I thought of doing this about four years ago, but never got it going. I think it's a WONDERFUL idea! We have eight k-6 schools in our district, one middle school and one comprehensive high school. We also have some smaller and private schools in the area too. I really think an idea like this would benefit soo many and bring the communitiy close together as in "all for one and one for all". Maybe I'll start thinking about getting it off the ground for next year? Hmm?
Thanks for bringing it up.
Our district of 20 schools has had an inter-school PTO for several years. Each school is represented and we usually have about 6 meetings a year and a vendor's fair (to get fundraising ideas) every other year. This PTO has its own board and at each meeting there are several principals and/or administrative reps, a school board member, our superintendent, and a featured speaker. Each school has a chance to give a report at each meeting and ask questions, etc.
I highly recommend it, no matter what size your district is.
Our county holds a PTO Symposium twice a year. All of the elementary schools are invited, we have one school hold it in the fall, another in the spring. We do mini workshops for fundraising, presidents, treasurers, school spirit, and anything else they think of. We invite vendors from any fundraisers we've used or have information for, and the superintendent of schools comes to talk to us. Its only from about 9 am until noon...and its full of information and a great time to gather with other schools to see how we are all doing. My school is hosting this fall and we are all SO excited!
We have had this for many years it is a seperate organization called central PTO and we use it as an umbrella for taxes and our tax exempt and they collect the dues for our whole district so you only pay once. we meet every other month and each school gives a report on new stuff and old stuff too we also can run big fundraisers together like an auction. Also our superintendent comes to these meetings and a board of ed member and they give the PTO presidents from each school reports and have time for any questions we may have. It really is a great share time we love it. We also support town budgets and school referendums through this Central Organization.
After seeing an article about a LEF(Local Education Foundation) in PTO Today a year or more ago it got my wheels spinning. I'm still in the same spot. I would love to see our PTO's meet, just a few reps from each PTO, to brain storm and share ideas. I tried to meet with the other elementary school's PTO Pres. when I first got nominated as suggested by our Parent Liason to discuss the volunteer program I devised. No luck.
I think it is a good idea. Your kids are neighbors and what a great way to work together to make your schools and communties better.
We started doing this a few months ago. There are four elementary schools in our area of our (large) school district. In the past there have been a lot of hard feelings and rivalries between the schools. This year we decided to work together and meet once a month to discuss issues, fundraising ideas, management problems, etc. All our kids go to the same middle and high school so eventually they will all be together anyway. It has been a really rewarding experience. Because of the extreme budget cuts in our district we are all working together, along with the PTOs at the middle and high school, to do a huge pledge drive. We are all using the same theme and although the amounts we are asking for are slightly different, it is helping parents understand that this is a community-wide effort and needed to keep our schools top-notch.
My best advice is to keep an open mind. They may not do things like you do but you can learn a lot from their experiences. Go over your calendars for next year so you don't have conflicting fundraisers or events. See if you work together on a project so you can do some community-building. Don't be afraid to open up about problems at your school. We all have them.
