There are plenty of great ideas on this site for staff appreciation events/activities.

There are also plenty of past articles worth a read that talk about the common misconception that PTO boards are "cliquey snobs." Once you get involved in the leadership of the organization by chairing a committee, you will likely be surprised to learn that these "snobs" are probably a really hard working group of parents who do alot for the school and students with little help.

Whenever I am confronted with a parent or teacher labeling our officers in such a way, I usually ask if they would please consider serving on the membership committee. Might you consider this if your group has one? Could be a great way to learn what the PTO is really all about and reach out to non-members who might be feeling the same way about the group and change their mind.

It can be scoped to as big or as small as your group wants. One of the most successful effort I ever saw involved a monthly activity Sept-April and then some concentrated effort during Teacher Appreciation Week in May.

In that case, they had some budget and laid out a yearlong plan deciding what would be purchased versus donated. For the most part, either a luncheon or food treat was planned each month. The part that I thought made it work so easily is that they had a different grade level host each month. The chairperson would set the theme and work with the room parents of that month's grade level to coordinate donations from parents.

Then once in awhile they'd do a trinket instead of food. One month when we had a lot of other activities (might have been December), they used some of the budget and bought pretty little votive candles, tied a pretty ribbon and added a note about them "lighting" up the lives of kids.

The parents really liked the rotating schedule of grades. Instead of getting a PTO plea every month asking for a cake or soup or something, you knew your turn only came up once or twice per year.

As chair, you do need to lead the effort. But don't get sucked into doing it solo. Get people to help. Luckily, that one is a very easily understood task and people are pretty willing as they see exactly how much effort is required.

There are several threads on this site that provide info on what other groups are doing for their Staff Appreciation Days. If you search through them you will find that they vary from the very simple/low cost to the elaborate and sometimes quite expensive.

If I were you I would find out who coordinated the event this past year and find out from them what is a typical budget and what types of things they have done in the past during that day/week. That would give you a lot of insight into how involved that chairperson might have to be and the workload you would be expected to handle.

Our PTO needs new chairpeople for a few different committees. I am considering taking one but have never done anything like this before. The one I am considering the most is Staff Appreciation Day. What does it entail to chair the whole committee? Any suggestons, advice etc? Our PTO is known for being very cliquey and snobby. I don't want to get involved in that part of it but really want to help out. I know in the classrooms it's always just a few parents doing everything and I'm sure it's the same w/ the PTO so would like to "spread" some of my help out.