school PTO as charter

[rjscout]

What sort of involvement do different Packs have with their CO, when the CO is a school PTO? I haven't seen any real involvment, but I was trying to look at ideas which could allow the PTO to help us grow. I don't think that they are opposed, but I am not sure if anyone looked at how we both can contribute to help each other.

 

We are at 48 boys right now, with 60% of the boys in Tiger and Wolf dens. This years kindergarten class is only 75% of the size of the previous two classes, so the pool is not as deep for next year's recruiting. What have other PTO chartered packs done?

[Lisabob]

The pack we were part of is chartered by a PTO. Most years there was surprisingly little coordination, even though several PTO members had boys in the pack. Perhaps this reflects the fact that PTO membership in elem. schools changes considerably from one year to the next. However, in our most successful recruiting years, we did seek out the PTO to team up with them. For example, we made sure that blurbs about Spring Tiger recruiting, fall round up, and other special events made it into the PTO news letter each month. We helped staff the PTO's spring and fall welcoming/celebrate the end of the school year events (like serving ice cream at their ice cream social). We did this in uniform (boys especially), with one-page flyers about the pack for parents. We participated in other PTO events like donating books to the under-funded school library, presenting the PTO president and school principal with new state flag when the old one looked ratty, helping with PTO-sponsored school clean-up projects, etc..

 

Another good option - one year all the parents who volunteered in the school as teachers' aides, lunch ladies, etc., were asked to the PTO meetings early in the year. We came too, got to know them, and found them to be the best recruiters for us because they knew the boys, the parents, and the teachers all really well. And, being in the classrooms on a regular basis, many of them were happy to help us get cub flyers and promos distributed without having to bug the teachers or school administrators for access.

 

Note that all of this was spread across about 4 years and it didn't all happen every year. In fact, we found we had to rebuild our relationship from the ground up almost every year and sometimes the PTO folks just weren't interested in us. But with cubs and especially tiger/wolf ages, it is at least as much about getting the parents on board as about the kids - so anything you can do to develop visibility and good relations with parents (incl. PTO) will help your recruiting efforts.

[infoscouter]

Our Chartered Organization is our PTO. We make sure that our Chartered Organization Representative attends all the PTO meetings. We take a visible part in our PTOs events at school, with Scouts and leaders in uniform serving as waiters at the spaghetti dinner, running a booth at the family fun night, etc. We also do a grounds clean-up and plant flowers in front of the school every year.

 

We emphasize to the parents that since they have children at the school, that they are all members of the PTO. That makes them owners of the pack, since the PTO "owns" the pack.

 

We present a report to the PTO each year showing how we have contributed to the school through service, citizenship training, etc.

 

Gradually, we have built up the relationship to the point that the PTO puts our activities in their newsletter, and advertises our recruiting events in their e-mails to parents.

 

It helps that parents of our Scouts are often officers in the PTO. They help the PTO understand how having the pack contributes to the health of the school and how we share the same goals.

[Jeffrey H]

The last post said it well. The relationship with the CO is enhanced greatly when members of the Pack are also members of the CO.

[rjscout]

Some great input. Thanks for the info. I guess I should start attending some of the PTO meetings with my wife. I am new to the Pack leadership, but jumped up to ACM in November and will be CM for next year. I want to maximize our relationship with the CO (PTO).

 

Thanks again!

 

Rob