It's tough to cut through the clutter that demands attention from parents. Two things help do the job for me: 1) making an effort to fit my skills and time slots; and 2)repeated good-natured reminders that volunteers are needed. It also doesn't hurt after I've volunteered, to call and remind me of my assignment--just to touch base. I realize that might be frustrating for the pto board, but I really want to help. I just need a bit of a push. Another thing that helps is when a board member or another volunteer takes the time to contact me personally and helps me find something I can do. It's easy to ignore an impersonal piece of paper that comes home in a backpack!
Put the kids to bed, grab a cup of coffee and READ through all the postings on this Website.
The answers to your question lay before you... but you have to spend the time studying this site to learn how to solve the mystery of lack of attendance/membership as well as controling principals.
So many others have asked the same question and many of us offer advice/suggestions - the time you spend looking into the answers already shared will be worth it!
I was wondering how to get parents more involved in our PTO.. another question for me is how do you get the principal to let us do our jobs and stop taking over everything.. We would like to do alot more with our PTO,,, but seem to always have her there saying "no the parents want like that or no I don't think we should do that".. She even picks our homeroom parents on who is popular and who is not.. Help me..