Idea Bag

  • My Tip of the Week: Make Just One Change

  • Weekly Q: Should Website Guidelines & Procedures be Added to Bylaws?

    We are in the final stages of rolling out our PTO Website and we are very excited about this!!! The Procedures and Guidelines have been developed. Does this need to be added to the Bylaws. If so, how do we go about doing this? Thank you.

  • My Tip of the Week: Help a Struggling Volunteer

    It happens in every group. One of your key volunteers, probably a great person, just isn't very organized. How do you make sure her responsibilities get done without creating all kinds of drama and bad blood? It's tricky, but it's possible.

  • 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: Help Less Fortunate Families at Your School

  • 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:

  • 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: 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.

  • 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('cloak58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f = 'lgundlach' + '@'; addy58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f = addy58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f + 'ptotoday' + '.' + 'com'; var addy_text58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f = 'lgundlach' + '@' + 'ptotoday' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloak58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f').innerHTML += ''+addy_text58a1745e34e18cf6aa4f977634874c0f+''; .

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Q&A: Helping Parents Help Schools

    Soon after her children started going to Van Bokkelen Elementary in Severn, Md., Rhonda Ulmer learned that the school might be taken over by the state because of poor academic performance. In 2004, when Ulmer was PTA president, she formed the Van Bokkelen Family Network to connect parents with resources to help stabilize their families, such as food assistance and GED classes. In the next few years, students’ test scores and parent involvement at Van Bokkelen improved and the school was taken off the takeover list.

  • Earth Day Ideas

    Does your parent group have anything planned for Earth Day? If not, think about borrowing one of these great ideas.

  • 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.

  • My Tip of the Week: Streamline Your Meetings

    I'm not one who thinks PTO or PTA meetings are super-important (really, your meeting attendance doesn't matter that much), but they're definitely on nearly all parent group calendars and they're almost always too long.

  • My Tip of the Week: Create a Signature Event

    Believe it or not, now is the right time to do some assessing of your PTO or PTA. Sure, rest. You've earned it. But also try to find some time (even just trading emails) with your fellow leaders to think about the big picture of your group before you get back into the craziness of a new 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!

  • 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: Maximize Your School's Hunger Fighting Efforts

    If your parent group or school (or even the student council or National Honor Society at your school) does any sort of hunger-fighting work, you're going to love the fall 2011 offerings from Schools Fight Hunger.
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