Hi--I'm from southern MA and we have little teacher involvement also at the actual meetings. By reading this forum, I'm considering approaching my PTA w/ and afternoon meeting idea. I would think teachers would be more likely to attend if the meeting were held directly after school. At least put that time option on our parent survey and see if parents may be interested as well.
This is one of the top3 topics at each of our Shows, so I'll practice my schpiel (for tomorrow's New England Show) here.
I think teacher involvement -- even moreso than parent involvement -- should not be measured by teacher attendance at meetings.
In some ways, I wish the "PT_" name was never done that way, because it lends to this idea that the group must be a group of parents and teachers doing the *same* work. I don't think that's the case. Most of the parents who get involved do so to make their school a better place. It's quite possible to do that without even a single teacher at a meeting.
You certainly want a great relationship with your teachers -- and having some/many at a meeting would be great -- but I don't think it should be measured the same way. In my opinion a magical teacher (even if he/she never once attends a PTO meeting) is worth his or her weight in gold. And if your PTO can create an even better atmosphere for that teacher to work, that's great. The kids are the winners in that scenario.
Mark Levin -- the keynoter at our Shows -- uses the word empathy a lot. How can your PTO *serve* parents? How can your PTO *serve* teachers? Amazing how many folks, including teachers, will (first) appreciate your group more and (second) connect with your group more deeply, when your group gets the reputation as serving others (as opposed to asking for help).
In our school district many teachers are taking classes in the evening and have families to take care of. Try to keep this in mind. Sometimes it's not because the don't want to be involved, it's because they can't be involved.
I like the idea about giving the teachers their money in the beginning of the year and then holding out some until they participate in an event. I agree the parents that are at our meetings always question to where the teachers are. Hopefully some of these suggestions will work.
We too have very little teacher involvement. We have been tossing around ideas to try to get their involvement up. I realize they do help by collecting order forms, passing out flyers, and all that. We give each full time teacher 150.00 a year for supplies. We talked about not giving it until they volunteer for an event, but that posed two problems, one: the teachers were used to getting it at the beginning of the year when a lot of their purchases were made, and two: the idea was that they would all show up for the welcome back picnic and then we would still be without teacher participation the rest of the year! What we are now leaning towards is reducing the money we give them to $75 or $100 and then giving them "bonus" money ( some call it bribe money ) for each event they volunteer for, regardless of the capacity in which they volunteer. I think it's important for teachers to be involved.....I think it sends a negative message to parents when they show up for meetings where there are no teachers present. After all, we are a PTO, not a PO.
We have two teacher reps, principal, and vice principal on our Board which meets monthly to conduct all the business. (We only have two general meetings a year.) Teachers aren't expected to attend unless they are bringing information of some sort.
Our teachers are very supportive in the classroom, collecting forms and fees, making sure info gets home, loaning us tables and supplies, helping us recruit volunteers, etc.
Those teachers who are also parents tend to get involved to a much deeper level.
On our smaller events like Breakfast with Santa, they help indirectly and few might show up.
On our big Spring Fling, the Principal sets the expectation that every teacher/staff member will help. For the most part the teachers attend that night. Those that have a real conflict always pick other areas where they can help, like decorating the day before or writing thank you notes afterwards.
So the bottom line is, the teachers are expected to help us in their role as classroom teachers, keep communication flowing, and attend this one particular event. They are always welcome, and generally help out when other things pop up. I think it works well because there are so few evening obligations (from us).
