here's our. it lost the graphics and the fonts sizes/formatting when I cut and pasted but I could email you the actual document if you like

Donuts with Dad!!!
(or someone special)
Oct. 14th starting at 7:30 a.m. at Moriarty


The Moriarty PTO invites you to this popular event. Please join your child on the morning of Oct. 14th before school for donuts, coffee and juice. This event is free. It is meant to give dads a special time at school with their child. If Dad can’t make it, we encourage the child to bring another special adult with him/her. Please return the bottom half of this notice to school so that we will have an idea of how many donuts to purchase. Thank you!


Return this half to school by Oct 7th

The _________________ family will be attending the Donuts with Dad event on Oct. 14th.
Number of adults:_________.
Number of children:________.

We addd the grandparent/(fe)male guardian in case someone unfrotunatley for whatever reason has one or both parents unavailable


just some tibits and Edit from an earier Tim post (same as my view but he beat me too it)

let me give you my perspective -- both as a dad and an involvement watcher -- on why events like Donuts with Dads and Muffins with Mom and Grandparents Day and International Night and a Dads Club and other "subset-specific" events/efforts are needed.

Yes, all parents should be extremely involved without heroic measures by the school or PTO. No doubt about it. And folks who are on this website generally think of involvement as second nature. "Of course I go to parent conferences and attend family events and PTO meetings. I would never think about not doing so."

But there's this whole huge set of parents for whom involvement is not nearly as presumed. They're busy. They're involved heavily in other volunteer efforts. They're taking care of a sick mother 24/7. They're working 2 jobs. They're painfully shy. They're lazy. They're really intimidated by school (perhaps because their own school experience was not so swell). Yadda. Yadda.

These are the folks we're trying to connect with. And while -- yes -- they should get involved because involvement is important, and it would be nice if there was some sort of required training for all parents before their kids got to school, that's just not reality. Therefore it's up to us as parent group leaders to reach out to parents in as many creative ways as possible. Parent Involvement is that important. Building parent involvement at school is the #1 job (by far) of parent group leaders.

Why Donuts with Dads? Because getting dads connected to school is really important. It leads to great things for kids and schools. (And not just for the kids of those dads -- research shows that higher involvement at school helps all kids in that school, not just the kids of the involved parents...) . While those dads shouldn't need special events to get them connected, they do. While meetings and other traditional events are open to dads, a huge percentage of dads have the *impression* that those events are ladies events. And therefore, many dads don't attend. Impressions are powerful.

Nice as it sounds, just sending out a newsletter that says: "No, really dads, our meetings aren't just for moms" won't do the trick. Dads don't read the newsletter and -- if they do -- many will remain skeptical.

But if we create a special event focused on Dads.... Child brings home an invitation that says "To Dad".... the event is at a time that supports a common Dad schedule... event is Dad-like (coffee and donuts, gym night, playground build...), then the odds of getting a good chunk of Dads to participate goes way up. And once they participate once and it's a successful event, then they're far more likely to come back a second time. And after that, they're far more likely to step into more traditional involvement settings, as well.

Plug grandparents into this discussion in place of Dads, and you really get the same result. Some kids have no living or close grandparents. Grandparents aren't likely to attend traditional involvement settings (PTO meeting). And having grandparents involved adds value to the school. Therefore, grandparent events are a nice solution.

Is it playing into stereotypes? Yes. Do the stereotypes have some truth to them? Yes. Does it work to build long-term parent involvement? In my experience, yes. Very well.

And involvement is so important for all kids.

Tim

Your can tailor this to your needs or event (I always like to add one of the quips below the flyers also --

Fathers,
Come bring your child(ren) to school and enjoy free donuts and coffee

Calahan St. Elementary 2nd Annual
Donuts with Dad


Monday March 8th, 2006
7:45am till 8:15ish
in the Auditorium


This is a chance for fathers to relax and socialize with other fathers and their children who also attend Calahan. Afterwards stay and take a tour of the school, your child(s) classroom, new computer lab or checkout the plans for our school playground project, parent center, library or Book Fair


Fathers (Grandfathers, Male Guardians) are equally important to their children’s education, school and social wellbeing. All are welcome to attend a stress free way to start your day.

Sponsored by Calahan St. Elementary PTA
Contact Shawn Minton This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or if you have any questions.


Quips ----

• Children are more likely to get mostly A's if their fathers are involved in their schools. Among children in grades 6 through 12, the odds that children get mostly A's increase by 46 percent if fathers are highly involved in their schools and by 21 percent if fathers are moderately involved in their schools, compared with the children of little-involved men.
• Children enjoy school more when their fathers and mothers participate. The odds that children enjoy school are 30 percent higher if the fathers are moderately involved, and 55 percent higher if they are highly involved.
• Children are more likely to participate in extracurricular activities when their mothers and fathers are involved in their schools.
Source: Fathers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools
According to a 1997 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, children do better in school when their fathers are involved. The study found that children in two-parent families in which the father is highly involved get better grades, enjoy school more, and are less likely to repeat a grade, compared with kids from families in which only mothers are highly involved. In addition, the study found that children do better in school when their fathers take an active role even if their fathers do not live with them.
“The study tells me that if America’s dads got as involved as America’s moms in their children’s education, America’s children would be studying harder and getting a lot more A’s,” said former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.
Other studies show that fathers’ participation enhances children’s ability to make choices and solve problems. “One of the best predictors of whether kids succeed academically is the father’s involvement,” says James A. Levine, director of the The Fatherhood Project at the Families and Work Institute in New York City. First, says Levine, when a father shows an interest in a child’s schoolwork, the father’s values are clearly communicated to his child. And second, teachers take notice when fathers show up, he says. “The whole support system around the child gets more engaged. Mom is engaged, Dad is engaged, and so is the teacher. Dad acts as a trigger for the whole system.”

I think I have both in this box of stuff that got dumped in my lap the other day. Do you have a fax number I could send it too? I don't have anyway to get it onto my computer.

I'm not sure we have ever specifically addressed this in a flyer but when that adult isn't available, we always see grandparents or aunts and uncles, etc. If you feel the need to specificly say something, maybe "Mom or other female role model" would work.

I don't have a flyer but have a question. We want to change our Family Breakfast to Muffins with mom and donuts with dad. How do you handle it when there is not a mom or dad in the child's home? How did you word that on your flyer?