10 Mistakes Parent Groups Make

Send in the Clones

The Mistake: Assuming all parents are alike—they’re just like me!

The Symptoms: Just trying to build involvement becomes a struggle. You get frustrated when people don’t respond to obvious needs. You wonder why people want to be recognized or thanked when they’ve given only an hour or two of volunteer time—and you’ve given 300.

The Cure: It’s important to recognize that not all parents are motivated by the same things. In particular, you and your core group are special; you’re involved because it’s the right thing to do. Other people need to be approached in a different way. Communication is key. You must tell people why it’s important they be involved and let them know what’s in it for them (and their children): a better school and a better educational environment. Other key messages: Your group accomplishes many things (people want to feel a sense of accomplishment), you have fun, and you won’t monopolize their time—even an hour or two is a big help.

Eyes on the (Wrong) Prize

The Mistake: Making fundraising the focus of your group.

The Symptoms: You have a hard time building involvement or finding new volunteers because not many people get excited about being salesmen. When most of the communications parents get from you are about fundraising, they think your group is only about sales.

The Cure: Don’t start the year with a fundraiser; start with a welcoming event. Make family events free or just charge cost, if possible. You’ll build more support that way and, in the end, achieve better fundraising results as well.

Principal, Shmincipal

The Mistake: Not keeping the lines of communication open with the principal; not recognizing and understanding the principal’s role and responsibilities.

The Symptoms: You’re frequently at odds with the principal and don’t feel supported. Even good ideas seem to get shot down for administrative reasons: no time, don’t want to bother the custodian, can’t spare the storage space, etc.

The Cure: Try to see things from the principal’s point of view, then address any concerns he might have up front. He has staff, facilities, budget, and a host of other items on his plate. Sometimes parent group issues aren’t at the top of that list.

The Burn Center

The Mistake: Trying to do too much too often, leaving everybody burned out—including yourself.

The Symptoms: A select few people accomplish a tremendous amount. But eventually it becomes a burden. You feel bitterness that others aren’t helping. Meanwhile, people who might become involved are turned off because it seems like so much time and trouble. Outsiders may come to see your core group as a clique, and in a way, you are—after all, you spend a lot of time together doing so much work.

The Cure: Evaluate projects not just on how much they cost but on how much effort and volunteer time they require. Is there something else you could accomplish that would be more worthwhile with that time? Sometimes canceling an activity because you don’t have enough help is the right thing to do.

Thinking Inside the Box

The Mistake: Doing things because they’ve “always been done that way.”

The Symptoms: You continue to run events and fundraisers long after they’ve ceased to be successful. You make small adjustments but steer away from big changes. Creative people with new ideas become frustrated because you’re still following a map that was drawn years ago.

The Cure: Evaluate each activity. Is it still successful, or is there a case of diminishing returns or dimming interest? Encourage creativity, and don’t be afraid to fail. Something new might inject new life not just into your activities but into your group as a whole.

Wheel Alignment

The Mistake: Not maintaining good records about projects and events.

The Symptoms: No one knows how things were done last time, so you’re constantly reinventing the wheel. Instead of moving forward, you do the same work again and again. You need a new site for the auction? Well, three years ago somebody called all of the places in the area and figured out which ones were large enough. But that person is gone, and there are no records. So someone will have to do it again.

The Cure: Make certain that committee chairpeople keep important documents and record their thoughts and decisions. A typical way to do this is with a binder system. Each officer and chair keeps a binder with all pertinent information for each project. Set up meetings between incoming officers and new chairs and those who are retiring. This way, you create institutional memory that can be passed down rather than losing that knowledge when someone leaves office.

All Trees, No Forest

The Mistake: No long-term planning, no budgeting, no vision for the future.

The Symptoms: You focus on the present, and you don’t look ahead until the current activity is out of the way. You choose activities based on how much is in the bank right now. You’re constantly fundraising to fill the gaps.

The Cure: Devoting time to long-term planning will help your group do more and smooth over the ups and downs. Brainstorm about what you want to achieve—not just events but also benefits you’ll provide for the school. Create a budget, then plan your fundraisers based on what you’ll need to accomplish those goals.