Is not the PTO to support the school, administration and community as whole. Get community leaders involved, let them know what the school needs and the school lacks! Get some people to talk at meetings from government assistant services. They need the community and the community needs them.

And no matter what, if your child has no education then he will never excel to be what he/she can be. And maybe just maybe if the parents show they care, maybe the administration may care a little more and put pressure on the teachers to care more, and now the school is better, which can make the community better...etc.

I DREAM BIG!!!

Stop giving people excuses, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Coach Carter, all became people that wouldn't let their circumstances get in the way of their objectives.

The one thing you said that I think would bother most on this forum is that "being involved is a whole lot more than volunteering a few hours a month". It is very obvious from that line that your beliefs and my beliefs are totally different on this, involvement is reached in so many ways for so many people!

My beliefs are as follows...and if it bothers some...
I believe a parent should be as "involved" as possible, everyone has their own priorities.
The average person
Works 173.33 hrs/month
Sleeps - 208.62 hrs/month
watches tv - 120 hrs/month
Spends 35.2 hours driving to and from work

Everyone has their own priorities.

All I ask for is 1 hour a month for a meeting and 2-3 hours every other month at an event. That is how I propose it to our parents, it works they show up and they get "involved!"

Meeting attendance is a vital part of the organization. Friendships, new ideas, and vision are created! And that is what I believe!

michael I see where you are getting at but I also want to add that schools have different circumstances surrounding them, some parents don't have the ability to afford childcare to attend everything, some don't have a car, heck alot only have one parent and they don't know where their next meal is coming from. If a school is in a high poverty, crime area a parent may find it more "important" to feed their child and attending a pto meeting just doesn't seem like it is that high up on their priorites. A free family event is agreat chance for them to give their kids some fun that they don't have to try to come up with money for. That is why they may have to choose! I think each school needs to look at what works for them, but we each also need to realize that each school has a different poverty level, transition percentage,cost per student differences, classroom size, disablity percentage, etc...if a school should have such problem areas you can't expect that school to succeed as quickly as a school that has lower percentages. Heck i know schools that put pto's and parent involvement last because they struggle so much with just helping families survive. is that fair? No but in a perfect world Michael we would all be equal...

Thats great, and I appreciate your comments, but why do they have to choose between an event or a meeting? What can be so important that they can't take an hour for a meeting and a couple of hours to volunteer at an event a month for their kids school? Heck, they're only spending 1/3 of their lives in school, can't be that important, huh?

That is one of the biggest probs w/society no time for anything and 2 many excuses! 2 much time doing business, 2 much time on the cell phone, 2 much time wasting 2 much time! And thats NOT your fault!

I commend you on your growth...
You have been growing slowly, but still growing...that is a positive! But, Can you tell me that there were more ideas and it was better a couple of years ago, when there were only 10 at you meetings? Or is it better now that you average about 22/meeting? I think you see what I am getting at.

I wish ya the best and look forward to maybe bumpin' into you at a PTO conference.

Michael I am not knocking that you are a private school at all, I think it is great that you can get that many of your families to participate...more power to you.I also will say that we try very hard to get more parents to attend our meetings, however if they need to choose between a meeting or event I would much rather see them at a family event. The one thing you said that I think would bother most on this forum is that "being involved is a whole lot more than volunteering a few hours a month". It is very obvious from that line that your beliefs and my beliefs are totally different on this, involvement is reached in so many ways for so many people! I am very proud of how far our group has come and how many school volunteers we now have=) Does that mean I no longer try to get more parents, not AT ALL!!!

[ 08-22-2005, 08:41 PM: Message edited by: pals ]

To answer your question...Yes, we are a private school. We DO NOT require a certain amount of volunteer hours NOR do we require anyone to attend meetings. Our numbers are not by requirement but by choice.

I remember attending meetings 5 and 6 years ago in March with a total of eight people! I think meeting attendance is HUGE! Getting volunteers is just a matter of asking the right way with us.

In your case...why have meetings? Just have a suggestion box! You will probably get more from that than you will from your 2 new people a year to your meetings! And the Board can look the suggestions over?

Don's t get stuck in the same'ol same'ol! Activities change and are added yearly...add this, put in that etc. New challenges, ideas, and friendships are born at these meetings.

For argument sake..Let's say instead of 2 new people a year it was 10 newbies more a year...thats 5 times more people giving you five times more the ideas!! In 3 years u have a nucleus of 30 mor "involved" parents. Instead of the same 8% of parentss making the decisions for the majority. And while we are at it lets do some more math....Do you think if you get 40% volunteering with only 8% attendance, if you boosted attendance to 12% or 15% you might get 60-75% volunteering?

We have guest speakers at our meetings, Child Psychologists, Financial Planners, OT's, Members of the City Council etc. Our parents are a family and we decide for our kids as such.

If you have read some of my posts you can see I am a PTO Fanatic and I want everyone else to be equally excited about the same!

DO NOT KNOCK us because we are a Private school, our cares and concerns are for our kids first, the parents come to the meeting because they want to BE INVOLVED and that is a whole lot more than volunteering a few hours a month.

I have seen it done in both private and public schools...Involvement and new ideas start with attending a meeting!