concerns a parent may have about a principal do not belong in the venue of a public PTO meeting, they belong in a private meeting with the principal, imho.
<two hats> - Just two? Some days I feel like Bartholomew Cubbins with his 500 hats!!!
You're absolutely right though. Our #1 priority is our children so as parents we should be able to actively participate in school matters. It just isn't, at my school, the official role of the PTO to facilitate it. I'm PTO president at my school. But if I have a personal issue I have no problem going directly to the principal or superintendent.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
I think a PTO member can wear two hats. One as a PTO member and one as a concerned parent. You must try to keep the two seperate. So if a PTO member wants to get involved in a principal/school matter(bring about school change, get involved in policy chnages) they should have the right to.
our principal sits on the PTO executive committee,,,,,doesnt vote but that does not mean she does not have a say in matters (we know how the world works, we seasoned parents!!)
so if the pto had ANY issue about the head of school, it would be utmost useless to use the PTO as a sounding board for such matters due to conflict of interest and politics. everyone says PTOs should be Apolitical, its even in our bylaws and those others have shared, but lets be honest, PTO does get involved in politics , or in the underground politics if i may be so bold, at least, that is what the expeerince at our school has shown. hopefully it is different eslewhere, becuase it has created friction, the policiking of our PTO.
so a parent with a gripe about the principal would STEER CLEAR of our PTO beucase they (the pto) clearly would support her til kingdom come.
its not exactly like but similar to (dont know who said it):
It takes an enormous leap of faith to expect the people who caused our problems to solve our problems.
However, we do have a provision where if a parent has complaints/problems and does not know where to turn at school, the PTO president should assist that parent in finding the proper channels (arrange a meeting with the principal, refer to a safety committee rep, etc.)
It is listed in my duties as 'act as liason between members and administration when necessary' or something like that.
I would hate to be the next leader of a PTO who had just tried to force out a principal by petitioning the school board.
You want to be separate so that your group can make its own decisions. It is a bad idea for a principal to have spending power, because the PTO could become his or her private slush fund if the other leaders are not strong.
There needs to be a cooperative relationship beetween a school and a PTO. No other way can work. Not properly, anyway.)
We do not have any mention of our school board/district/administration's goals or interests in our bylaws. We did not want them to have any direct influence other than what's implied by a charity with a close connection with another organization.
If the school board flipped and decided that there would be no PTOs in their schools, our group could still exist and operate just fine.
We will not be throwing our weight around to push school policy or change administrative decisions any time soon, though.
If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down. <img src=images/smilies/smile.gif>
for public school staff matters, the normal protocol is to first address that staff, then the head of school, then the superintendent, and she decides if the matter should be handled by the BOE or not, or if she herself can take a position.
after that, the only recourse is to address the state dept of education. you can enter it in a search engine to find all the details of filing a complaint.
it doesnt seem productive or appropriate to use the pto for staff matter problems. in any event, your head of school is not electd by the parents , so its not like you can vote her out.
just because a parent/s have issues with the head of school doesnt mean anything other than thats your opionion. opinions dont guide staff decisions, facts do. thats why we have review processes in place and mediators (for due process), and if no resolution at your local level then the state dept is the last step if its a public school
