Idea Bag

  • My Tip of the Week: Welcome All New Volunteers

    Three facts: First, this is about the busiest time of year for PTO and PTA leaders; second, this is the time of year when new parents first express interest in helping out at the school; and third, it takes work and patience (which are in short supply) to get a new volunteer started.

  • 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.

  • Featured Q: What Happens When Nobody Volunteers for Board Positions?

    Most groups, at one time or another, have positions they have trouble filling at the end of the school year. What has worked for your PTO or PTA for filling these empty positions?

  • 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.

  • Parent Groups in the News Round-up 2/18/11

    As we close out the week of Valentine's day there's a lot to love in the world of parent group news:

  • 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.

  • My Tip of the Week: Use Email for Your PTO or PTA

    I've been getting a lot of questions lately about Facebook and Twitter for PTOs and PTAs. While they're both fine, I actually think email remains the current best communication tool for parent groups.

  • Congrats to PTO Today Teacher Wish List Grant Winners

    Have you signed up your school for Teacher Wish List yet? What are you waiting for? Order a free kit to get started or visit the Teacher Wish List site.

  • 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 New Parents Feel Welcome

    If you're a PTO leader, then you probably know most of the key players at your school -- the principal, your fellow officers, the teachers, the most-involved parents. For you, attending events and meetings is a comfortable thing.

  • 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!

  • My Tip of the Week: Teacher Appreciation Ideas

    I have three links for you this week. If you have a fellow leader working on teacher appreciation, this would be a great email to forward.

  • Enter Our Fun Phrase Contest to Win

    The winning fun phrase will be printed on t-shirts that will be used as prizes at PTO Today Expos and beyond. The winner will be featured in a photograph wearing the winning t-shirt (with up to 4 fellow parent group volunteers) in an upcoming issue of PTO Today magazine. Also, you and 11 of your closest PTO or PTA peeps receive a free t-shirt. AND everyone who enters gets free admission to your closest PTO Today Expo!

  • My Tip of the Week: Fall Carnival Ideas

    Recently a lot of people have been searching ptotoday.com for information on carnivals and fall fairs. A fall carnival is a great event to create excitement among kids. It's also a terrific way to get parents involved and create camaraderie, since you'll need a lot of volunteers but the jobs are mostly fun.

  • Five (or Six) Months Left in the School Year

    Happy New Year to all our PTO, PTA, HSA friends! Did you have a chance to re-charge over your holiday break? Are you ready to do great things in 2011? Flipping over the calendar in a new year is always energizing for me -- fresh possibilities, new ideas, a clean slate. But where school is concerned, it's also a bit daunting. Only 6 more months of school (in some of your cases, 5). Gulp. So much to accomplish on the PTO front. That's where resolutions or goals come in! Just to write them out lends clarity, purpose and a new sense of calm.

  • 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).

  • A Low-Key Family Event = Way to Recruit Volunteers

    Word is that families love the low-key aspect of Family Movie Nights. A table set up with volunteer sign-up sheets near the snacks inspires parents to contribute to future events. Parents are much more likely to sign up for a shift when they feel like part of the school community and after they had a good time a school family event.Leaders also told me that finding a volunteer to run a Family Movie Night is easier than most because you can hand them a kit with:

  • My Tip of the Week: Help One of Your Friends

    Do you know another parent group leader (or someone starting to get into this crazy stuff, or thinking about it) who could benefit from ptotoday.com or from these email newsletters?
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