Here's the deal at our school with night meetings. The kids are now so scheduled up after school with sports, dance, scouts, etc. that it is hard for parents to get out of the house in the evenings. When they do have a free evening, they don't want to give it up for a meeting.

The work-at-home parents - the ones that can volunteer at school during the day - are available during the day. Whenever we have an evening meeting, the regulars show up, plus maybe one or at the most two "working" parents come but they can't volunteer their time during the day anyway. So we daytime parents are inconvienced and the "working" parents can't help with any upcoming projects without taking off work.

Our solution is to vary our meeting times between morning and afternoon and offer 2 evening meetings every school year. and be prepared to put up with complaints about how if there were more evening meetings, more people would come... sorry, just doesn't happen. If there are any parents we want to recruit, it's work at home Mom's with kids in the early grades.

Also, when you come up with an idea, present it with enthusiasm and start small. Talk some friends into helping you run it and make it as successful as you can the first time so it will happen again.

The best advice I can give you, is just make sure that when you present any new ideas or suggestions to your PTO, have all the leg work finished and be ready to answer any of their questions with proof it can work. Have a list of people that want to come to an evening meeting. If you suggest new activities and are met with "you won't get any help, or nobody will come" Have your volunteers lined up, talk to parents and find out if there is an interest in your idea. Chances are you are being "poo pooed" because your suggestions or anybodies new ideas are looked upon by your PTO as nothing more than work for them. If you can show them that you are not only there to make suggestions but to actually see it through you might change their minds. Remember your president cannot/should not be the one making these decsions on his/her own, but the PTO Board members should vote on any new ideas or changes. Good luck, persistenc pays off!! [img]smile.gif[/img]

sorry, put this in the wrong category!

I am fairly new to PTO, but it seems like our group is very stuck in their ways. They discourage new ideas, and new members. Every time I bring up a new idea, I am told we have always done it this way. Any ideas to rejuvinate our group next year? We have a very uninvolved president who does not welcome any ideas from anyone. We have very little parent involvement as it is, but as a group we don't try to get them involved. Many parents have expressed night meeting would be welcomed so that working parents could be involved. When I brought this up I was told nobody would come, and it would be a waste of time. Board meetings are held during the day, but I don't understand why we can't have general meeting once a month at night. If we got 10 parents there I think it would be worth it, and bring some new energy into our group. Any advice is welcomed!