Wow, been a while since I've been here - lots of new names. Looks like everyone has pretty much the same questions and problems as I've seen pop up over the last year or so I've been visiting this site, though. This is a great resource for info, sample letters, forms, etc., advice and support.
Yesterday my PTA held its first meeting prior to the start of the new year, and I came away very encouraged by the new ideas and enthusiasm shown by my membership.
Like with every other district across the country, increasing family involvement in our schools has become a major focus in my county, and it has long been a main concern of mine. So we are taking extra steps to try to raise awareness, increase involvement levels, and make the parents the full partners in education they should be.
But I'd like to know what other groups are doing as well; I'd like to ask everyone a question (and a half):
what is the most "outside of the box" means you use to try to generate family involvement in your school/district and how successful would you say it has been?
I am not talking about building memberships or seeing how many warm bodies you can get to a meeting or workshop. I want to know your most non-traditional, innovative way to get parents involved in the educational process in your school and/or district.