As a 15-year Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) nerd, here’s how I wrap up the end of every school year so I can feel accomplished and ready for the upcoming year.
I really like to tie everything up from the past year in a nice little bow so that I can feel like I have wrapped up all the loose ends.
This allows me to have a really nice summer break where I am not worried about what is coming up because I know I have everything prepared.
I follow the same process each year, whether I am staying on in the role or transitioning out of the role and handing off the position to a new incoming officer.
It’s the same process because you still have to mentally and physically get all your ducks in a row to be organized.
When I am handing things off to a new person, there is a little more work involved because I want to set them up with all the resources I have to make their role as easy as possible.
First of all, that’s just the kind of person I am; I like to equip others with tools.
Secondly, that’s what I would want from someone else.
I would hope they are giving me their PTO binder and other materials in a really good, organized way so that I can make sense of it quickly.
When you’re new to a PTO role, it’s already overwhelming enough without having a literal mess of papers and folders to sort through.
So let’s get to a checklist of to do items to follow to end your PTO term on a high note so you can feel great personally and know you’re passing things on in the best way to incoming volunteers!
Gather PTO Property
So, the very first thing I do is to start figuring out what PTO property I have at home and start taking it back into the PTO closet at school or other PTO storage area.
By PTO property, I’m talking about decorations and event supplies that’ve migrated home after events, office supplies used to put fundraising packets together, teacher appreciation craft supplies, etc.
The stash of extra graduation yard signs I keep in my garage so parents could pick them up after school hours?
Those all get carted back to school for use next year.
Be sure to look around your house and see what you have that was purchased with PTO money and get it back to school before the last day of the school year.
This way you’ll have the items out of your house, decluttering it in the process. Talk about a win-win!
Digital Declutter and Template Upload
The next thing I do is look on my computer and see what files I have created throughout the year that need to go to the PTO’s shared cloud file storage system.
My group uses Google Drive.
Since I use an Apple, and most people are not using an Apple, I export it to the Word version and then pop it up in the cloud file system so that the next person can use it.
I make sure that the files are in the right format for use by future leaders because it is so much easier to tweak an existing flyer or document than to create it from scratch.
I want to save future people more time by giving them the resources they need.
Then, they will have a nice starting point and won’t be starting from scratch.
To me, that is one of the most frustrating things about PTO land:
So much of what we’re doing just feels like we are on a wheel, doing the same thing over and over, and you have to recreate the wheel more times than not and that’s super frustrating for me.
It doesn’t have to be that way, so I’m always looking for ways to avoid starting from scratch.
If more PTO volunteers just retained that information and made it available in a format where other PTO leaders can use it, that would save everybody in PTO land a lot of time.
Write Event and Program Summaries
Next, I make sure to write up summaries of what I did in my role throughout the year.
Let’s take the After-Prom Committee Chair as an example.
I documented all of the fundraisers we did, what worked about each of them, what didn’t work so well, what suggestions I had for changes.
I included a list of the refreshments and decor used for the event, along with contact information for the various vendors and pricing sheets.
I listed the steps of securing permits to use the building and as many of the details someone else would need to replicate the event.
I copied the floor plan sketch for the room layout.
Noting what I would do exactly the same, what needs to be tweaked a little bit, and what I would totally skip altogether was important information for the incoming leader.
All of this information is such good gold to pass on to the incoming leader, especially if they’ve never served in the role or if they’ve never done that specific PTO position before.
It’s really going to help them get a leg up in their volunteer position and have a better handle on what to do as a new PTO leader specifically.
If you don’t have an idea of what to include in your write ups , use of the of the templates provided in any of the leader success kits available in my shop.
All the roles have the forms so you can just follow the prompts and get the information written down.
The practice of writing all of these details out is good for you as a PTO volunteer, too.
If you’re continuing on in the role, chances are pretty good that you’ll forget some of the details a year from now when you’re repeating the event or program.
Reviewing the summary sheets are a great way to refresh your memory.
As a longtime PTO volunteer, I’ve help each job title multiple times.
Sure the specific job details change from school to school and PTO to PTO, depending on the age set of the students.
But so much of the information is transferrable or tweakable, at the last!
Once the summary forms were done, I added a copy to my officer binder, uploaded a digital version to the PTO Google Drive and kept a copy for myself too!
Super handy to have the information throughout the years.
Organize My PTO Binder
The next thing is that I always organize before the end of the year, and advance of the officer transition meeting, is my officer binder.
I make sure to get out anything unnecessary, like any papers I’ve collected that won’t be useful to the incoming leader.
And my handwritten notes that were essentially to do lists are usually recycled since they were for my reference.
I clean everything up so that no papers are falling out.
Everything that can be hole punched is and slotted into the right section.
Agendas are put into reverse chronological order.
I slide copies of the Event and Program summaries into their section too and paperclip associated collateral from vendors to make little information packets.
A quick tidy that generally takes 30 minutes or less.
Make a List
The last thing to do to wrap up your term in the years that you’ll be passing the role off to another volunteer, is to make a list of the most important information for the role.
This is somewhat connected to the Event and Program Summaries mentioned earlier, but slightly different.
Here, you’ll note more global issues for the new leader to be aware of.
There is usually so much information to know in every PTO role, so I try to pare it down to a smaller list of the very most important things for the leader to keep in mind.
This helps to make the new role less overwhelming!
Completing the Board Summary Sheet is another tool that helps this process.
All of the leader Success Kits have this form baked into the toolkits.
The prompts on the form help you think of things that may have slipped your mind to give a more complete picture of the volunteer role.
With this done, you’ll be really prepared for the officer transition meeting with the incoming volunteer and they’ll love you for your advance work!
Watch This!
Over to you!
And there you have a nice end of the year wrap up checklist to follow as a PTO leader and volunteer.
I hope the tips I’ve shared help you feel just as organized and finished on fantastic terms as I do!
Tying up all the loose ends like this will help you feel more accomplished and proud of your term, mentally prepare for a nice summer and ensure the incoming leader has an organized start for their term.
Resources You’ll Love
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