5 Tips for Ending the Year Right and Getting Ready for 2017-18

It has been a great year for your school’s parent group and it may be tempting to coast through the summer. But there are some important things that as a leader of your school’s parent group that you can do to make sure that the next school year is even better. Here are some tips from the Penguin Patch Holiday Shop.

• Schedule a summer retreat for your parent group’s officers. This will be a good time to lay out the calendar for the next year and the volunteers that will be needed for each of the projects during the year. Seeing the big picture will give the leadership team the opportunity to assure that everything isn’t dumped on just few key people.
• Remember that new students will be visiting the school to enroll throughout the summer. Make sure that there is a nice display and greeting from your parent group that welcomes them to the school. This will help make for a nice transition and plant the seeds for new members and volunteers for the upcoming school year.
• Recruiting volunteers is a year around process. During the summer there may be opportunities around the pool or at the park to talk with parents about how they could help the school. One of the keys to volunteer recruitment is to remember that many times a volunteer is just waiting to be asked. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the best volunteer in your school was disappointed because nobody ever asked?
• Before summer gets underway ask your leadership team about summer vacation dates. It is better to know when people will be out of town than to have hurt feelings because you didn’t hear back in a timely manner or because you interrupted their vacation.
• Wrap up the financials from the school year that is ending and set a preliminary budget for 2017-18. You don’t want to carry financial questions from the previous year into the new school year and wrapping up the financials will mean that you can begin to put the budget in place that much sooner. Proper budgeting will set the stage for a great 2017-18.

Summer is a great time to recharge the batteries and make some memories. It is also a great time to calmly look ahead without the pressure of pending deadlines. Use the summer to set the stage for the best year yet for your parent group in helping your school to create the ideal learning environment for your kids.

Penguin Patch® Holiday Shop is owned and operated by PTA and PTO members. Everyone at the Penguin Patch® understands the challenges faced by volunteer school leadership and can help to make your job easier. Just ask… our staff has experienced every situation imaginable and can provide answers. All you have to do is ask. Advice is free every day.