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...Continue reading
The number one, virtually universal problem for PTOs these days is that groups don’t have enough volunteers. Some days, it seems like ready volunteers are rarer than walking out of Target with only what’s on your list. Well, there may be very good reason for this problem and I’m going to get super honest in...Continue reading
Times are not normal and the fallout can be felt on all different levels of life right now. What 15 months ago seemed like a certainty is now up in the air. So it makes sense to wonder how to address some of the uncertainty of the upcoming school year. This post will cover ideas...Continue reading
The easiest way to get new members for your PTA or PTO is to set up a Membership Table. But knowing what is best to have on the table in order to attract new parents to first come over and second, actually join isn’t always clear. This post will walk you through what’s involved with...Continue reading
The one question that I hear all the time is how in the heck to get parents involved? Now to you, being the fearless PTO leader you are, this is an honest question. You really want to know what to do to bring more parents in to be actively involved. Because for you,...Continue reading
Looking to make your very own custom PTO shirts? It’s easier to do than you think! Making your own t-shirts can be a cost effective way to have custom shirts for your PTO or PTA- as long as you have the right tools! Many of the options featured in this post as SVG files which...Continue reading
Want to know why your PTO has trouble attracting or keeping volunteers? It’s all in how they are recruited! This post will teach you the number one mistake PTA and PTO groups make when it comes to recruiting new volunteers. The Mistake: Volun-telling The number one mistake PTOs make when recruiting new volunteers is volun-telling...Continue reading
Last week, I started a conversation about PTO Board shirts. Since that post was so fun to put together, I decided to hunt down some sillier options. And now for some T-shirt eye candy for when you’ve had a rough day in PTO Land! Most of these are funny, some are sincere, but all...Continue reading
Ask any PTO what they need and their first answer will be more money, followed shortly by more volunteers. And there’s good reason for both of these answers! While there are over 60,000 PTOs in the United States alone, parent engagement and involvement in groups has shrunken. There are less volunteers doing the work of...Continue reading
There’s something we need to talk about. Something troubling that keeps happening in PTO land. It’s bad. Worse that most realize, or else they’d quit doing it. Before I tell you what it is, story time… Not so long ago, I was at my child’s school and was chatting with a fellow PTA volunteer...Continue reading
Is your PTO struggling with getting enough volunteers? You are not alone! All parent groups struggle with this issue from time to time, unfortunately. Here are some ways you can put an end to this problem. These are the same tactics that I use in my own parent groups to attract and retain volunteers! In...Continue reading
The second half of the school year is normally the time when well organized PTO / PTAs start looking towards planning for the future school year and looking around to see who will be the leaders of the group. And while it’s true that the task of filling the slate of officers for the...Continue reading