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A year ago, with much of the United States on lockdown and school buildings being closed, there was discussion about the role of the PTA or PTO. Parent-teacher group leaders were asking whether they still served a purpose now that they couldn’t hold community engagement events. At the same time, parents were asking for more communication. Ultimately, I think we have proven how necessary these groups are to hold our communities together and keep people engaged at all times. However, as we look towards a fall of full-time in-person learning and parent groups look to their new normal, is their role still the same? What lessons should be kept and discarded from the pandemic? If you’re a parent-teacher group leader, consider these tips as part of your upcoming school year.
Parent Teacher Group
The Good
1. Keep Communicating
Parents took on a new role in pandemic schooling – some became teachers, others were just more involved in checking work, and others were still trying to understand the constant changes in the educational system. In all of those scenarios, getting access to information was key. PTAs and PTOs who could repeat key school info and filter parent questions were successful. Many of these organizations updated their communication lists and posted on social media more frequently. All the parents we spoke to welcomed these communications and want them to continue. Kudos to parent-teacher groups who upped your communications – keep it up post-pandemic.
2. Keep the web Meeting Attendance Option
The dozens of PTA or PTO leaders we have spoken to about attendance over the past year have reported higher attendance at their meetings now that people can attend from home. Removing barriers to attendance (commute/time away from kids/work schedule) has been at least partially addressed by having a web link. Keeping this option in place is critical to maintaining this higher attendance.
The Bad
1. Need to Update By-Laws, Permanently
The in-person nature of many groups’ by-laws was VERY quickly apparent when we were hit with lockdowns amid parent group election time. Many groups put temporary departures from by-laws in place to allow for Zoom meetings, electronic voting, and electronic ballot storage. These temporary measures are not enough, and there is still work to ensure we can permanently operate in a technology-forward way. A by-law update should be on your PTA’s to-do list in this upcoming school year or the following.
2. Zoom Fatigue – Zoom Fundraising
Kudos to the schools who pivoted their fundraising to online means – there were a lot of great options, including virtual scavenger hunts, online spirit wear, and online cookbooks. But, there were also a lot of challenges with keeping people engaged, especially for Zoom social events. People reached a level of fatigue. As we go into this fall, the VP of Fundraising needs to consider how many online fundraisers are feasible and find ways to balance in-person and Zoom. Some tips here are to add in some fundraisers that are not online but don’t need everyone together at once, e.g., a penny war, having some hybrid options so people can attend in person if comfortable, and having some ongoing online options that continue all year long at parent’s convenience.
This looks like a busy year for parent-teacher groups as they figure out their new normal. The above represent themes we have heard from dozens of leaders nationwide and hopefully help as you figure out what your PTA or PTO will focus on in this upcoming school year.