Question: How do we get out of the PTA mindset?

Out of the 12 school in our school district we are the only PTO. All other school are PTA. We recently switched to PTO and I feel as though all eyes are on us. There are some that would like to see us fail since we decided to leave PTA. Thankfully, we've been very successful bringing in more money than ever at our school and not having to pay dues to PTA. It's still difficult when other groups view us as "loose cannons" or "mavericks" in a PTA dominant community. We also have PTO board members who continually quote PTA rules that they think we should to follow too. We are not PTA anymore and need to get out of the old PTA mindset of massive restrictions. How do i get that across to our PTO board without sounding like we are independent mavericks?

Asked by TAB

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rockne writes:
Hi TAB -- The key thing is to spend 99.78% of your time focused on doing the good work for your school and kids. All of the other stuff is less important and people will see it's less important as you have continued success and focus. There are some PTA "rules" that may well make good habits or bylaws for your group, too. So those suggestions won't always be bad. Discuss them. Vote on them. And then move on. You can't debate the same issue 17 times - not productive, and you as a leader can keep things moving on. Change takes time and always creates sparks. So you can't wish this away. Stay positive and focused on your school and kids (way more than on the bureaucratic stuff), and I think you'll wind up with tons of support and increasingly quiet naysayers. (Final note: make sure you consistently, subtly remind people about the advantages of your change. If you're keeping $1500 in your school that you snet out last year, make sure that fact doesn't get lost.)