Let’s talk about what you and your Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) school parent group are going to want to be sure to get done during the month of April as we get oh so close to the end of the school year.
But no, we are not quite there yet and there are a few things you definitely want to get checked off of your PTO leader to do list before Summer Break kicks off.
In today’s post, we’re going to cover everything you as a PTO leader need to wrap up before the end of the school year.
And if you follow these steps, you’re going to put yourself in a primo position to start the next school year off on the right foot, and not be behind and playing catch up.
Let’s get to it!
What PTO Presidents Should Do in April
In April, as President of your school parent group, you’ll be making sure that officer elections happen this month, assuming your school runs on the August-June school year schedule and the slate of officers has been presented.
If the Nominating Committee has presented a full slate of officers, then there’s nothing more you need to do but make sure everyone knows elections are happening at the April PTO Meeting.
But if there are any gaps in your slate, and open positions remain, you as President can work with the Nominating Committee or whoever is helping with that to fill in the rest of those positions.
Ideally, you want to fill the positions before the meeting where the election will be held so that it can all get handled at once, but it doesn’t actually matter when the positions are filled since you can add the business of voting in the filled positions later.
The best way to handle the open positions is to connect with the Nominating Committee Chair, and if your group worked without this position, the lead volunteer who organized the volunteer recruitment process.
Figure out who they’re previously approached and what possibilities there are to move around volunteers to ensure your PTO has a full board of elected leaders for the upcoming school year.
But be sure that you’re not putting someone in a position that they’re ill-suited for just to fill the position.
For example, if there’s a position that requires a lot of public speaking or getting up in front of parents, like membership, it’s really best to not have an introvert as Membership Chair, since they will likely struggle with the role and the results will probably mean a lower volunteer base for the year. Not good!
So really be mindful about who you are approaching to lead your group and look for a match between the PTO’s need and the volunteer’s skill set.
Other than ensuring the elections are held, it’s then pretty much business as usual for Presidents, making sure any outstanding bits of business are added to the April Meeting Agenda and continuing to wrap things up for the school year.
This post has great information on what to handle before the school year is done.
Top resources for school parent group Presidents
Wish you had a real training manual for your parent group role?
The Powered Up Parent Engagement System is something your Principal can provide for your entire parent group, and it’s been built specifically for volunteers just like you.
Every leadership role gets its own toolkit: templates, training, and step-by-step guidance so you’re not stuck guessing or making do with whatever the last person left behind.
If you’ve ever wished someone had just handed your PTA/PTO you a clear playbook, this is it, and it’s something your school can give your whole team.
It might be worth mentioning to your Principal, especially if your group could use more structure or support. Show them the Powered Up Parent Engagement System →
Being PTO or PTA President doesn’t come with a manual. That’s basically why I built the President’s Success Kit.
It’s the actual binder, planner, and meeting agenda templates I wish I’d had my first term as President… plus an insider secrets guide covering the stuff nobody tells you until you’ve already made the mistake.
Everything’s ready to print or load into your favorite planner app, so you’re not building your own system from scratch at 11pm the night before a meeting.
Grab the President’s Success Kit and make this the term everyone wonders how you’re so on top of it!
PTO Secretary April To Do List
For the PTO Secretary, you are the leader primarily responsible for managing the election process.
So if you have more than one person who is running for a position, then you’re going to want to follow your Bylaws and Standing Rules and follow the procedure that is set out there.
If there is no procedure, then you’re going to want to make sure everything is done on the up and up and that only members vote and everyone gets one vote on all of the candidates for the positions.
If you are a PTA, then you’re going to want to make sure that they have paid their membership dues because that is how members remain in good standing and eligible to vote.
Aside from the big elections business for the month, you’re also going to want to go back through your records.
Make sure that you have uploaded all of the past meeting minutes for the year into your group’s cloud storage drive so that you do not end up with just having paper copies.
But make sure that the digital copies are off your personal computer and onto the group’s cloud storage system since no one will be able to access the information on your computer.
Then go ahead and take a paper copy of the meeting minutes as well as the meeting agenda and put them into a binder labeled Past Meeting Minutes.
Focusing on organizing things now will mean that you’ll be organized come the end of the school year and in position for a fresh start for the upcoming school year.
Stop drowning in Secretary paperwork.
The Secretary Success Kit gives you the exact officer binder templates you need… meeting minutes, board summaries, contact lists, the whole thing, already built for you.
Whether you’re the Recording Secretary or the Corresponding one (or somehow both), this is how meeting prep, the meeting itself, and the follow up stop turning into a scramble.
No more reinventing your system every single term.
Grab it and take control of your PTO role today!
Family Fun Chair April To Do List
The most important thing for PTO Family event Chairs to focus on during the month of April is making sure you have enough volunteer help for the remaining programs through the end of the school year.
Don’t let your group burn out by asking the same people to help with things that pop up at the end of the year.
The end of the school year period, which is really anything after Spring Break to the last day of school is so busy, with a million activities going on.
Try to reach out to parents who haven’t yet helped and see if they would like to jump in and help.
Make the requests for help both specific and personal to them so they know help is truly needed.
They’ll be more likely to respond in the affirmative this way.
Fundraising Chair April To Do List
Now for the Fundraising Chair, you’re going to want to look at the landscape for the next year.
Look at the different kinds of fundraisers that are available.
What haven’t you tried?
What went over really well?
What absolutely flopped, and you need to replace?
Look for a good replacement.
I always think trying something new is good if things have gone stale.
Really start planning your fundraisers now.
It takes a lot of time to get the right fundraiser in place because you have to do some research.
You can do a lot of the legwork that is going to lay the foundation for a successful fundraiser in the Fall right now, in the Spring, before you are done with the school year.
Because let me tell you, you need a break this Summer so that you are rested and prepared for the fundraising sprint come Fall.
So, do the work now while you’re still in school, and then you’ll free yourself up to have more free time over the Summer, and you won’t have to worry about it.
You really don’t want to wait until the Fall to plan your fundraiser because really that’s going to screw everything else up.
And you might not be starting the new school year with a lot of money, which means you’re going to have to do a fundraiser right away.
And if you are not preparing now for that eventuality, I don’t know how that’s actually going to happen since it takes time to prepare and get a game plan together to execute a successful fundraiser.
So really set yourself up for success for next year by getting the bulk of the work done now.
Fundraising is hard. I ran it for years as Fundraising Chair, so I get it.
The Fundraising Success Kit is the plan I wish I’d had back then… step-by-step strategies, not a vague pep talk.
It works whether you’re running a classic catalog sale, a full-on a-thon, or anything in between. Publicity plan, templates, forms, the whole planner kit, all set up so you’re not starting from a blank page.
Grab the Fundraising Success Kit here
Staff Appreciation Chair April To Do List
For Staff Appreciation Chairs, your time to shine is coming up, my dear!
Many groups focus their appreciation efforts during the first full week of may, when Teacher Appreciation Week is, and you probably have something planned for that week, or at least a few days.
If you don’t yet have a theme for the week, which isn’t necessary, but can add a lot of fun, then check out this massive list of teacher appreciation themes.
There are even full weekly plans with decoration, gift, meal and menu ideas for most of the themes, with more being added all the time.
As a part of your planning process for the appreciation events, be sure to recruit volunteers to help with all aspects of what you have planned.
Other parents will love to participate by helping to set up, decorate, prepare a treat for staff or with clean up after an appreciation event.
Don’t go it alone and ask for help!
Appreciation events are a great thing to loop in student help with as well.
You can cajole your own child, as well as their friends, for some help hauling in supplies and doing the initial set up.
If your budget is tight, seek donations from local businesses.
Most people have a soft spot for teachers and appreciate all they do for the school and community and will give generously to support them in your effort.
As with all donations, it’s really best to ask well in advance, but even if you’re a little late to the game, it never hurts to ask anyway.
The worst they can say is no, so put yourself out there.
Treasurer April To Do List
For the PTO Treasurer, I want you to go actually and look at your physical checkbook early this month.
Do you have enough checks to pay for everything that you know is coming up?
To be sure, take a look at your budget. If you have the Treasurer’s Finance Manager, it’s going to be super simple for you to see how much Committee Chairs have spent versus how much has been allocated in the budget.
And this will give you more than an educated guess on how many checks you’ll need to make it through the rest of the year.
So, do you actually have enough physical checks so they can write checks for everybody?
If not, go ahead and order those checks now so that you have them at the ready when needed.
You also should be getting everything organized for the annual audit.
The Treasurer Command System is a super useful tool to help make that happen more easily since there’s baked in structure to get all receipts and paperwork organized, easily.
Confession: I’m a recovering litigation attorney turned professional organizer who can’t turn off the systems brain, ever.
So when treasurers kept telling me they were piecing together deposit forms and monthly reports from scratch every year… I built the system I wish someone had handed my PTA.
That’s the Treasurer Command System.
Inside you get a fully organized binder and planner with ready-to-print forms for deposits, reimbursements, and vendor payments, and a 40 page Insider’s Guide that skips you past the mistakes I’ve seen treasurers make. You can add on the Treasurer’s Finance Manager, a system that builds your budget and reports for you. No math required.
Get it set up in about thirty minutes and spend the rest of your term actually running your group’s finances instead of reinventing them.
Grab the Treasurer Command System here.
Watch this!
Over to you!
That about wraps it up for what your PTO should be handling this month in April.
I’ll be back next month with more guidance on what to handle in May.
Related Reading
Want to know what’s coming up next month? Read all about the tasks to handle each month as a PTO volunteer right here!
