First, we all get frustrated. That just comes with the territory. You have my sympathy! Take a deep breath, meet a friend for coffee (the froofy kind is best) and blow off some steam.
Second, while I am a huge fan of teachers, PTOs are there for the students. Continue to work in every way possible to enhance the learning environment for the kids.
Third, if your school has never had room parents before then the teachers may have felt like it was just sprung on them. If they're already disgruntled (I'm guessing from your post) then further intrusion into their work space without their input is bound to be met with hostility. I think room parents are very important but it may be something your school has to work it's way up to. Maybe you could appoint a committee of a few parents and teachers who can work together to decide what is the best role a room parent can play in the classroom. My experience is that teachers feel great ownership of their classrooms (as they should) and would at least like to be consulted before changes are made.
At this point, I'd suggest you take a step back and reevaluate your goals. Increasing parent involvement is definitely in the top three for any parent group. Your real goal is to find out how to do that within your own community so it works for everyone - parents, children and teachers.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
I was so ready for the school year, hoping to increase parent involvement, when I sent out the room parent letters for the teachers. New idea from this site. Come to find out from the principal, only one teacher is interested in having a room parent. One of my kids teachers.
How do you improve parent involvement when it seems that the teacher do not want the parents around???
I know that last year there was a school meeting prior to our Teacher Appreciation Dinner about changes for this school year. Apparently many of the teachers were not happy and bailed on the dinner pulling no shows after they r.s.v.p. yes (about 50%). I worked very hard on this dinner as did my mother in law. This was very disappointing since the PTO had nothing to do with the changes and still was "penalized".
We are a very small PTO and many members have moved onto Middle School. I have spent a good portion of the summer coming up with new ideas for this year and the lack of interest by the teachers seems as though we are not appreciated! I am about ready to throw in the towel. Any suggestions??
