ACOT Message Board

ohmy... what have I done?!? You're looking at the new PTA President for my dd's middle school. The circumstances of this school's PTA are very sad and myself, along with another mom, we were sucked in, in a way. Two teachers have been the PTA for the last couple years, they have lost fundraising vendors and the parent involvement is seriously lacking. They have nearly no funds right now and plenty of needs. I have stuck my neck out to try to get the PTA back on its feet, I know the school and these kids need it. I have NO CLUE what I'm doing! never done anything for the school before other than volunteering for the classroom. Thankfully my VP (the other mom) is really helpful and we feel like we're starting from scratch here. Trying to get as much past info from these teachers and trying to contact the district people to give us some training. We're trying to move as quickly as possible because we're already 2 months into the school year.


Any tips or suggestions from anyone who has been on the PTA either as a board member or just an involved parent. Has anyone been in a similar situation of a PTA needing a serious overhaul?

a giant big hug going out to you. it takes someone special run an organization like that. i am a room parent in both of daughters class rooms and i love it. lots of patience goes a long way.

I too am sending lots of hugs your way. Sounds like you have a very positive attitude and you will get things accomplished.

I was very involved in PTA when my kids were young, but that was ages ago. The only thing that I remember was it was always the same parents who would help out and the others didn't seem to think it was part of their responsibility.

I have no help to offer but I want to congratulate you for getting so involved. The kids will all benefit from what you are doing. (((hugs)))

Good luck to you....


I will PM you some fundraiser ideas that we have used in the past.....I am not currently on the PTA because I am so involved with the band stuff...but I have done a bit of PTA stuff over the past 10 years.

I am proud of you and though it can be alot of work....when you get to see a kid smile....it makes it all worth it...I promise

Congrats and good luck. I'm sure the Internet has lots of info for you.

Just wanted to say good for you for getting involved! Sounds rough, but I know you can do it.

Our PTA had to have one teacher involved with the parent leaders. As a teacher I had to take my turn. We were pretty much at a loss also and in need of funds. We had very little participation from the parents, but we persevered. Our principal sent us to other school districts to find out what they were doing to raise money. The main thing that worked at our school was a raffle. Each grade level was assigned items to donate if their parents wanted to do so( each item had to be worth a certain amount). For example, first grade might be in charge of barbecue items. They brought in things like small barbecue pits , gift certicates for meat products, barbecue accessories, picnic blankets, etc. We just had to think of a theme for each grade level.
We filled a classroom with all the items we got. Parents were very generous and supportive. Some of the categories we had were- Beach items, Patio items, Plant items, What's for Supper, etc. I don't know if this helps you or not. I am no longer teaching , but I have several teacher friends that are in charge of fundraisers and I could check with them if you want. Just post me a message if you need anything.
I know this is difficult to do, but investing time in our children is so important. You'll never be sorry because they are our MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCES for the future. Good Luck!

Yeah I'm proof of the being sucked in.....I'm a PTO VP this year so I'm just learniing the ropes of a well oiled machine. Two years ago we went to a cash donation drive as our major source of income...instead of all those baked goods and wrapping paper fund raisers.....I think there should be some support somewhere further up the PTO chain?? And of course google.... Do you have any specific questions?? And Good Luck!! The kids will definately benefit and hopefully some parents come around for support as well!!

Good luck! I haven't served on a PTA, and they do a lot of hard work. At our school, each grade is given a responsibilty of a certain fundraiser. For example, Kindergarten and Pre-K4 host a family night out in our pavilion. Also, maybe because it's a private school, each family is required to volunteer 20 hours a school year to various events/help in classroom/etc, or there's an added fee to tuition at the end of the year. Some families rather pay out, but overall, we are fortunate to have many families involved. You'll do a great job!

Good luck to you and kudos for stepping up!

some of our better fundraisers:

1. Vote with pennies to kiss a pig - teachers were put on jars and pennies added and other monies took away votes
2. Raffle theme baskets that are collected by classes - each class picks a theme and kids donate items or money to the baskets
3. our student council sells fruit rollups after lunch - HUGE and easy money maker
4. We have a yearly carnival with local businesses donating prizes and running booths. Tickets are given away to kids and then they can buy more.

Have fun! We don't have any selling fund raisers as our band, FFA and other groups are usually selling so the PTA has to get creative.

Good luck to you and kudos for stepping up!

some of our better fundraisers:

1. Vote with pennies to kiss a pig - teachers were put on jars and pennies added and other monies took away votes
2. Raffle theme baskets that are collected by classes - each class picks a theme and kids donate items or money to the baskets
3. our student council sells fruit rollups after lunch - HUGE and easy money maker
4. We have a yearly carnival with local businesses donating prizes and running booths. Tickets are given away to kids and then they can buy more.

Have fun! We don't have any selling fund raisers as our band, FFA and other groups are usually selling so the PTA has to get creative.

You will be great at it Kristi! You have just the right attitude and friendliness to make it work for you. I would try with a few small fundraisers (remembering that you only have two FOR Sure volunteers ) and start sending out fliers to the classrooms so that people will know to come to the meetings!

We did BBQ for back to school night, gift wrap fundraisers to get the kids to science camp every year, and a walk/jog a thon to raise the majority of our funds every year. The walk/jog a thon was good because it is basically cash donations, but people were more likely to give if they knew the kids were working for it!

I was very active in PTA when my son was in grade school. We were able to do just one fund-raiser a year because it made so much $$$ -- about $10,000. It was a magazine subscription sale, affiliated with Reader's Digest but offering probably a couple hundred magazines to chose from. Each child would get a booklet to take home and share just with family and friends -- door-to-door selling was discouraged. I guess the first year or so the amount earned was lower, but over the years it grew because families would wait for the sale (always right at the start of the school year) to renew subscriptions. With the economy the way it is, this type of fund-raiser may not be as successful today, but it worked very well for our school for many years. Good luck!

Good Luck with you work ahead.

I commend you for your dedication - you clearly have the best intentions and that alone will carry you far. It is hard work for which your community will reap great benefits.

Good luck! ((HUGS))

Thank you Cindy, Donna, Jenna, Glenda, Laura for some fantastic suggestions, I'm filling up my binder with notes... TAHNK YOU to everyone for your encouragement! It is helping me stay focused on the goal. I know at times I'll probably feel so overwhelmed I'll question if it is all worth it, so thank you for the supportive words!!!!
Just yesterday we made SO MUCH headway in getting our own classroom designated as the PTSA room, we're setting up today and I'm printing out tons of fliers with information, etc to get out to the students and parents and teachers. We sat down with the principal, VP and a couple teachers too and asked them what they would like from us, they are just SO excited to have some parents at the helm, it is exciting to be so important to them. We do have a district meeting coming up next week so hopefully I'll get to meet other PTA board members from other school and get ideas of what works from them, I need to remember that my job involves delegation and needing to find those community connections from our parents, as some of you had mentioned. Thank you thank you!!!

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