How to Start a Parent & Teacher Association

Parents are a valuable asset in a child’s education. Whether your child attends a public or private school, the other students and the teachers will appreciate an association of parents who pool their resources and time to help. With a few other interested parents, you can form an association.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Talk to your child’s teacher about class needs and how a parent’s group could assist her. With a shortage of qualified instructors and an abundance of students, many teachers are thrilled with the prospect of receiving any kind of help.

2. Meet with the school administration, or go to a school board meeting and state your intent to form a parent and teacher association. Ask for guidance and suggestions from the board. By approaching them in the beginning, you will understand the school's needs and how your group can help.

3. Schedule a meeting of interested parents, and form a board of directors. Elect or appoint a president, a vice president, a secretary and a treasurer. Allow other parents to sit on the board in an advisory capacity to count their votes. Invite interested teachers to sit on your board.

4. Adopt a constitution that governs your association. Usually called the “bylaws,” these documents list the officers’ duties, the term durations and the number of members who must be present to form a quorum, among other governing factors.

5. Become a certified nonprofit organization if you intend to raise money for school projects. In this way, the money you raise isn’t taxable, and donors can deduct their donations from their income tax. Check your library for books that explain how to establish a nonprofit organization, or speak with an attorney.

6. Send out questionnaires to all the teachers, asking for suggestions about how the association can best help them. Try to comply with as many requests as possible.

7. Conduct yourselves with respect toward the teachers and the administration to make your group a value to the school. A parent and teacher association exists to support the teachers.

8. Recruit other parents throughout the year to help with fund-raisers or class projects. Not all parents can donate a lot of time, but all students will reap the benefits. Have sign-up sheets at conferences, at enrollment and at school functions for parents to volunteer.

Tips & Warnings

• Give your association some time to take root. Don’t expect miracles overnight. With dedication and a lot of hard work, your child’s school administration and the teachers will soon wonder how they ever survived without the parent and teacher association.

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