PTO problems and complaints - I need a list please

[Serena]

Guess what? I was just appointed vice-president last night. Our president and vice-president told us they were unable to do their duties for one reason or another and I was asked if I would do it.
I told them I would unless they could find someone else. All week and last night people have been talked to and asked and no one wants the job and they all seem to think I can do it. Actually, they want me president but I told them no way.

Anyway, there was a long, long thread about this and I was hoping that I could get a list of the problems that you've had with PTO's before, a la Jason. (short posts) lol

1) they didn't call anyone who volunteered to help
2) they were unfriendly and sometimes rude
3)

TIA, it will help me alot.

 

[Cindy B]

3) did not accommodate working mothers.. ie meetings during the day, or things like that


4) Not very inclusive to new members


5) Only caring about "bottom line", ie $$$ , and not the children

 

[Talking Hands]

Been there and done that. Good luck. Better than treasurer though.

Didn't communicate with other board members.
Didn't provide interpreters for parents who were Deaf.
Didn't recognize the multicultural diversity of the school and it's students.

 

[Serena]

Thanks Cindy.

Talking Hands, I didn't think about anyone being deaf. We have a ton of spanish students and we have a translator but I don't think anyone has addressed that issue. I'll have to find out about that.

We do have to be more organized with the volunteers. More organized period.
We are a friendly bunch. lol I'll try and make sure no one will have reason to think otherwise.

#5 is a given. The children are the reason we are there, period.

So far all the big meetings have been after school, or in the evenings.
I know that the three people that have been doing most everything have been at school everyday. If not all day. If anyone has a question we are all more than happy to try and answer it.
We weren't supposed to be running it, but it looks like we will be now. yikes

 

[disykat]

Here is a list of positive things that can happen for you in PTA

*A chance to really get to know the staff and students at your child's school and work cooperatively with them.

*A chance to address some of the negative things that have been happening in your own PTA and make changes.

*A chance to go to some of the leadership training so you'll know what the heck you're doing.

*A chance to help mold the organization into what works for you and your school - not just do it like it's always been done.

 

[PRINCESS Ariel34]

Serena, this wouldn't happen to be in WAYNE TOWNSHIP(NOrth Wayne ELE) would it

 

[Serena]

No,
What's happening there?

 

[PRINCESS Ariel34]

I volunteer to bring items other than that, I don't participate in the pto/pta. As far as anything going on with them, ONE WORD CLIQISHHHHHH. So I was just curious


BTW, GOOD LUCK

 

[RitaZ.]

1. Not willing to listen to suggestions on fund raisers. (Always selling the same worthless stuff that no one is interested in buying). Here is a tip~ Try selling Current Products, you can definitely use that.

2. The president tells you that "so & so" will call you and let you know how you can help at any particular event. Then we you ask the President why you didn't hear from that person or anyone else, then you are told "You should have just shown up and offered to help". Part of the training for new members should include "Mind Reading".

3. Be friendly and approachable.

4. Even though I'm a SAHM mom, I agree that working moms should be accommodated. Don't assume that because they work outside the home, they aren't willing to help. Also, being a SAHM doesn't mean that you want to spend all your time at the school. I received a call one time from another mom telling me that I must be a working mom since I don't volunteer at the school. Let's just say that she didn't like my response, I never heard from her again!

Now I just send in goodies to my sons' classes and offer to help the teachers from home. This year I'm not even a PTA member. I have had enough!

 

[Claudia1]

I was Treasurer for 2 years and VP for 1.. Loved it!

I like organization and it gave me a great excuse to be in the school and keep my ears open.

Volunteers are always a problem. Be specific with what you want. We sent letters all the time. We even had a simple, computer-generated stationary so that the parents would eventually recognize that this was PTO info coming home.

We tried to have a parent representative in each classroom to assist with volunteers. The idea was that the PTO officers could contact the reps and tell them how many volunteers we needed, then they would make the calls & recruit. It didn't work because our school had a privacy policy that prevented anybody but school officials to have access to phone numbers.

Do you have a master list of potential volunteers or workers? At the beginning of the year, we asked parents to sign up for types of duties that they like and times available. Some were only available once a year. Others every Tuesday AM. etc......

Good luck! You'll do a great job!

 

[Talking Hands]

Originally posted by Serena
Talking Hands, I didn't think about anyone being deaf. We have a ton of spanish students and we have a translator but I don't think anyone has addressed that issue. I'll have to find out about that.

I would ask the principal if any parents are deaf. He should know. Lack of interpretation is a prime reason deaf parents do not participate in the PTO. Our school has deaf students. A few years back we had 2 siblings who were deaf and both parents were deaf as well. We had interpreters for the kids in class but no one thought to have an interpreter for the PTO meetings until it was pointed out to the PTO.

 

[nicurn]

here's a great site for you:
www.ptotoday.com
I love this site, lots of great ideas! Good luck. maggie

 

[Serena]

Thanks for all the ideas. Any more?

 

[JasonLyons]

i hate clicks

 

[Serena]

Me too.

 

[Kteacher]

make sure that all families are made to feel welcome. If there are different languages represented in your school, make sure pto notices going home get translated. good luck!

 

[DVC-Don]

The one time I did show up for an afternoon meeting, it was VERY obvious that they were uncomfortable with a SAHD. I did not go back.

 

[Serena]

We do have spanish speaking children in our school. Right now I think half the school is spanish. I was hoping to find someone to take my job or be the president that was bilingual. We do have a translator for everything, the pto meetings, and including the newsletters sent home and any notices.
I need to find out if there are any deaf students or parents. I don't think we do or I would have heard about it, but I'll find out.

The ladies I am with are pretty friendly and approachable, and I'm pretty sure I am.

So far all the big meetings have been held in the evenings.

We do need to be more organized. Especially with volunteers.

Everything we do is for the kids. Whether it's the fundraisers, projects, parties, everything.

The fundraiser we are doing now is to give some money for the teachers in the classrooms. So the parents don't have to be asked for things. If it does better than we expect, we are bookmarking it for playground equipment. The city has been promising new equipment for years and they can't seem to keep the funding.

We do buy the little stuff and the candy for the good behavior drawing every friday. If a teacher thinks a child has done really well one day, they will write up a ticket and have the child take it to the office. On friday afternoon. All the names are called and the kids get to pick what they want.

We have a big party for the 5th graders at the end of every year, for graduating.

We will be having a good drive this month for a Thanksgiving dinner to needy families. Whatever doesn't get donated, we buy and give it to families that can't afford a big dinner. We do that privatly after school so no one knows who gets the dinners.

We just started a movie night. We had our first one Thursday or friday, I don't remember. lol We don't charge any admission. Anyway, we had more people come than we expected and everyone wanted popcorn. We ran out, but now we know. lol
Everyone liked it, so we'll do this every month. We sold popcorn, drinks, candy and chips.

 

[grinningghost]

Be sure that events and volunteers are well organized. My biggest gripe was every time I volunteered for an event, I ended up standing around and doing nothing. I'd ask one of the PTO leaders what I was supposed to do, and they'd either send me off to a job that was already well-staffed, or was completely unnecessary. It was a waste of my time and I felt useless and left out.