September PTO To Do List

• If your school starts back in early September, we have some simple ways you can welcome students and families back to school. Also check out what parent groups across the country are doing to welcome their teachers back to school.

• Add a little excitement to your first meeting. Icebreaker bingo or printable conversation-starters are good ways set the tone that your meetings won’t be all (boring) business. Get your free school year planner (designed just for PTO and PTA groups) - make copies and distribute to your board members to help your group plan fundraising, events and more for the coming year. 

• Finalize your fall event details and start working out the details of your event plans for later in the year. (And make sure your parent group is insured beforehand.)

  • Free Event Planning Guides

  • 6 Simple Fall Events

  • Organize a Trunk or Treat

  • Plan a Family Tech Talk event (free parent education webinar on Internet safety from PTO Today & Trend Micro) 

  • Glow Run or Glow Dance: we round up everything you need (shoppable list of supplies, decor, plus Canva templates)  

  • Fundraising Ideas and Resources 

• Present your annual budget for approval.

• Be sure to distribute a volunteer interest survey form to find out how parents would like to get involved—and follow up with each response.

• Make sure your group has everything it needs - check out our shoppable list of must-have products for PTO and PTA groups from our community and bookmark our library of free printables and Canva templates (we're always adding new stuff!) 

• Think about the community service projects your group might want to pursue, especially for the holidays—they’ll be here before you know it.

  Ideas for Giving Back at the Holidays

• Organize a leadership meeting where leaders can meet to discuss goals for the year.

• Special days to celebrate at school in September: National Play-Doh Day on September 16, National Rice Krispie Treats Day on September 18, National School Parent Group Appreciation Day on September 26 (2024), and National Coffee Day on September 29. Download our full calendar of school appreciation days and fun days to celebrate

• Work out the nuts and bolts of your newsletter—its purpose and format (emailed or printed) and who will be its point people. You could split responsibilities among a few people, such as having two or three editors responsible for a few newsletters each during the year.

Suggested Teacher Appreciation Effort: Casual Welcome-Back Meal

Since most schools are still getting into the swing of things, a casual welcome-back breakfast or potluck lunch are nice ways to encourage teachers to relax a bit.

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Originally posted in 2016 and updated regularly. School Family Nights® is a trademark of School Family Media®.