Idea Bag

  • Teachers Surprise Families With Flash Mob

    During a break in the action at a faculty basketball game, teachers at Grafton (Mass.) El­ementary suddenly started dancing.

  • Honor Roll: Tammy Duncan Makes School a More Beautiful Place

    Tammy Duncan, chairwoman of the landscaping committee at the East Aiken School of the Arts in Aiken, S.C., worked to turn a weedy piece of school property into a garden everyone could enjoy.

  • 5 Additions To Spice Up Your Newsletter

    Give your weekly or monthly communications home a boost with some fun new items.

  • Date Book: Family Literacy Day

    Parents play a key role in helping children learn to read and encouraging them to keep reading. PTOs can help by holding family literacy events and providing parents with helpful tools and information. Consider observing Family Literacy Day on Nov. 1.

  • My Tip of the Week: Communicate with Parents Easily

    Is your group extensively using email yet? If not, you simply have to make it part of your 2011-12 plans. Now's the time to set the stage.

  • Parent Groups in the News Round-up 5/13/11

    It's so refreshing to scan the recent parent group news and see so many articles about schools taking on gardening projects. In general, we are seeing a trend of parent groups taking a more active role in green school initiatives. This week's article round-up speaks to the benefits of school gardens:

  • My Tip of the Week: Make Just One Change

  • My Tip of the Week: Give Thanks to School Volunteers

    It's the week for giving extra thanks, and it gives me great pleasure to thank a group of people who get way too much agita and way too little thanks -- you guys!

  • My Tip of the Week: Create Your Own Parent Leader Network

    Get out and smell the coffee. That's my tip for this week. I wrote a column for PTO Today magazine with this title a couple of years ago, and it remains one of my favorite simple but underused ideas.

  • My Tip of the Week: Start Recruiting New Officers Now

    Have you begun to think about elections yet? It may seem early, but now is the time to start recruiting officers for next year.

  • My Tip of the Week: Enjoy the Rest -- You Deserve It

    No tip this week. Fourth of July week should be the apex of PTO and PTA relaxation. One year done. Another year still over the horizon. Enjoy!

  • Parent Groups in the News Round-up 3/4/11

    Here are the featured articles for this week. Hope you find something that sparks an idea -- big or small-- for an upcoming event or program.Don't forget to let us know if your PTO or PTA event gets press! We'd love to include your story in our round-ups. Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloak55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154 = 'lgundlach' + '@'; addy55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154 = addy55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154 + 'ptotoday' + '.' + 'com'; var addy_text55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154 = 'lgundlach' + '@' + 'ptotoday' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloak55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154').innerHTML += ''+addy_text55626e712c0b4f29480aa96b361bf154+''; .

  • My Tip of the Week: Help Less Fortunate Families at Your School

  • My Tip of the Week: Act Like the Group You Want To Be

    In employment circles, they say you should dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. For PTOs, you should act like (and talk about) the parent group you want to be, not the parent group you currently are.

  • 2012 Parent Group of the Year Search

    It’s not too early to start thinking about PTO Today’s 2012 Parent Group of the Year search.

  • My Tip of the Week: Make Your Principal a Hero

    If you have a great principal who supports your efforts, take every chance you get to let your whole school community know that. In your newsletter, at your events, even in personal conversations, publicize your principal's support and how much your group appreciates that support. It's well worth it.

  • My Tip of the Week: Find Your Next Crop of Leaders

  • Funny Video helps Schools in Need

    The neat (no pun intended) thing is that by sharing this video you’ll be helping schools that are struggling financially get the cleaning supplies they need. Bounty is going to make a one-time donation of $200,000 worth of paper towels (retail value) to schools in need if they get 2,000,000 views by Jan. 31st (with distribution help by PTO Today).

  • These 6th Graders Make a Difference

    Talk about an amazing rate of return! The Merrill Middle School PTA in Des Moines, Iowa, gave 210 6th graders $1 each, and in just 32 days, the students had used the seed money to raise an additional $8,151.

  • Can't Make It To a Meeting? Replay It Online!

    Parents who can’t make it to PTA meetings at three Staten Island, N.Y., schools will soon be able to catch the proceedings online. Thanks to a funding allocation from the area’s city council representative, the meetings will be broadcast live and recorded for replay online. Parents won’t be able to participate in the meetings online, but they will be able to watch or replay them later.
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