Thanks for the input. I knew you would be working on this. I think sending my troublemakers to the conferences may be the best answer. You'll probably notice them, very loud. This is my last year as president, but I will still have children in the school. So I'd like to keep the momentum going without handing off the extra issues to someone else. We are NPN members and I look forward to being part of the future's PTO 301 and 401. I also hope that PTO Today will continue to build their own ladder and get some more 101s and 201s up here. Can you maybe put a discussion forum catagory that deals with 301 issues? "Starting a new committee", "What to do with surplus?" "How to use technology for PTOs". Those are topics I'd like to see. Along with the other things I've mentioned in my original posts.
As an aside, your timing is impeccable. I'm literally right in the middle (papers surrounding me) of putting final touches on our 2005 conference brochure. May have to use that 101, 201 stuff....
Yours is a unique challenge that we did hear about really for the first time at last year's conferences.
I'd agree with you that our conferences tend to be primarily PTO 101 with another chunk of PTO 201 built-in. But there hasn't been PTO 301 or 401 offered (to use the college courses analogy).
The trick is the higher up the list you go, the fewer candidates you have for that "class." The way the math works, if you have only 4 rooms available for break-outs during a given session, it's hard to schedule a topic that may onlybe applicable for 5% of the attendees. Similarly, it's hard to get (and pay for) a speaker on that specialized a topic, when there's ahigh chance that there will be very few attendees for that seminar.
Just giving you some of the background. We are working on this. Some of the solutions I suspect will be built into an expansion of the National PTO Network (as opposed to conferences). Not sure.
One thing to think about conference-wise is making sure that you're continuing to give new involved folks the 101 and 201 training, as you original "trainees" do want to replace yourselves over time. And you don't want your group to slide back down from the heights.
Will look forward to continuing this conversation. Open to feedback.
I know not everyone is going to like this but, maybe some out there can identify and we need to know how to move forward. I'm talking about; we've followed all the rules and now we have plenty of parent involvement. We've always been extremely welcoming and inviting. We had so much fun at events and shown appreciation. We sent out a volunteer coupon book and received hundreds of volunteers for our 26 committees. These committees are chaired by over 30 people. And for instance Staff Appreciation as about 70 people on the committee and our publishing center has 54. Forget about Room Reps, I'm sure there's over 100. We have 800 students k-5.
Okay so where's our problem, right? Some of the chairs are over zealous, I know I know. I got one that much rather work with the principal and plan grandeous things with no group input and another that likes to solicite her home business in her volunteer thank yous. I had 17 new co-chairs last year and 12 this year that all need "training". We only needed more because some moved or some wanted just 1 committee instead of 2 or 3. After all we can get someone new.
I realized it this year because I spent last year answering questions from where we keep the cups to how to fill out a check request.
The last 2 years we've sent a group to the PTO Today show. The first year was so informative. We became incorporated, and completed a Vision plan. Worked in the appreciation and we knew how to get people to move into and up through the group. We boosted communication and started a grant program. The second year was the same stuff and nothing was new on where to go from there.
What's next! I've hesitated because I've never seen anything like this in the discussion forum and I'm sure many would like my problems. But I'm really stressed out. PTO Today you've told us what to do and it works. Now how do the 5 executive board members manage a work force of 30 managers and hundreds of employees.
By the way we have a great principal, could just be a fluke, but actually he probably says yes too often and is okay with everything. We are working on Staff communication this year but involvement good. And one fundraiser and some service and fun committees keep us with an over $100,000 budget, try the tax forms for that.
So my whole point is, PTO Today, it all works, but then new things come up and we still need you for Phase 2.
Tim, are you there? We need to know what's next. Will the conferences take us into that next step? When I told the Beautification Chair that $250 trees for retiring teachers were too much, even though she had the money in beautification. She said it wasn't worth the aggrevation just being a volunteer, she felt good after an hour and a half conversation but. . . I'm just a volunteer too and these answers don't come in any box.
