Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
High school PTOs don't generally drive the kind of big involvement numbers that elementary school PTOs do. The reason is that there are a lot of other avenues of involvement in a high school, and activities are splintered in a way they aren't in elementary or even middle school. Booster clubs, sports teams, drama program, the band, etc. all call on parents for assistance. That doesn't mean you can't get people engaged and accomplish some meaningful things for the school, though. The key is to look at the whole school and think about how the PTO fits in. Then use that information to set your mission and goals. One strong role for a high school PTO can be to facilitate communications between the administration and parents. You can provide information for parents about academic programs, preparing for college, etc. You can run a few large-scale events (or support them) that build school pride and create tradition. Bottom line, it depends on what your school needs, and that differs from high school to high school. Regarding the role of the principal, that doesn't change so much. He should act as an advisor, help you set priorities, and decide how to spend money the PTO donates to the school. He shouldn't run the PTO, choose the officers, or dictate how the PTO spends its money. Regarding back-to-school, our program is aimed at grades k-8, mostly because involvement changes so much in high school.

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