Hi!
We are very proud of how our first carnival turned out... it was worth the months of work (we began planning in January). We made about $2500 on the event, which isn't all that much... but we went into this year knowing that it would be a "learning year". Next year, we'll be able to use our knowledge to improve our profits.
Of more importance to our group was the respect we earned from the community for having such a great event. (Some history: Our school is generally thought of as the worst in the district. In fact, I fought against sending my child there! With a free/reduced lunch rate of 92% and a 80% hispanic population, "white flight" and a poor reputation plague our school.) We sent invitations to every elementary family in the district... and many, many families came! It was empowering to recieve praise for a job well-done from parents from other schools. (My favorite comment: "We could NEVER do this at our school!") The communtity came to our school and realized that we're a pretty great school... you can't put a value on that!
As for increasing parental involvment... well, a lot of what we've done has come from here! My biggest piece of advice is to focus on the big picture... for us, "community" is key! Our #1 goal this year was to foster the feeling of community at our school. Every baby-step counts if you are building those community bonds... So, when you have a hispanic mom who hardly speaks English, a new kindergarten parent, and a father who's an old pro at PTO events all working together to have a great family night for your school... that's success!!!
As for how we put our carnival together, send me an e-mail (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with your questions and I'll let you know what we did!
Hope this helps...
Kelley
Madison PTO
Mount Vernon, WA
Sounds like you have done a good thing this year w/your parents, getting them involved. I'm hoping to do the same this year at our school. But tell me/us, how'd you do it?
How did your carnival go? I have been waiting to hear results. We are doing our school's first one in October for a Harvest Fest theme. I have been racking my brain getting ready to go to the committee meeting.
How many kids are at your school? What do you think your fundraising profit was?
Any information you can lend thias way qwould be awesome.
~Gracee This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our first carnival is tonight... Send all your Good VIbes and Luck towards Washington State PLEASE!
(Last year. we hardly had a PTO... now, I have 90+volunteers showing up today to have a carnival... PTOToday rocks!!!!)
Thanks for everyone's help,
Kelley
Madison PTO President
