Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
That's a difficult situation. The best alternative to sending notices through the backpack express is to use email. To gather email addresses, create a parent email signup form and have it available at every school event. PTO Today's Parent Express Email is a free email service designed specifically for parent groups. In addition, you might create a school bulletin board, use the school sign if available, hand out flyers at pickup and drop-off time, and use school events to hand out information to parents. The problem with all of these is that you will inevitably miss some parents who don't have email and don't come to the school themselves. Some schools set a specific number of days during the school year when organizations can send home information. That would at least let you get out flyers on your major fundraisers and a couple of events. It's unfortunate that your principal feels this way. Building parent involvement is important for the school, not just for your parent group. Not being able to send home information through the school is a major roadblock to building involvement. Oh, and regarding your question about the staff and the PTO, it's a working relationship. Obviously, the staff has final say over certain things like when you can and can't use the school copier, how to sign up to reserve a room for an event, etc. But the PTA is independent, and the staff has no say when it comes to deciding how often you hold meetings, what your priorities are, who your officers are, etc.

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