As I wrote earlier this week, our Elementary School’s PTSO held it’s first meeting Tuesday night complete with lemon cookies and lemonade. We managed to garner 10 people in attendance aside from our 6 person board. Yeah. We have about 425 students in our school {I know because I have to make all the PTSO copies…one of the perks of being PTSO secretary} and around 45 staff members. Now I’m not a math genius, but 16 TOTAL people at a meeting seems mighty small.

What does it take to get people interested in their school? I know it was just the first meeting and all, but still. The first meeting of the year is often one of our most important. We go over the budget and start planning for our Fall Festival {our largest fundraiser of the year}.

Our board works hard all summer while even the teachers get to take time off to get ready for the coming school year. We plan out the fundraisers, trying to be sure to only choose high profit yielding ones so we don’t have to beg the already over-extended parents for money over and over. We do landscaping at the school to make sure when the students arrive they have a nice, clean, welcoming school to come in to. Our board plans giveaways for the teachers and little ways to say Thank You {and only 1 teacher out of all of them makes it to nearly every meeting, most don’t ever come at all.}

Again, I know they’re busy…that they’ve been there all day and are ready to go home, but really? Is one day every month {heck I would take every 2 months} that much to ask. We’re always prepared for our meetings with an agenda, we start on time, and end exactly 1 hour later {sometimes sooner}. And by the way, we’re busy too. Most of us would love to be home with our children or relaxing with our husbands, but we’re there…every month. We spend countless hours during the year in classrooms or around the school making sure our teachers have the support they need and deserve.

But really it seems to me that this lack of participation on the part of the parents isn’t contained to just PTSO meetings, we see a slow-down, a lack of volunteering in parents starting in around the second grade. Parents come in with their kiddos in Kindergarten gung-ho ready to volunteer their hearts out and by the time second grade rolls around they’re barely stopping at the front door long enough to drop their kids off. Teachers and students need parental support through out the years, the copies don’t stop when your child reaches second grade and neither do the activities. We, as parents, need to step up and support our children and their teachers through out their school career. As we are able.

I understand work happens, but many of us are able to volunteer during the day {SAHMs I’m looking at you} even just one day a week. If you work, consider volunteering to help prepare lessons after work {like at night when you’re watching Glee} or on the weekends. If you’re a handy man {or woman}, let your school know you’re willing to help with repairs or improvements on the weekends or whenever you’re available. Schools are flexible and always need more help.

The more you volunteer and show your children their education is important to you, the more important it will become to them.

Do you have any suggestions on how to encourage parents and teachers to get involved in their PTSO? How about ideas to encourage volunteerism?