Being President of your school parent group, whether Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Parent Teacher Association (PTA), or another name, is a really big job!
It’s a high profile volunteer role, so you’re surely wondering about how to be a good PTO President, right?
Listen, there’s lots to do to keep a PTO running and even more to learn as PTO President.
I’ve compiled a host of articles and essential resources perfect for new and also experienced Presidents, so settle in for some great reading!
PTO President Duties and Responsibilities
Part of being a good PTO President is to understand the role, responsibilities and function.
Because if you don’t understand the basics of the President role, how will you ever know what to do?
Here are some great articles that will help teach you know you need to know about being PTO President:
President Elect Responsibilities
Get the skinny on what the real deal is with leading your PTA / PTO as President-Elect.
PTO President Duties and Responsibilities
All you need to know about what being a school parent group President entails and what the position’s responsibilities are.
How does this line up with what you think the role of President entails?
Monthly PTO President To Do List
Learn what to do each month as a school parent group volunteer!
Each month has detailed guidance and advice for PTO/PTA volunteers.
New PTO Presidents
There’s a lot to learn as a New PTO/PTA President and these posts will help get you up to speed with the exact information you need very quickly:
Getting Started as a New PTO President
Why guess about the first steps to take as President when everything is all laid out for you in this post?
5 Little Lessons for New PTO Presidents
Being a new PTO President for your school parent group is a daunting task!
Flatten the learning curve as President with these little lessons to be a stronger leader.
Embarrassing Mistakes to Avoid as PTO President
Learn common PTO President mistakes to avoid so you can be strong leader and run a better school parent group.
What to do this Summer to get prepared for the new school year for your PTO /PTA.
Running Meetings
Learn how to run better, more effective PTO board and general membership meetings:
Having Nightmares about First PTO Meeting?
If you’re having nightmares about running your first PTO meeting or PTA meeting, then you should definitely read this!
Great advice for all Presidents who are looking to sleep better and run their groups more efficiently.
Run More Productive PTO Meetings
Ready to run better, more effective parent group meetings?
This post covers seven practical strategies to transform your Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings.
Learn how to boost engagement, stay on track, and make the most of everyone’s time.
Say goodbye to unproductive meetings and hello to a more successful school year!
Maximize Attendance: Finding the Best Time for PTO Meetings
Is there really a best day and time for PTO / PTA meetings? YES! Learn the secret to better school parent group meetings.
Why No One Comes to Your PTO Meetings
If no one is coming to your PTO meetings, then you’re probably committing one of the five deadly PTO sins.
Read this post to find out!
What’s more, you’ll also learn how to fix those mistakes to ensure you have seats filled at the meeting instead of an empty room.
Long meetings are killing your parent engagement and turning people off from your PTO / PTA.
Learn how to avoid them!
Is mixing business with pleasure a bad idea for PTO PTA groups?
Learn whether school parent groups can meet at restaurants where alcohol is served or bars for some relaxing adult only social time.
Boost PTO/PTA meeting attendance with these fresh ideas for meeting speakers
Adding a speaker to your agenda can draw more parents in and ultimately lead to greater parent engagement and family involvement.
Steal these ideas for your school parent group!
How to Run a Summer Planning Meeting
A summer planning meeting is an essential part of preparing and organizing your PTO / PTA for the new school year and all officers and leaders on the same page.
Here’s what to cover in this gathering to get all of your parent group’s ducks in a row for all officers, committee chairs and volunteers for the upcoming school year.
Key Leadership Skills for PTO Presidents
Everyone has an opportunity to be a better leader by upleveling their skills, especially since working as a PTO leader means digging deep into interpersonal and relationships.
This set of articles are some key ways to improve in this crucial area:
5 Super Smart PTO President Organization Tips
Easy PTO President organization tips any school parent group leader can use to massively improve the time in the volunteer role.
Don’t settle for being just an ok leader.
Follow these tips to be the absolute best.
They’ll be begging you to come back for another term!
Make putting on PTO programs, events and fundraising easier by working and collaborating with other PTOs in your school district! Learn how and why you absolutely should be doing this in this post!
How to be a Stronger Public Speaker
Talking in front of parents, teacher or staff can be terrifying!
These tips will help you become a more confident speaker, no matter how bright the spotlight.
How to Put Together a PTO Planning Calendar That Works
Planning is key to a smooth PTO year. Learn the trick to effectively plotting out an agenda for the entire school year so you’re never scrambling.
Partnering with the Principal and the School
Working with the Principal and School is a big part of the job as PTO President.
Here’s some guidance to help you form stronger relationships for a better PTO-School partnership:
How to Partner with Your Principal
Every PTO President should know how to develop a strong relationship with their school Principal for a smooth school year and term as President.
Good relationships with your Principal can be the difference in a well functioning PTO and a hot mess.
PTO-School Family Engagement Collaboration Ideas
Looking to boost family engagement and parent involvement?
Collaborating with your school is a great way to make that happen for your school parent group!
Partnering for family and student programs and events can be a game changer to meaningfully increase engagement of parents and families in the school.
How to Minimize School / PTO Fundraising Feuds
Stop the fundraising fight between your school and parent groups! Work together and earn more for everyone using these easy fundraising strategies. A must read for Principals and PTO / PTA volunteer and leaders.
How to Start a PTO Mini Grant Program for Teachers
Use your school fundraising proceeds to give back to your school in a meaningful way teachers will absolutely love!
Managing PTO Money
The PTO President has a role to play in managing and safeguarding your school parent group’s money.
Here are some shortcuts to simplify the process:
5 Ways to Protect Your PTO From Embezzlement
Simple strategies to protect your PTO and prevent theft or embezzlement.
Ideas for How to Effectively Spend Your PTO’s Money
This post has all the great ideas for what to spend your PTO’s hard earned money on.
Managing Volunteers
PTO is a team sport, so you’ll need to work with others to make it happen.
This is sometimes easier said than done.
Here are some tips to make it easier!
Conflict Management Strategies
Dealing with arguing PTO / PTA members is never fun.
Learn how to effectively handle conflict between members.
Strategies for managing conflict you can use for a drama-free school parent group.
How to Handle PTO Volunteers Who Don’t Do Their Jobs
As tempting as it might seem to wait out a non-performing volunteer until their term is over, it’s better for the group to address issues now.
Here’s how to do it in a conflict-free way!
Can PTO / PTA Volunteers Be Fired?
Are you stuck with Debbie Do Nothing or or is there a way to get another volunteer in the role who will actually do the job? Read to find out.
Is your PTO/PTA is healthy?
What to do if your PTO / PTA has warning flags to address.
A must read for leaders looking to improve their parent volunteer organizations!
Top PTO President Tools & Resources
No PTO President makes the magic happen without some tools at their disposal.
Here the resources that will massively help you in your PTO President role every step of the way:
5 Near Genius PTO President Resources
These resources and tools are essential for PTO PTA Presidents to effectively run their school parent groups!
The Best PTO President’s Planner You’re Not Using
This post is straight to the point and shines the spotlight on an essential tool every school parent group President should have at her fingertips.
10 Forms You Need as PTO President
Stop reinventing the wheel and get these tried and true systems to organize and lead your school parent group instead.
The Organized Leader Bundle: All you’re missing is the right set of tools to be an effective, confident and knowledgable leader! Picture your entire board:
… Knowing exactly what to do … Having plug and play strategies and systems to get every aspect of your PTO organized … Working as an organized team, reaching all your goals and then some! This bundle combines essential officer success and binder kits, customized for each role:
- President’s Success Kit (Planner + Agenda Template + President’s Insider’s Guide)
- Treasurer’s Success Kit (Planner + Editable templates + Treasurer’s Insider’s Guide)
- Secretary’s Success Kit (Planner + Newsletter template, Calendar Template + more)
- Fundraising Success Kit (Planner + Strategy Guide + A-thon Kit + Fundraising Insider’s Guide)
- Parent Involvement Success Kit (Planner + Strategy Guide + Video Training + Editable Templates + Membership Insider’s Guide)
- Family Events Binder Kit (Planner)
- Historian’s Binder Kit (Planner)
- Staff Appreciation Binder Kit (Planner)
- Vice President’s Binder Kit (Planner)
Purchasing the bundle saves 20% over buying the kits separately.
Get the kit here!
Picture this: you, the PTO/PTA President, taking charge like a boss, armed with a treasure trove of resources that will make everyone else wondering exactly how you manage it.
Your secret weapon? The President’s Success Kit!
This isn’t a bunch of busywork templates that look really pretty, but don’t actually amount to anything.
This kit is a collection of game-changing, mind-blowing arsenal of systems, tools, and templates designed to make your life easier and turn your dreams of doing fantastic things for your school community into reality.Â
The President’s Success Kit is jam-packed with bite-sized nuggets of guidance that will empower you to lead with confidence.
Get your copy today!
Transform Your Meetings from Dread to Delight!Â
Stop wasting hours on unproductive meetings.
Discover the secrets to running engaging, efficient sessions in under an hour.
Our Meeting Success Kit empowers you to captivate parents and PTO members, turning them into eager participants.
Say goodbye to meeting dread and hello to energized, productive gatherings.
Learn more and reclaim your time!
Creating or updating bylaws shouldn’t be a nightmare.
Our Bylaws and Standing Rules Made Simple breaks down the process of creating or updating your PTO’s governing documents into easy to follow process anyone can do.
Written in straightforward English, the kit transforms your bylaws into off-putting legalese into powerful tools that’ll get everyone on the same page.
Take your school parent group from disorganized and unclear to professional and effective.
Over to you!
Hopefully you now have loads of confidence about how to be a good PTO President!
The articles and resources here will help fill in gaps in your knowledge and hopefully also boost your confidence that you’re on the right track!
Just know that you’ll continue to grow as a leader as your experience deepens.
