Of course we have the same 10 people at most events but we also have parents volunteering at large pta functions like our Earth Day and the end of the year festival that I don't even know.
Here's a couple of things that work for us. At our first few meetings and my hello speech at the open house I say right out, "We are not a clique. Anyone is welcome to join us. The PTA will not function without you." so those are the words but the actions are our committee sign up sheets that go out to every child's parents. We list all our committees and every job that could possibly be done. We have all kinds of volunteer activites, some that can be done at home, box tops for education, baking for classroom parties, holiday evening socials, etc. or they can get on the fundraising committee, Earth Day, be the homeroom parent, second grade reading club, etc. You could literally help out once a year or 50 times a year!
We have a committee chair and homeroom parent meeting in early October after all those sign up sheets are back and sorted. At the meeting we emphasize what channels the chairs should go through (paperwork needs to be approved by me (Pres.) and the Principal, etc.) and how they need to contact EVERYONE on their list. This approach has worked well for us. Good luck on your new position and welcome to the board!
What I am most afraid of is having a un-involved parent group. It is usually all the same suspects when I volunteer at the school. I want to change that. I want people to want to come to the school and get involved. In the past, the get involved campaign usually consisted of sending out flyers and asking for help in front of the full PTA meetings. Neither seems to work that well. If I can do one thing as President, I hope it is to get the PTA board to do more face-to-face and phone calling of individual parents.
I know fundraising is a big issue, but I feel that if I can get more people involved with the school on a regular basis that the fundraising problem will become that much easier.
