At our PTO meetings we only set up one table for the officers. The rest of the meeting room is set up with chairs facing the table. That way those parents who are new to the meetings can "meet and greet" in the beginning of the meeting and it gives a more "informal" setting where great ideas are batted around before the meeting. It just seems like it gets people talking a little more- plus you have someone in front of you, behind you, and on both sides......lots of different ideas around you!
At my old school we used the art room and the officers sat at the front tables facing all the other tables so that way we could see everyone in the room.
Good for you for thinking about those folks in the back of the room and trying to involve them! How about setting the tables up in an open U shape with extra rows of chairs along the open end.
For the last five years we have arranged the library tables for our PTO meetings in a big square. The stragglers always wind up sitting in chairs facing the backs of people because there is no room left.
I really don't feel that it is very welcoming of us if someone is looking at our back. Not only that, but the chairs are going to have eye contact with everyone at the table and aren't going to turn around which further excludes people.
How do we arrange the tables so that it incorporates everyone and no one is stuck looking at the back of someone else?
