PTO - outreach ideas

[mamicka]

I attended my first PTO meeting the other night. I'm still kind-of mulling everything over. But the bottom line seems to be that our school needs nothing & raises money for really silly things, IMO. That's an overstatement, I know, but its mostly true. It seems that many parents think that each teacher needs a brand new digital camera for their classroom. To go with the Smart Boards that were purchased last year. Photo printers were also discussed. Don't get me started. You may see a post about this in the BP.

So I'm looking for ideas to suggest at the next PTO for ways to use the money that might actually help educate our kids & teach them to be responsible citizens. Having a sister school that isn't as fortunate? Donating to a school which suffered damage in one of the recent hurricanes? Any ideas?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think your ideas are wondeful! I would go with one of them. Otherwise I would probably just suggest that parents would probably like a break from fundraisers and perhaps they could sit out a few cycles. Or if they feel a need to plan something maybe they could plan a fall festival with all the $ they have.

Beth

[JustMe]

Your ideas sound good. Maybe you suggest that the PTO, or maybe even the kids, take suggestions for causes/agencies/places to donate to and hen take a vote?

[kijip]

Unless your school is an exception to the norm, there are likely families in the school that need help from time to time with basics and learning supplies (like shoes or school supplies). One budget item in our PTA is a fund for the school's family support worker to draw from for these assorted needs. Another need they fill is by providing musical instruments to all 4th and 5th graders whose families would not be able to afford to have them sign up for the music program otherwise. Loaners are nice, but there is something magical about giving a dedicated kid their very own and something they can take with them to middle school band if they like. :)

Another idea is to direct resources to a very low income school in your community. Perhaps with some sort of joint programming (like a 2 school concert or something). We have 1 public school and 1 private school in the area here that serve homeless or recently homeless families.

That said, I like the disaster relief and sister school ideas a lot too.

And, there could be some sort of educational enrichment your school could add - maybe after school science club or an in-depth geography program or hiring a writer in residence to teach writing workshops that go beyond the regular curriculum? Special field trips? Building a garden or greenhouse on campus for the kids to learn about growing food?

[KBecks]

Oooh, I am laughing at your post..... that is too funny.

I would first take a look at your school's library. I just finished reading The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, and it stresses the importance of reading aloud and reading in the classroom, and having good quality books available in the school library. So I'd ask the teacher and the school librarian and see if you can check out their materials and if they feel they are great, current, they have budget for new books, etc. The book also emphasizes face-out book marketing / displays..... letting kids see the book covers and getting them interested that way, so maybe some displays that show off the book covers would be good if they're not already doing that. (So in terms of your own school, the idea would be to screw the technology and invest in books. Maybe get your PTA and teachers reading Trelease. :) You are welcome to borrow my copy -- it is awesome and I have thought about sending copies to our school board.)

Then, I think that supporting a sister school in another area (possibly another country) would be a wonderful idea. It could be set up with pen pals, etc. etc. Although I'm sure you could find a local city school and that would be much more accessible and allow for visits and greater relationship building -- or your school could have two sister schools! I would focus on also creating rich reading environments there with classroom books and well-stocked libraries as well.

I also like the idea of an artist-in-residence program -- our elementary school had a folk musician come for maybe a month or more once when I was in the 5th grade, and it was very memorable -- there was a concert, he visited all the classrooms for activities and it was a lot of fun. I don't know if it was very "educational" but it was cool.

[egoldber]

Unless your school is an exception to the norm, there are likely families in the school that need help from time to time with basics and learning supplies (like shoes or school supplies). One budget item in our PTA is a fund for the school's family support worker to draw from for these assorted needs.

I was thinking this also. Even the wealthiest districts have families that are not so well off who would benefit.

Our PTA also commits to giving each teacher $100 per year to reimburse them for the things they buy for their classrooms out of their own pockets.


And, there could be some sort of educational enrichment your school could add - maybe after school science club or an in-depth geography program...

This is a great idea. Our school offers tons of after school enrichment opportunities, which are partially subsidized by the PTA. These include foreign language classes, science programs, Odyssey of the Mind, etc. I didn't realize until I was talking to some friends who live elsewhere that this was not necessarily the norm for a school to have so many opportunities available for their kids after school actually AT the school, which makes these activities soooo much more convenient.

[Ceepa]

One thing we do is collect winter wear for those students at the school whose families may not be able to provide them with warm coats, hats.

[mdb78]

Is PTO the same as PTA? I know, stupid question. If it is the same, I've always known it as PTA... What does the "O" stand for? I'm just curious. DD is only 16months so I still have awhile.

[egoldber]

O = organization

A = association

I think it's a regional thing.

[kijip]

This is a great idea. Our school offers tons of after school enrichment opportunities, which are partially subsidized by the PTA. These include foreign language classes, science programs, Odyssey of the Mind, etc. I didn't realize until I was talking to some friends who live elsewhere that this was not necessarily the norm for a school to have so many opportunities available for their kids after school actually AT the school, which makes these activities soooo much more convenient.

It's the same here- I assumed schools offered these but ours is one of a few that do. T has short, on-site clubs several days a week- Cooking, Art and Science. He loves it. Then next quarter he can take whole new options. It's low-key and fun.

[supercalifragilous]

In order to be called a PTA, your group needs to be a member of the national PTA organization and adhere to its rules, bylaws, etc. Otherwise, most groups are called PTO (organizations) or PTSA (student association), anything but the official "PTA." Weird, I know.

At our school, the PTO is a separate nonprofit organization from the school, meaning we don't get any funds aside from our own fundraising. The majority of parents who participate in fundraisers want to know how their kids are directly benefiting from any money they raised.

There's a very fine line between what parents feel should be provided by the school (structures/playground, classroom equip, electricity/lines/hookups) but the PTO can provide enrichment activities, like bring in an artist or music teacher once a week to supplement the curriculum, hold special events by a local science group, host a pumpkin patch or skating party or fun carnival. Our PTO also reimburses each teacher for whatever out-of-pocket expenses they've incurred for classroom supplies (up to $xxx/year) and holds teacher-appreciation events on a monthly basis to keep their morale up. We try to best represent what parents would want for the students+teachers above & beyond what the school could & should provide.

While I think it would be awesome to support a sister school or the less fortunate, unless we're upfront during a fundraiser that our funds will be used for that purpose, most participating parents seem to be selfish in that they want to see WHY they should participate (i.e. What are their kids going to get out of it). We could hold "drives" (penny drive, coat drive, canned goods drive, used book donation+sale benefiting a cause), but that's another event where we have to cull volunteers (while not burning out the regulars), so unfortunately, we have to be picky about what we do.

[BeachBum]

It seems that many parents think that each teacher needs a brand new digital camera for their classroom. To go with the Smart Boards that were purchased last year. Photo printers were also discussed. Don't get me started. You may see a post about this in the BP.


It's ok if you think it's silly stuff. We certainly don't have to feel the same about everything. But, I don't think it's that silly.
My mom teaches kindergarten. She uses her own personal digital camera for all her school stuff, her own photo printer, her own photo paper etc. She never gets reimbursed for any of that stuff. If she didn't have the means to do it, her students would reap the benefits of any of that. I can see the argument that every teacher may not need one, but one set shared between two teachers doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

Last year for her birthday, her big gift from us was an ipod and for Christmas a docking station. 90% or more of the music she uses in her classroom is hers personally, and the other 10% came from grants she wrote (on her own time) to buy the others. She loves having the ipod at school because she can more quickly find things and obviously storage is much easier. Necessity? No, but does it make things flow much better during the day? of course.

Right now she and my dad are building a composting bin/earthworm habitat thing to put outside of her classroom all out of personal funds.

My $.02 about fundraising money would be to offer the teachers choices. They know best what they want and need in their classrooms.

[mamicka]

Unless your school is an exception to the norm, there are likely families in the school that need help from time to time with basics and learning supplies (like shoes or school supplies). One budget item in our PTA is a fund for the school's family support worker to draw from for these assorted needs.

There is a budget item of "scholarships" but I don't know what that means, exactly. I'll find out.


Another need they fill is by providing musical instruments to all 4th and 5th graders whose families would not be able to afford to have them sign up for the music program otherwise. Loaners are nice, but there is something magical about giving a dedicated kid their very own and something they can take with them to middle school band if they like. :)

Great idea! Our school is only through 4th so I'm not sure if they start musical instruments here or if they wait until middle school.


Another idea is to direct resources to a very low income school in your community. Perhaps with some sort of joint programming (like a 2 school concert or something). We have 1 public school and 1 private school in the area here that serve homeless or recently homeless families.

Also great ideas - I like the idea of keeping the $$ closer to home.


And, there could be some sort of educational enrichment your school could add - maybe after school science club or an in-depth geography program or hiring a writer in residence to teach writing workshops that go beyond the regular curriculum? Special field trips? Building a garden or greenhouse on campus for the kids to learn about growing food?

These are great suggestions. I'm not aware of any programs like this.

Thanks, Katie!

[mamicka]

I would first take a look at your school's library. I just finished reading The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, and it stresses the importance of reading aloud and reading in the classroom, and having good quality books available in the school library. So I'd ask the teacher and the school librarian and see if you can check out their materials and if they feel they are great, current, they have budget for new books, etc. The book also emphasizes face-out book marketing / displays..... letting kids see the book covers and getting them interested that way, so maybe some displays that show off the book covers would be good if they're not already doing that. (So in terms of your own school, the idea would be to screw the technology and invest in books. Maybe get your PTA and teachers reading Trelease. :) You are welcome to borrow my copy -- it is awesome and I have thought about sending copies to our school board.)

Thanks for the rec. I haven't heard of that book but I'll see if our library has it - if not I'll take you up on your offer. The school's library seems stocked well re: quantity. I'll talk to the librarian & get her thoughts.


I also like the idea of an artist-in-residence program -- our elementary school had a folk musician come for maybe a month or more once when I was in the 5th grade, and it was very memorable -- there was a concert, he visited all the classrooms for activities and it was a lot of fun. I don't know if it was very "educational" but it was cool.

I think that's a great idea. It definitely sounds educational to me. Thanks for the great ideas, Karen!

[mamicka]

Our PTA also commits to giving each teacher $100 per year to reimburse them for the things they buy for their classrooms out of their own pockets.

Yup, we do this, too. Its really weird, actually. I hear all the time about how teachers spend a lot of their own money on their classroom, & I know that they do. But when we talked about it at the meeting, the teachers all said that they didn't need any more money & the principal also said that the district gave each teacher "lots of money" specifically for this purpose. But she wouldn't say how much. Yet I know that some of the teachers are still asking for donations of classroom items. So it sounds political to me & I'm not sure what the truth is. I'd be happy to have each teacher get as much as they need to cover all their out-of-pocket expenses for the classroom.

The after-school club/activities sound really cool. Thanks, Beth!

[mamicka]

In order to be called a PTA, your group needs to be a member of the national PTA organization and adhere to its rules, bylaws, etc. Otherwise, most groups are called PTO (organizations) or PTSA (student association), anything but the official "PTA." Weird, I know.
At our school, the PTO is a separate nonprofit organization from the school, meaning we don't get any funds aside from our own fundraising.

That's interesting. Our PTO has a bunch of rules & bylaws also, so I'm not sure what the deal is. I don't think we get any funding except what we raise.

I just searched & found this article about it.
http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/292-pto-vs-pta-whats-the-difference


The majority of parents who participate in fundraisers want to know how their kids are directly benefiting from any money they raised.

In all the fundraising paperwork I've received, not one sentence said what the funds were for. Again, that's for the BP.


There's a very fine line between what parents feel should be provided by the school (structures/playground, classroom equip, electricity/lines/hookups) but the PTO can provide enrichment activities, like bring in an artist or music teacher once a week to supplement the curriculum, hold special events by a local science group, host a pumpkin patch or skating party or fun carnival. Our PTO also reimburses each teacher for whatever out-of-pocket expenses they've incurred for classroom supplies (up to $xxx/year) and holds teacher-appreciation events on a monthly basis to keep their morale up. We try to best represent what parents would want for the students+teachers above & beyond what the school could & should provide.


In the last couple of years, the PTO has funded a large portion of the playground structures & has spent tens of thousands (each year) on classroom equipment. They also put together some family get-togethers/dinners at the school (not for fundraising specifically but they always come out on top), a family fun night, movie night, etc. Teacher appreciation is also done.

Thanks for your response!

[mamicka]

AHHHH! I just typed a response & lost it.


It's ok if you think it's silly stuff. We certainly don't have to feel the same about everything. But, I don't think it's that silly.
My mom teaches kindergarten. She uses her own personal digital camera for all her school stuff, her own photo printer, her own photo paper etc. She never gets reimbursed for any of that stuff. If she didn't have the means to do it, her students would reap the benefits of any of that. I can see the argument that every teacher may not need one, but one set shared between two teachers doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

My mom taught K also. We'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see a ton of educational benefit to having all that technology in each classroom. Is it fun? Sure. Can we learn the same lessons without spending so much money? I'd be willing to bet lots & lots of money that the answer is yes. Instead of worrying about our kids having more fun (isn't it fun just to be at school with other kids learning through play?) why not find ways to teach fiscal responsibilty, not wasting material goods, thinking about those less fortunate, etc?


My $.02 about fundraising money would be to offer the teachers choices. They know best what they want and need in their classrooms.

At the meeting, they repeatedly said their classrooms lack nothing. :shrug:

Thanks, BeachBum!

[mamicka]

Bumping.... any weekday folks have PTO ideas?