I believe the T in PTO/A is a sign of respect and an indication that we believe parents and teachers are on the same team - working together for a better learning environment.

I agree with dlf and LUV that teachers are a vital part of the group's success even if they never attend a meeting or work an event. Along with what dlf and LUV say, teachers also provide valuable feedback on what items the PTO could purchase to enhance the classroom/school; they often hear from parents/students first about what events, activities, etc they liked or didn't like; teachers who've been at the school for a long time provide continuity to the team and help newer boards/groups with the history or 'why things are the way they are".

If you have one or two teacher reps or a good liason between parents and teachers, the rest of the staff can be a vital part of the team without actually attending meetings.

LUVs survey is a great suggestion. My team did one last year and got great feedback.

My last team posted the monthly meeting minutes in the lounges so teachers could read about what we were up to. If an approved motion affected anyone in particular a Notice of Approved Motion was put in their mailbox(es) for review.

Some groups have a newsletter specifically for teachers to keep them informed.

To answer your specific question, here's how it was at my last school:

*Two Teacher Reps sat on the board and had voting privileges. They were the liason between the group and the faculty.

*Teachers aided us by sending PTO info home with students and collecting returned items.

*Teachers signed up to work shifts at the Winter Carnival. The kids seemed to love seeing their teachers helping out this way!

*Teachers would always post photos along with a huge THANK YOU PTO! in their hallways after their field trips, which PTO funded.

*Teachers encouraged students to write/draw Thank You cards to the PTO after PTO funded events like field trips, Arts Day, etc.

I'll see if the person who put it together still has it on their computer or at least a copy of it and I'll post it on this thread. It basically asked the teachers' opinions of the various programs we sponsor, the funding we provide for classroom purchases and things like that. There was space for comments and ideas too.

Thanks for all the great points of view. For me personally, my main goal is feedback and cooperation from the teachers. Some of my fellow officers are angry that the teachers do not help out and participate which is whay I wanted to know what happens elsewhere.

LUVMYKIDS- I would be interrested in seeing the survey you used - if available or atleast hearing the jist of it.

What it all comes down to is how you define support. We have several teachers who attend meetings and even sit on committees. Others are always there when we need volunteers for events. But I feel like the most important way that all the teachers at our school support us is with what they do from their classrooms. They send home flyers, talk up the fundraisers and events to build participation, talk to the students and parents about programs we fund that benefit our school and just really put out a positive message about our group. They are also always willing to give us feedback on programs and supply us with ideas of what the school could use to better educate our children.

Having teachers(and parents) at meetings is great, but attending meetings isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know some people who come to meetings, throw out ideas, criticize everything and NEVER lift a finger to help. I'd rather have the support when and where it's really needed-at events, during fundraisers, and in the classroom. Your "T" may be there, you just have to find where it is and utilize it to it's fullest.

P.S. We did a survey of our teachers and asked them about all our programs and events. It was a great way to get feedback from all of the teachers, not just the ones who can come to meetings.

Originally posted by bucksco:
That's funny!!

I am curious then, what is the "T" role? Why not just Parent Organization?

Yeah, the PTO/PTA name is definitely the most common, but it's from tradition. Do you know who named it that at your school? Was there alot of thought behind it? Or was it just because "that's what most groups are called"? Would definitely be OK for your group to be called Home School Association or Parent Association or any other name.

For all we know, some of the things we do annoy/frustrate the teachers. Maybe some things we could (and would like to) cut out, but don't know because we have no feed back.

Great point. Definitely a best practice to make sure that your efforts dovetail with those of teachers and administrators and staff. Example: Is how your asking them to help with FR paperwork a complete mis-fit for how homeroom actually works? And tons of other similar questions. In the same way, the principal and teachers and staff should be thinking about what habits at the school (conference schedules, visitor policies, announcements) work well for parents. That takes good communication and a sense of shared-goals (make this school great). It doesn't necessarily take teachers manning the pasta machine at the Spaghetti Dinner.

Tim

I don't worry about the teacher's attendance. I figure they are there 8 hours a day at least and they have lives too that they live (this is their job after all). I think the t is there however in order for us to all bond together to work as a team in moving our children down this education road and we could do nothing in the school without their support. They do participate in a lot of ways daily. Every time they pass out a PTO flier or handle a fundraiser, when they talk to the children about spirit nights or after school activities. If you need their feedback...use emails requesting it or a short survey to see what they like/dislike. I suspect if you don't hear anything bad that you are doing just fine!!!!

dlf