My advice would be to make sure the Principal is on board it makes things easier. You can do it without Him/Her but with is much more productive.
Don't forget to promote yourselves.

Have you set goals for your group for the school year? What is your mission? Once you have established those things then you can move into the "how to" part. Will you need to raise funds? How much?

Try to put together an estimated budget for the year. It will give you a good idea of your financial needs.

Plan some fun, family events. Since you're a new group, you want to make a good impression so you can draw people in.

There is a wonderful websites with many forms you can use. www.orgsites.com/ma/ptoinfo/index.html

I have just been elected president of our new pto. This will be a brand new start up for us, since we did not have an existing pto. I need all the help i can get from letters to any sort of advice on what to do next. Thanks in advance