With so many moving parts in a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) or Parent Teacher Association, it’s difficult for the President to keep track of all of the details!
From bank account information and bylaws, to the officer, Principal and Teacher Liaison’s contact information, and all the big plans and ideas you have for your group, managing all of these essential details is a tall order.
No worries about having to go it alone, I’ve got you!
I created a PTO President Planner (part of the President’s Success Kit aka the Ultimate School Parent Group President’s Management System) to be an effective, simple, and efficient way to organize, sort, and store all of the information a school parent group President needs…so you can always find it, whenever you need it!
And it works for any and all school parent groups, no matter its name (for simplicity’s sake, I’ll refer to it as the PTO President Planner, but know no pages are specific to a group type).
Why Assemble a PTO President’s Planner?
Throughout my numerous terms as PTA President, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve (quickly) needed to know how the previous President handled something, how much money was left in the budget for staff appreciation, get my hands on my notes from the last PTO meeting, or any of the other countless pieces of information it takes to run a PTO/PTA school parent group.
Being PTO President means being asked a bunch of questions that are sometimes random by fellow volunteers, parents, teachers, staff and the Principal, all with the unspoken expectation that you have the answer.
All too often, tracking down the right information is harder than it should be because most of us have been handed at most a disorganized binder that’s hard to make sense of.
While there are many of ways to organize your PTO’s information, I’ve found one of best methods is to use simple three ring binder as home base for the PTO President Planner.
Not only are binders inexpensive and quick to assemble, but they’re highly customizable, efficient to use, and easy to tote to PTO meetings.
Creating a physical “database” of the information you access most and giving you a dedicated place to keep your notes will save you loads time, stress, and frustration throughout your entire term!
Using a PTO President Planner is also a signal that you are taking the President’s job seriously and when you wow them by having the answers they’re seeking, they’ll wonder how you make it look so easy.
Not to mention that using a binder system means you’ll be handing off an organized planner to the incoming PTO President (setting them up for success and highlighting your professionalism and general awesomeness).
Supplies Needed
Here’s what supplies you’ll need to set up a PTO President Planner for yourself:
- Printed copy of the Planner Kit from the President’s Success Kit (print at home or send the file to an office supply store)
- Three ring binder at least 2 inches in size.
- Hole punch
- 3 ring pocket inserts
- Double sided adhesive or sticker maker
How to Assemble Your PTO President Planner
Assembling a PTO President’s Planner is a pretty straight forward process:
- Purchase the President’s Success Kit.
- Type your group information into the fillable pages (or write on the pages after printing).
- Decide which sections / pages you need and print.
- Organize sections with dividers in your preferred order, then punch holes on left side.
- Type your PTO’s name in customizable cover and spine label (or use the reformatted PTO or PTA cover), print and load into the binder.
- Type the divider tab names in your preferred order, then print, trim and attach to the section divider pages.
- Load the pages into the binder.
- Add a 3 ring pocket insert to the Bylaws section, then load a printed copy of your PTO’s Bylaws and Standing Rules.
- Bring the planner with you to PTO meetings so you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips.
The President’s Success Kit | A Complete Printable PTO/PTA Parent Group Management System
Assembling a PTO President Planner that’s actually useful isn’t hard, but figuring out what to put in it can be!
So many Presidents step into the role without much training and they’re busy enough without having to figure out things like:
What information should be included and how to format it?
What’s the best way to organize it so you can actually find things?
How can I make the binder into a helpful tool and not just something that looks pretty?
Thankfully, I’ve done all the hard work for you so you can start gathering information and assembling the ultimate resource for PTO/PTA Presidents right away!
My 70+ page, ready-to-print kit, includes worksheets, checklists, and planner pages for all your role as group President.
Simply print the pages, fill them out, then insert them into your binder! How easy is that?!?
Parts of the President’s Success Kit
The President’s Planner and Binder Kit is just one part of the President’s Success Kit.
In addition to the planner kit, there’s a video crash course, President’s Insider’s Secrets and an assessment you can use to check the health of your school parent group.
All are excellent resources to help avoid the steep learning curve new PTO/PTA leaders have to pass through and give you both tools and strategies for a really successful term as your group’s President.
Get your copy of the President’s Success Kit here!
Watch this:
Here’s a video tour of the best PTO President’s Planner:
