For what it is worth - I have been PTO president for past 2 years. My term is up and I'm having to locate someone else who is willing to work with our principal. Needless to say, she has not been the easiest person to live in the same world with. However, you cannot let that discourage you. As president, I have come to realize that I'm there for the school community. If the principal doesn't want to be a part of the community, then it is her lose. I regularly go to my BOE members and have on occasion spoken with our superintendent. I also communicate with fellow PTO board members - keeping it professional and not letting her get the best of me. It has not been easy, but we have made huge strides in the last two years - thanks to a lot of hard work by our board. Keep your focus where it needs to be. Your principal will either fall in line or look bad. Your hope is to have cooperation in the face of the public.
Also, always talk with your principal. Share ideas - it opens doors. You can make it work!!
Good luck!
I'm one of those lucky souls who has a "less than cooperative" principal. The year has been incredibly stressful, to say the least.
I find our principal's attitude and actions as unbelievably aggravating and stressful, but unfortunately I seem to have this mental aberration that makes me welcome that sort of thing on some level. You could wait, but then there's the chance you won't be able to participate at that time, or, ouch, the next one down the line could be even worse.
There are some factors I'd consider. Are you willing to "diplomatically" assert yourself to get what you need? Are you willing and able to regularly communicate withour superintendent and BOE? Will you have support from the parents, or will you be this lone bigmouth stirring the pot? Is it possible to negotiate prior to the start of the school year--say, see what she'd like to have, and use that as a bargaining chip?
If I were in your spot I would go for it if you were to have support from your superintendent and BOE. That is the only reason we got as far as we did. They, unlike our less than perceptive principal, see the inherent value of having people willing to bust their as@es and come up with money that otherwise would not be there for the school. Though they were genreally supportive of theprincipal, when push came to shove we got to do what was needed. We have a superintendent and BOE that aren't perfect, but in the end they see our value.
I have only worked with great principals so I am not speaking from experience here. But I would like to offer up a suggestion.....
Could you go and speak to this principal? Let her know you are considering running for the position. Ask her for some feedback and try to find out what she would like from your PTO? What if any changes would she like to see. Maybe she has issues that can be addressed and mended. This can also be a format for you to offer up some changes or ideas you have and see how she responds. Maybe this will help and maybe it won't. I am a firm believer in catching flies with honey. You lose nothing for trying.
Lastly I am a firm believer that the principal can not only make or break a PTO, but they also set the tone for the whole school and staff. A bad principal is a tough pill to swallow. However you know what they say...."When the Lord hands you lemons, make lemonade".
You never know when someone will relly leave so why put off trying to make a difference in your child's school? Honestly, our principal hasn't been the easiest and most people hoped she would leave at the end of this year, but I am ok with working with her another year. Maybe it's that she is ok with our new ideas or that she sees improvements that weren't being made before, but she isn't as pushy or destructive to our group as she had been and I always worry that the next one won't be any better. So put yourself in a good position now and that way when the new one comes in, you will have all your ducks in a row and you and they will probably be more appreciative.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
It's late March and no one has stepped forward to be on our PTO Board for next year. No one! I have been thinking about PTO pres. for a while now. I've been on the board in the past. Problem is... I can't stand our principal. I have lot's of ideas and I really don't think I would get any support from this principal. My suspicion was that a principal can pretty much make or break the success of a PTO, and many of you have written similar things in different threads. So, what to do???? It would take an awful lot of time and energy to be the president. And if I am put off at every turn by this principal... I just don't know. I have 6 years of experience with this principal. Many discussions with her. Many disappointments. She is supposed to leave in 2 years, but I heard a rumor that she's leaving after this year. Don't know if that's really true. (Kind of doubt it.)
My question is to those of you that have been president with a principal that was NOT supportive. Was it worth it? Did you accomplish anything? Do you wish you had waited for another principal?
