The parent reps from each of the schools do not need to be officers, some may, but we actually encourage the PTO's to send a rep. that is not on the Board. This actually works well for parents that work during the day where they cannot do activities during the school day but they can attend a monthly evening meeting and share their parent group concerns with the Parent Congress who shares with the Superintendent and Board.
Another event we just recently held was a Brown Bag Roundtable where we invited PTO officers to a working lunch. We had a pretty good turnout. We had discussion on increasing parental involvement, Win with 10 program, fundraising or not, and our learning community parent summits. It was a way for those officers to vent a little and realize that they are not alone.
I had already contacted the superintendent and she is behind the idea of having a meeting.
I was seeking ideas about how to seek the happy medium of making a significant contribution to the schools and community without bogging down already busy PTO presidents with more meetings.
The summits sound interesting. I can think of several ways these might work. Thanks for sharing.
I had spoken with a previous Superintendent many years ago about a basic concept of getting parents together from across the district. He went on to create the Parent Congress which at the beginning consisted of our Parent Coordinators, a parent rep. from each high school, middle school, and 1 parent to rep. for each learning community's elementary schools. (We have 7high schools in our district, with 7 middle schools, and about 40 elementary schools.) At first, there was some success, and then it started to dwindle. We now have a new Superintendent, and several strong willed parents who are on the same page and working toward maintaining Parent Congress and expanding it. We are currently re-writing the By Laws so they have more meat to them. When I'm finished with them I would be happy to send you a copy.
Everyone is agreed that our mission is to help educate our parents, to encourage parent participation at home and school, and make our voices heard in the district.
I would begin with your Superintendent. I am fortunate in that I have a good relationship with ours. We are still in the beginning stages of really getting the word out on Parent Congress so parents know we exist and are there to help. That will come with time.
We have had great success with our mini-parent summits. Each high school holds a parent summit that meets the needs of that particular community. The high school, middle school, and elementary schools that feed into the high school showcase what they have to offer and what they've been doing. We have talent from each school performing throughout the event, raffle prizes, and 30+ organizations set up to showcase what they can offer our families. Not only does this get families into the building, but it promotes our schools and parent groups. What is so great is that each parent summit is unique to that area and at Parent Congess we share what works and what doesn't with each other. I hope this information helps. I tend to be a bit wordy...........:o
TPSparent,
I'm also working on an idea like your congress. I was wondering how you got it started and how you or the congress decided what it's mission would be.
Communication is the key to successful Parent-Teacher Organizations. I have been a part of a strong elementary PTO, started a middle school PTO, and am working on increasing parental involvement in the high school PTO and Boosters. In each area, communication and a collaborative effort made between the parents, administration, and teachers has been and continues to be essential. I also believe that "thinking outside the box", a positive attitude, and a willingness to share are key components in a parent group.
I am currently the President of our Parent Congress. This is a whole new ball game, but I feel it will benefit many schools in our city. Our Parent Congress is made up of a single parent representative from each of the elementaries, middle schools, and high schools. We set goals such as Parental Involvement, Advocating for Special Education, and Legislation 101 and we have activities that fall under each goal. We currently have a seat at our school district's Board of Education as the Parent Representative. In an urban district, we have such diverse issues to deal with and our Parent Congress has the opportunity to help each schools parent group build by the sharing of ideas/talents/encouragements. Thanks for letting me share.
The emergence of parent leaders, and greater parent involvement with teachers, has been of fundamental importance to the functioning of schools, and the public relations between schools and parents/caregivers.
I am interested to hear of anyone's ideas on an improvements that would make in parent-teacher organizations, and, what their ideal parent-teacher organization would be.
Oh by the way my name is Dan Howitt; it's been helpful reading through the various pages at this website.
