Talk to that parent one-on-one and explain everything that you have put into place to make sure there are plenty of notifications. I would also kindly bring up the topic that the PTO has the same expectation as the school, that parents check the child's folder every day.
You may also ask him/her to help you come up with an affordable/doable solution for people like themselves who "do not have time" to check their children's folders in a timely manner.
Hi mesptamom,
This kind of situation can make you almost feel sick to your stomach, right? You're doing all the right things but feel like this parent is still going to cause problems. Take heart. It's not an unusual problem.
If this parent is involved in your session today, respond to him with kindness and encourage him to offer suggestions. It sounds like he wants conflict, so avoid it. It doesn't sound like you can turn around the way he sees things. Welcome his suggestions, let him know you will consider what he has to say and move forward. Not responding to the negativity snuffs it out.
I've been a PTA president for 2 years now and this is the first time I've felt like I've got a parent I can't deal with. For 2 months in a row we've had the same man stand up at our meetings and ask why we send home a notice the day of the meeting/student performance and don't give the parents any notice.
We announced the schedule with the meetings & performances for the entire year in August. We send home a list of the upcoming events for the following month in our monthly newsletter, have the schedule for the entire year posted on our website, the teachers send home the information weekly & monthly in the student progress reports and send home additional notices if their class is performing plus our principal sends out robocalls to all the parents. This dad was even sitting in the meeting last month when I said the date of the next meeting.
I tried being polite the first time and said we weren't aware of any communication issues but would look into it - and we did. Looking into it we found out that none of their kids folders had been emptied in a month so they hadn't seen the notices because they weren't looking at any papers. Since the folders came in cleaned out the next day I figured they probably saw all the notices when the emptied them out but he still stood up and said the same thing in the next meeting. I didn't feel it was appropriate to call him out on not reading the papers the school sends home but I did give a list of all of the communications we had sent out regarding the performance date. These parents continue to blast the school and the PTA though.
Tomorrow we're hosting a parent input session and this will be an event that I am leading without any school admin present (they weren't available that evening). I'm a little worried that this man will show up at the meeting and cause problems. He has caused other problems at the school before with the teachers that required the principal to get involved and ask him to leave.
Does anyone have any advice for dealing with an angry parent. We have worked so hard and I don't want the negativity to keep popping up in our meetings but I am also concerned about the level his "complaining" goes to.
