PTOmom - How did you get the support back? We disbanded our pto last year due to board member problems and lack of interest. We now have a booster club that goes directly through our school support team. I would love to know how you got the confidence of the staff and parents back.

A new principal can be a really good thing. We got a new principal last year, what a huge difference. Our new principal is extremely supportive and welcoming. She is willing to help us, help her, our kids, and the school. We are still need to pump up parent involvement, which has decreased dramatically over the past 3-4 years while the previous princ. was in place. I have a lot of new ideas, and so far the princ. has been very supportive and helpful. I hope this new staff changes work out as good for you. GOOD LUCK!!!

You are really lucky to have a new principal and some new staff. Hopefully they won't be used to the same ways things always went and you can put in new ideas. Start small and fun. Have some parents bring goodies to the staff on Friday afternoons and get them on your side. Find out from the sign in sheet if there is a regular amount of parents that help our in their child's classroom and bring them together. Plan a Family Fun night like basketball in the Gym. You have to appeal to people fun side first. They won't want to come to meeting and plan budgets but they might like to have a free activity with their family or be organized for what they already help out with at the School. After awhile the teachers will love that you help them and appreciate them and the parents will realize that it's about a relationship with the school that spends so much time with their kids. Do a small fundraiser and buy the school some books. Then keep building and building your programs. Appreciate your volunteers, we donate books to the library in the name of our committee chairs after just 3 months of service and we have a volunteer tea for all volunteers at the end of the year. The kids sing and the principal thanks everyone and we hand out flowers. It not that expensive and just says thank you.

I think the school is very lucky to have you. There are so many things available out there the other person can't say no to everything and she can't stop you from bringing in cookies to the office staff, so next you can ask them to reserve the gym for basketball. Keep trying

I just love how when you put on the table a couple IDEAS how someone always makes you feel like you just came down from being on a mountain for a few days and everything is in stone!!! LOL Changes, ideas, amendments, they are all ideas that came to us for a reason (however crazy it may be) and it's hard for someone to be objective and say "Holy Cow, Your right, a light bulb instead of candles would be great!!"
Just remeber, things like this take time....the Titanic took years to build, hours to sink and too many people telling them LATER how to do it better!

I'm not taking sides but I would just listen to anything real to the other gal has to offer. Or better yet make her promise if an idea doesn't go as planned, she won't tell you she told you so!

I've been there too. A couple of years ago when I was VP I had loads of ideas, a new principal, and a closed minded prez.

The president was closed minded because she was burned out and had personal issues that she was really worried about so when she resigned I took over with ideas in hand. My motto quickly became "You never know until you try." A few ideas never got off the ground, a few flopped, and some of them worked out great. But no one was hurt by any of it and now I don't have to wonder if they would work or not. Changes are hard and some people have a hard time accepting them but in the end it is usually for the best. I also got teacher attendance up, for a little while anyways.

YOU were the one elected president. People must of had confidence in your opinion and leadership, so it's up to you to decide what goes on the agenda. The worst that can happen is a vote "no".

I am kinda in the same boat. last year we got a new Principal and it was our first year to have a PTO in years. It flopped pretty bad, BUT we did have a PTO. The end of the year I kept bugging the pres for names and addresses of PTO members to keep in contact over the summer and make plans- I got nothing from her. So what, I sat at the front door the last day of school and got 21 names and numbers of people I knew were in PTO and several who weren't. I worked my tail off this summer and we will see what happens now. I am very optimistic that these other parents want to make changes too. Good Luck- Don't let her tell you it won't work, just make it happen.