We are facing the same issue! In fact our new treasurer siad to me "let me get this strait, we do all this work, kiss the teachers butt, and they don't support us" I told her pretty much thats how it has been.
We ended last year really good, we gave the staff a really nice lunch & gifts, and on the first day of school we served them breakfast! We have a new principal this year and she really supports us. She has a sign up sheet for teacher to sign up to attending our meetings. At our first meeting we had 2 teachers in attendence ( one also has 3 kids at the school) and so far they have been better this year at sending out our material....
I kinda adopted this policy... They help us .. we help them.
So from now on those who support us, we will support. At first I did not know how fair this would be for kids because they can't help it if there teacher dose not support us, but other parents thought it was a good idea & that if a teacher dose not support us, then the parents will start to ask hey why did my class not get extra fieldtrip money, or why did my class not have a carnival booth, and we will tell them your teacher dose not support us, and hopefully they will put pressure on their teacher for the sake of the children to support us! Will see how it works!
Good luck!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Teacher involvement is a real issue with us too. Our Principal has been sooooo supportive. She has been at every function. Unfortunately, there is only so much she can do to get the teachers involved. They don't get paid for attending these "events" so she can't do much about that.
We have taken a different approach in the past year in trying to get not only our teachers involved, but families to become involved. We are promoting most of our events as "fun raisers" vs "fund raisers". Our effort is to get more families comfortable with bringing their kids to school to have fun. Even if only one teacher shows up, word will get out that it isn't like getting a tooth pulled. We are also trying to involve them by asking them personally if they would like to do a specific thing at an event (i.e. be the number caller at Bingo).
Remember, we all like to leave our job and go home. I would view this as overtime you don't get paid for. So, come up with some other type of motivation.
It has to start "at the top." If your principal isn't 100% behind you and doesn't encourage the faculty and staff to attend.. it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference what you do. another consideration is whether your teachers are unionized and what that agreement says. also consider teacher performance evaluations.... ratings and associated merit increases could be tied to some metric on # of meetings attended, etc... (but that's a pretty lousy way to get "volunteers")
Our principal asks them to "sign up" to attend at least one meeting during the school year. She's really interested in which teachers have paid their membership (we don't make 'em pay as much as the families)... and will read them the riot act (in addition to the pep talk) for not willing to make a $5 contribution with all that the parents do to support them.
She is extremely effective in getting teachers to attend pto sponsored events and activities. At the elementary school my kids used to attend... the principal didn't care... our teachers didn't show up for anything! even the "5th grade promotion" night and ice cream social... 3 of the 4 5th grade teachers didn't show up... how sad is that?! principal support is your #1 avenue.
I changed the start time of our meetings to 7:00, instead of 7:30 (for those who might be willing to stick around after school... it will get them home before 8:00, usually. When are your meetings? Don't forget, these people have lives too.
Be visible at the school... at all times of the day. Be friendly with the teachers... get them to know you. This year, I sent a welcoming letter to every staff & faculty member (no pto president has ever done that)... it has gone a long long way in building positive relationships. get yourself invited to some of THEIR functions and attend what you can. i am the parent representative on two district-wide committees... it's helped me build a reputation that the teachers respect.
none of the this takes place over night... and yes, it will take time. but it will and can happen. all in all... my best advice... start with the principal.
We have a great organization at our school but one of the things we are lacking is teacher involvement and support. Aside from the Principal and Family Liaison, no faculty ever attend meetings or functions. Aside from that, the teachers rarely send out notices and letters (meeting announcements etc..) that we supply to them in a timely manner. They never seem to encourage the children or families to participate in our functions.
We realize that educating our children is their number one priority, as it should be, and they do that very well. As a working mother, I could see where they wouldn't want to come back to school for a night meeting or a movie night, for example, after working with our children all day and probably grading papers most of the evening. We would just like for them to show more enthusiasm and support to our group.
We pamper them as much as possible during Teacher Appreciation Week, and truely appreciate them throughout the year, but aside from that we belive more than that could be done (for them) on a regular basis to "bring them in" to our organization.
With all that said, my question is this: What have you done for and with the teachers at your school to make them feel more a part of your organization so that they would be eager to attend a meeting, promote a fund raiser, or send home a letter?
(I have never posted on any kind of a discussion board before, so I hope this posting is ok. I have learned so much from all of your experience by reading this board for the last year, I almost feel like I know some of you! Thank you in advance for your help!) [img]smile.gif[/img]
