Hi Endhaven PTA!
We think you have the right idea about streamlining the communications and have your communications person handle that.
In terms of how room parent programs are structured, it really depends on what you think will work for your school. We've seen room parents for each grade as well as room parents for each classroom. We've seen some school have a room mom for every classroom and have a room parent coordinator on the PTO or PTA.
Typically, room parents work directly with the teacher to come up with plans for parties because teachers often have their own ways of doing things for their own classrooms.
We have a really helpful resource for you -- our sister site, HomeroomMom.com, is full of tips and resources for room moms and there are several posts about how the room mom job is supposed to work. Check it out here: www.homeroommom.com
Hi! I am the VP for my children's PTA and have a question regarding room parents. Currently we have a room parent for each teacher. We have a hard time finding people to volunteer and some rooms don't have a room parent. One of their responsibilities is forwarding email communication on behalf of the school and occasionally emails specific to their teacher. Some room parents immediately forward the emails and others delay forwarding or don't forward at all which means some parents are not abreast of school happenings.
I am trying to come up with a way to simplify and streamline the duties to ensure every parent receives the information at the same time. My suggestion was to have the VP of Communications send the school side emails to ALL parents instead of sending to the room parent then following up when they do not send them. Seems like it will save time and headaches.
Also, does anyone have Grade level parents instead of each teacher having their own room parent? I am trying to come up with a way to have one person assigned to each grade yet make sure each teacher receives the support he/she needs. Also, in regards to class parties, is it up to each teacher to plan their own parties or are they the same across the grade level?
Does anyone have any experience with this or advice they can offer?
