You’re in the right place if you’re looking for a Back to School Survival Guide tailored just for PTO leaders and volunteers like yourself!
The back to school season is a super busy and overwhelming time for parents.
There’s all the prep work involved: back to school shopping, checking school supply lists, going shopping for new clothes in your child’s new size and planning out protein rich breakfasts and satisfying lunches, new schedules to adjust to and a newly scheduled out future, full of kids sports and activities, and, and, and…
And then for PTO leaders, there’s a whole other layer of to dos added to the already long list!
The start of the new year brings an unparalleled chance to get new parents involved as volunteers and potentially leaders.
And chances are you’ll have leaders in positions new to them or first time leaders to train then too.
This can make you feel pulled in all directions and overwhelmed.
Aside from cutting yourself some slack and extending the same kindness you regularly give to others to yourself right now, here’s how to survive the back to school time as a PTO leader.
Get Organized Personally
Getting yourself organized is one of the best ways to stay sane through the chaotic back to school season.
First, if you don’t already have one, get a planner with a calendar so you have a view of your world on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
This is so key for keeping things together and not dropping balls that have flown off of your radar.
Next, put together a PTO bag with everything you’ll need for meetings and events for an organized grab and go situation.
This simple step will make you feel prepared for meetings and kinda like an organized goddess!
Get Your PTO Organized
Put together a binder for your PTO position, complete with all you’ll need throughout the year.
But what to put in your binder?
No need to figure it out on your own, our kits have it all together for you:
Take the time to organize your binder, following the steps in this post.
Carving out some time to be intentionally organized in your PTO role will pay off now and throughout the entire school year.
Get Resources
Don’t try to figure everything out on your own!
Get your crew and yourself some guidance about your specific role and how to run your entire PTO.
Looking for an all in one solution and resource bank to become a stronger leader and run a better PTO/PTA?
How about a comprehensive system that’ll work for your entire school and all of its school parent groups, whether PTO, Booster Club or some other type of group? Check out the Family Engagement Made Simple system.
The system has all of our tried and true Success Kits along with video trainings and guidance to support you and your school parent group!
Most of the resources bundled in Family Engagement Made Simple system are available individually, so if you’re looking for resources pertaining to just your specific role, be sure to check out our PTO / PTA officer and leader resources.
Get Planning
Now that you have a PTO planner, start filling in the dates that you know so you can start to get a sense of your schedule.
Add family commitments, work dates, personal dare, doctor’s appointments, school dates like games and days off.
Then fill in PTO meetings, events and programs.
Then take a big ol’ breathe because it might seem overwhelming having everything laid out in front of you like that.
But know that knowledge is power and knowing what’s coming up is going to position you to plan for things instead of reacting after the fact and dealing with the fall out.
Plan Meals for Yourself and Your Family
Hungry PTO leaders are unhappy leaders, so find some easy meals to add to your repertoire so you’re not left grabbing dinner from a drive thru again.
Map out a plan for some easy or low prep meals to take off some of the pressure and keep tummies full and happy.
Some of my favorites include:
- Sheet Pan Nachos from Cookie and Kate
- Greek Baked Orzo from Pinch of Yum
- Chicken Tinga from Gimme Some Oven
- Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner from Skinnytaste
Go ahead and add this plan into your planner too, especially for the really busy weeks.
Do yourself a favor and plan a few nights to grab pizza or other takeout, taking any PTO sponsored Dine to Donate Nights into account so you can take full advantage of the fundraiser.
Chill Out
The biggest thing to keep in mind as you approach the new school year is to know that you’re not going to get everything done.
You will have some unfulfilled goals at the end of your term that you worked towards, but just didn’t complete.
That’s pretty normal and to be expected.
It does not mean, in any shape or form, that you didn’t cut it as a PTO Leader.
Know that you can tackle these goals in the future or pass along the information to the volunteer stepping into your role so they can see the project through.
Commisserate
It’s never a bad idea to have a way to keep things in perspective.
Bend the ear of like minded volunteers in the Super Star PTO Leaders Facebook Community.
There’s no other group of volunteers who will understand, ready to support you with supportive and kind words.
They’ll readily tell you if things seem off base or par for the course.
Recruit Help
Finally, one last tip for back to school success is to get some help!
More hands always make for lighter work, so get some help for you personally in your PTO role and also for the PTO.
It’s impossible to ever have enough since PTO is a volunteer role and no one’s paid job that they’re fully committed to.
And life happens and interrupts the best of intentions, so it’s a good idea to have volunteers waiting n the wings to pick up some of the slack.
Over to you!
Hope these tips have given you peace of mind and equipped you with some tools to not only survive the back to school season, but also thrive.
Enjoy the new school year and all that it brings. Hope you have the best year ever!
