I agree fully with JTina: "Our dad's aren't involved in every PTO meeting. All we have to do is them to do something and they do it..." Our Dad's are always ready to lend a helping hand!

A sunday morning meeting at a local coffee house can pull some of the working parents (both Moms & Dads) in.

We also hold an annual Father-Child breakfast. We call it a "Special Person" breakfast to be sensitive to some of our families. Some kids share their dad's so that no one is left out. We had 100% participation last year, and a few of the dad's mentioned creating some fun activities for them to do with the kids once a month (both in and outside of the school.) It's during these fun mornings that the ideas beging to kick around. We're following up and seeing where things go from here.

We have a bunch of programs that dads really like. We got some ideas from a parent involvement program called three for me that we started this year. They had some neat ideas to reach dads. We also tried the Watchdog program, but it just didn't catch on. Our dads just like to come to and be a part of events that appeal to them. You should search for dad involvement on the web because there are a lot of great ideas out there.

Thanks Michael B. We have a lot of young fathers at our school. I'll ask some of the women to talk to their men about your suggestion.

Father/daughter themed dance,
Sock hop, luau, or disco theme work great. Let PTO board, moms, and school staff serve refreshments. Great to make connections with staff and other PTO famalies

Golf Tournament Hello!!!
Get a local course to give you a reduced rate package and do not limit yourself to the just your PTO dads, do 1 with your local chamber of commerce. It will work to make ties to bring dads in as well as strngthen your PTO's relations in the community. Will work as a great fundraiser also.

I was the first dad to join our PTO. I joined because so many people said they wanted to see a change in the PTO but no one would set up to the plate. After joining I have got some other fathers to join meetings on a regular basis. We have an accountant (a dad) that manages the finance and we have other dads that are in change or the Garden and Grounds programs, sports outings and more. What you need to do is offer programs that will interest dads to get involved. My main mission was to get others involved when I joined and we are growing this year after year.