Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

When I worked as the principal of a private elementary school, there was a debate going on before I got there, and it was still going on after I left. The debate centered on the issue of creating a “mandatory parent participation fee”.

Basically, for those of you unfamiliar with this concept, a mandatory parent participation fee would be levied on every enrolled family in the school. Let’s say the amount was $1,000. This fee would have been over and above the regular tuition price. Even families on financial aid would be included.

The fee would not be charged until the end of the school year, however. And the fee could be lowered if the family participated in certain school sponsored events. For instance, if a parent served as a chaperon for a field trip, the amount would be lowered by $150. Then if that same parent attended a board meeting, he/she could take off another $100. Furthermore, if this parent volunteered to work the school auction as a committee chair, $500 could be deducted from the bill. continue reading

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If you are reading this blog, chances are you are a pretty involved parent in your child’s education. You are most likely involved in fundraising activities, field trip chaperoning, room mothering (or “fathering”), and the countless other opportunities to play a vital role in your child’s education.

I would also guess that you have a pretty good relationship with your child’s teacher. After all, the teacher sees your child for six or seven hours a day for 180 days per year. That’s a lot of influence he or she can have on your offspring. Of course, it’s a good idea to know who that person is.

As a former elementary school principal, I witnessed the spectrum of relationships that parents have with teachers, and I’ve heard the “secret” teacher lounge chatter about those relationships. Therefore, I think I can offer a few suggestions on ways for parents to say thank you that will be truly meaningful to and appreciated by your child’s teacher.

1. Volunteer in the Classroom
Most classrooms are overcrowded. That is to say that the ratio of teachers and aides to students is higher than anyone would want. This isn’t only distressing to the parents, but it is also a source of great concern for the teachers. By and large, teachers really do desire excellence, but many times, the numbers make that an elusive goal.

Therefore, I would find a way to volunteer your time as a part-time classroom aid. I’ve seen a mom volunteer one hour per week to listen to students read. The teacher really appreciated that, because the kids got more individualized instruction.

Maybe it’s something you can only do once per month. However, if you pool your time with three other parents, that’s a once-per-week help the teacher is getting, and that’s significant. continue reading

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Whenever a leader of an organization is poised to make some dramatic changes to the operational structure of the institution, it is likely that there will be a level of resistance from the people within the community. It is often difficult, in such situations, to get everyone to buy into a new system without a substantial amount of education, persuasion, trust, and time.

If the leader imposes change without this “buy in” from his people, it is likely that his efforts will fail, or at the very least, come at the high price of alienation and division.

In my experience, one way to help bring people into a “change” mode is to first make boldly positive alterations to the physical environment of the organization. The actions need to be noticeable and significant in appearance only. No policy changes should be attached to the physical modifications. These are strictly having to do with inanimate objects.

The goal of this demonstration is to show people that change can be attractive and beneficial. It helps them make the connection when the leader starts implementing new policy. If they see some dramatic new landscaping or completely re-decorated office, they will eventually realize that the leader has a vision, that and the world won’t come to an end.

If the people see enough examples of this “safe” kind of change, they will start to build trust in the leader, which will allow him to slowly bring about the institutional adjustments that are needed, without resentment or mis-trust.

Below, I have offered a few examples of physical transformations I have either made myself or have witnessed just before an organization undergoes significant changes. continue reading

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While it is totally understandable and commonplace for someone to have strong alumni passion for his or her university or high school, it is more unusual for a person to get fired up over a former elementary school. I mean, nobody is out spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on season tickets to a fourth grade intramural basketball game. And although I can’t prove it has never happened, I highly doubt people from one end of this country are purchasing clothing apparel from an elementary school on the other end.

Does that mean, however, that elementary schools shouldn’t consider developing a proud alumni tradition within their own community? Of course not! For all of the reasons that alumni are important to high schools and colleges, they can be a vital part of fundraising, student recruitment, and organizational leadership at lower level schools, as well. I would argue that an elementary school that is not out actively recruiting alumni help is missing a fantastic opportunity.

Here is a list of 15 strategies to get more former students involved at your elementary school.

1. Maintain Updated Address Lists
In order to keep in touch with people as they grow older and move on from your elementary school, it is important to maintain accurate and current mailing addresses and email addresses, as well. If this has not been done at your school, start now to develop a database for your current students. It may be a big undertaking, but it would also be wise to go back through past student records and match them with current high school students. This way, you have a jump on those kids who will be the next generation to go out into the “real world”. continue reading

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This is a very important note to all of the leaders of parent-teacher cooperative groups.

Tuesday May 6, 2008, is national Teacher Appreciation Day. Actually the entire week surrounding this date (May 5th to May 9th) is Teacher Appreciation Week. That gives us less than one month to put a plan in motion. Between today and the May 5 Teacher Appreciation kick-off, I will post numerous ideas on the best way to honor your children’s teachers.

Today, however, I want to make the case for this commemoration to those schools that have never acknowledged their teachers in this honorific capacity.

1. Saying Thank You is the Right Thing To Do
The first reason is the most obvious. We should simply say thank you to our kids’ teachers in a very sincere way, because it is the right thing to do. For approximately 180 days per year, seven hours per day, this one human being is with your child. That’s over 1,200 hours per year! This is a significant time investment he or she is making in your offspring.

The teacher has to be the educator, referee, counselor, friend, parent, protector, nurse, role model, and friend all wrapped into one tidy package. Since the average classroom has over 20 children in it (some many more than that!) the teacher has quite a daily challenge to face. Going out of our way to say thank you to him or her is the absolute least we can remember to do.

2. Cheer for a Strong Finish
As Teacher Appreciation Day occurs in early May, the end of the school year is clearly in sight. And, as the weather improves, it gets harder to keep the students’ focus on their studies. This makes the teacher’s job all the more difficult. I would imagine that the last four or five weeks of a school year are just about the toughest they’ll endure.

A flurry of encouragement from the parents is a great boost. Like cheering supporters at the end of a marathon, the teacher will feed off of your praise, attention, offers of help, and even gifts. If there was ever a time that you could lend a hand in the classroom, this is now it. It’s been a long school year. Help your kids and their teacher finish strong.

3. Teaches Students The Value of Appreciation
As parents, we’re always looking for ways to teach our kids real-world lessons. These kinds of lessons are always best when we actually model the desired behavior. Therefore, I urge you to take the opportunity of Teacher Appreciation Week to show your children the ways to and the reasons for being sincerely grateful.

Show them how we are called to thank and honor those who serve us and then also how we can serve them in return. If our children see us doing this regularly and with a gracious and giving heart, they will follow suit and make that an important part of their own lives.

Conclusion
In the coming days, I’ll be writing a lot more about ways to show our kids’ teachers that we care about them and are thankful for all they do. If you would like to share any of your experiences, I would be happy to pass them along to our entire community. Thank you!

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As a principal, one of the regular frustrations I had was making sure information I wanted/needed to get home into parents’ hands actually made it to its intended destination.

The amount of papers that go home with students today is monumental. Corrected homework, tests, quizzes, art projects, teacher newsletters, flyers from other non-profits, school picture packets, field trip permission slips, fundraising materials, progress reports, and report cards- the list is indeed substantial. If a family has multiple children, absolute chaos can break out in trying to sort through all the essential and non-essential notes.

The following list details some of the strategies I used in attempting to make sure the things I considered important got home.

1. Be Consistent
People crave consistency and uniformity. Try to design your newsletters or letters with a common masthead or logo placement, so parents are trained to recognize important information from the office. Maybe you could get a huge stack of goldenrod copy paper at the beginning of the year and not allow teachers to ever use that color. Only important bulletins from the office ever are printed on goldenrod. continue reading

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Many non-profit organizations, especially schools, hold a silent and/or live auction to raise money each year. Both public and private schools have discovered that auctions can be very lucrative.

However, there is a down-side to auctions, as well. Since this fundraising method is so popular, they have become over-done in some towns. In my small community, for instance, there are at least six separate groups that hold annual silent and live auctions. This makes for a very crowded calendar.

While I support each group’s absolute right to raise money, there is an undeniable pressure put on local merchants to donate items to all these auctions, as well as on people in general to buy tickets. If someone is only slightly involved in this community, it is possible he will be invited to six separate events during the course of one year. This can put an individual in a number of awkward situations. While everyone is entitled to say no, the practical and political ramifications can be slightly more complicated than that. continue reading

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