if principal is against the idea of a pto, chances are, the superintendent is too.
there are probably lots of polictics and old garbage surrounding this idea. find out the reasons, and let them get to know you. and then go from there. i have a hunch there are lots of misunderstandings and or miscommunications and falty assumptions that your principal has made.
or else, its just personal politics. that happens too and theres not much you can do about it unless you get a new principal.
If the principal is not at your meeting, I don't know how you would know if your plans would fit in to the school schedule or match the educational goals of the school. When our principal is unable to attend a meeting it seems that we get nothing accomplished - we can only make tenative decisions that have to be approved/denied later.
That having been said, everyone is generally on thier best behavior when the principal is present. We do have more fun and tend to be more relaxed when we have work days or gatherings without the principal!
I personally believe that if your principal takes the time to be there...you should be grateful!! It sure saves me a lot of my own time not having to make appointments with the man...according to HIS schedule! If you don't have good communication with your principal, I don't think you can be all that comfortable doing all that you have the potential to do there. We have A LOT of freedom at our school. We are the tax payers so therefore in the 'BIG PICTURE' we own that building and they can't keep us out!! We have to respect the rules and regulations but as long as we act responsibly and do not cause trouble they can't keep us out. I know the past boards felt they couldn't do what they wanted and can tell you for a fact that it was because they didn't communicate with their principal and were afraid of the Superintendent!! Excuse me? We pay their salaries, and they know is but like the idea that most people don't seem to understand that! They love it to be more honest. Our Superintendent and Principal both know that they don't intimidate the PTO Board any more and don't question much of anything I ask for...as long as I'm asking and NOT TELLING!! You've got to keep a big smile on your face and look them right in eye when your saying hello. Even if it scares you to death, trust me eventually it will become second nature.
Good Luck, and be grateful.
It sounds like your problem isn't the Principal attending the meeting, as much as it is needing to get him/her to understand how valuable your group can be to the school. You say that the PTO is not wanted, then that is where your focus needs to be.
Asking the Principal to not attand the meetings, or holding secret meetings, is not going to help this cause.
What I would recommend doing is talking with your Principal about this. Your President needs to start working with the Principal, which will include working one what he/she feels is a priority. Look at ways that your group can help the school/Principal. For example, my group is presently working on bringing an Online Accelerated Reading program to the school. In the past the school used the desktop version and only had 400 quizes. This new Online system will include quizes for over 110,000 books. The Principal wanted to increase technology in the school so we co-ran a Golf Tournament fundraiser for the express purpose of purchasing 25 laptop computers and a compuer cart that can be brought into the classrooms and used as an interactive learning tool.
The point is that by taking on some of the Principal's priorities he values our support and as such he wants to support us. It's win/win.
I love it when the principal comes to our meetings(almost every time), or when an assistant principal comes. There is no question of whether our ideas will be approved or disapproved later. She can speak up if she knows we're treading on thin water. She can offer us encouragement where we're doing something right.
We are one meeting old. I guess I did not give enough background. Our Principal along with "other powers that be" DO NOT WANT A PTO.
I found this in PTO magazine:"While the details differ from case to case, this principal made a common mistake: He [principal] tried to micromanage the parent group. Principals who do this may be well-meaning, but they throw up a huge roadblock to parent involvement. Parents who might be great leaders become much less likely to volunteer if as PTO officers they are little more than figureheads. Similarly, if creative ideas are often quashed by an overly involved principal, the spirit of involvement quickly fades for even the most enthusiastic volunteers."
The roadblocks went up in the first meeting. Other parents said Principals did not generally attend meetings at the other schools (PTA/PTO).
I think having parent-teacher meetings would be good to have and then some open to all.
