I am glad that I found this forum. I have been elected PTA president for the 2004-2005 school year for our K-6 grade elementary school. I have been the PTA Treasurer for the last 2 years. A recurring discussion among the board members over the years has been how to increase attendance at the meetings. I like the idea of not focusing on attendance but focusing on parent involvement at events.

I must say, we don’t have high numbers attending the monthly PTA meetings, but at least we have higher number helping out at events. I just want more volunteers so the ones that usually help out don’t burn out.

I have been thinking about how the increase the volunteer level at the school and how to used the parental resources we have, both known and unknown. I am doing a parent survey at the beginning of the new school year to determine what skills our parents have. I learned this from another elementary school my children attended years. I know among the parents are people with computer skills, event planning skills, public relations skills, carpentry skills, sewing skills, art skills, NEEDED SKILLS.

Last year our board along with the principal did a LOT, but we felt burned out halfway through the school year. This year, I want teams for every event we are planning. I see this as a way to get the parents involve, avoid the cliché feeling that comes from having the same people at the meetings, and most importantly, as a possible way to interest the parents to the point that they consider running for a PTA position. Last year’s board worked hard, but had a lot of FUN serving on the PTA board and developed strong friendships. I want to build upon that.

we have a very small school and have a head count of parents at the end of the meeting and the class with the most attendance get a popcorn and pepsi party. we do not have alot of parents show up for regular meetings either but they come out full force for the big events. we are going to try writing a newsletter this coming up year with events that are discuss and what we would like to do and send it out monthly. good luck

Well, Well, Well, consider yourselves lucky! We are a school of approximately 550 students, 70 staff and 4-5 board members. We offer free childcare and our general meeting attendance is... are you ready for this JUST THE BOARD MEMBERS!!! How sad is that? We are the "poorest" school in the district, with most of the kids getting free or reduced meals and you know what? When we have fundraisers or need money for something, no matter how big or small, the parents ALWAYS come through for us. Ya they grumble and complain but they dig for more money. So, I think that we can handle just having board members and the principal at the general meetings. (At least for now!)

for the past 5 months we have been working on parent involvement, trying to find those magic answers on how to get more involved. I have tried food, door prizes, speakers(less attendance for me), etc. Our group is at the point where meeting wise we are remaining steady, but i worry about when some move on. I went on a field trip yesterday with my kindergarten son and it brought back memories on why I never got involved prior to three years ago. I was so uncomfortable being around parents that I didnt really know, its funny how on family fun nights/events I am so together but put face to face and it is a different feeling. I think the whole stigma of the PTA/PTO group hurts alot. I try to show people how much fun it is , and have gained key volunteers through family nights. They dont attend meetings but they are there when i need them the most. I use to think about attendance and how to get more but I have found that in the whole picture there are no true magic ways to get more at meetings, after two years of leadership i also realize what growth we have made and thats what is important! as for involvement.,..im working with the district on making our policy/compact more friendly, a volunteer program and lets see what happens.if i find that magic answer i will share it....

We have 170 students in our school. PTO has been frustrating lately due to the fact that we have gone through 2 Presidents in the last year and our parent participation is very low. Does anyone have any idea how to make PTO meetings a more attractive place to come and how to get the parents more involved with their kids? I also think since we are from a small town sometimes parents have a stigma that all the PTO mom's that are involved are the snobby kids that where in high school. I think they all need to get over it and remember this isn't about them it is about their kids.

I've been thinking alot about this subject too. I read an article about this that reiterated that high meeting attendance doesn't always guarantee success..Our school has about 375 students and usually about 20-25 parents attend our monthly meetings. We started something sort of neat a few years ago: we have lunch meetings and serve lunch, every single month. We used to have the meetings at 8 a.m. and would have just a handful of people there. Now, we get one or two people to volunteer to bring lunch and we eat while we have our meeting.

I've been questioning the real NEED to have a monthly meeting. There's no "topic" or speaker really--we just go over upcoming events, etc. I'm going to keep reading on this to see if we're going to change anything.
PMCW