PTAs in American Schools

Automatically generated from the audio, so it may not be perfectly word-for-word.

Hi, welcome to the PTA Podcast. My name is Yvonne, and I've been a PTA volunteer for a few years now. But I'm just one of thousands of volunteers up and down the country who all want to make a difference to their schools. PTAs are becoming even more crucial in UK schools to boost budget, and I find it fascinating to talk to other volunteers about the different approaches they take. So please join me in this podcast to share information, generate ideas, debate issues, and celebrate success. And I hope that you can take something away for your PTA today. And then I'm going to share a chat with you that I had with my friend Louise about PTAs in American schools. Louise and I have been friends since we were both at secondary school together, and she's recently moved to America with her family. She's very involved with volunteering at her children's school, and I thought it would be really interesting to hear about her experiences and what school fundraising is like over there. I just can't wait for you all to hear about her on-chair fundraiser in particular. But before we listen to her interview, I'm going to update you on what I've been up to in PTA Land recently. One of the things I was looking forward to, which I mentioned in episode one, was the whole school picnic. The school wanted to hold a whole school picnic on the school field to welcome new families to the school, but also to draw together the school community because we haven't been together for such a long time due to the COVID pandemic. Unfortunately, not enough families confirmed that they wanted to attend the picnic, so the school had to make that difficult decision of actually cancelling. Such a shame. I think it would have been such a lovely thing to do, but unfortunately, we just didn't have enough people wanting to come along. So sadly, that didn't happen. And if you remember, that was going to happen before the uh PTA AGM, and I was hoping to go to that picnic and chat to the new families and explain what the PTA was and you know try and get them interested and wanting to come to the AGM. So yeah, we kind of missed out on that part. But I have to say that having the AGM doubling as a parent social was incredibly successful. We had uh mostly new parents coming to the parent social, um, but we did have some existing families there as well, which was which was really lovely then to to bring people together. So if you remember, we decided to hold this parent social but squeeze in the AGM and do it all in a local pub. Uh and yeah, as I said, it was incredibly successful. Um and I've got two top tips for you if you are ever thinking of holding a meeting or an AGM in a pub. Uh and my first top tip is that we were very lucky with our pub that they have a function room sort of tagged on the side of the bar. And there were about uh 16 of us there. Um and so they said we could have this function room all to ourselves and they wouldn't let anybody else have any of the tables in there, which was um well, I kind I feel like I kind of fell on my feet with that because I hadn't really thought about the fact that I had to read out a speech on my chair support, and I didn't actually really want to stand up in a whole pub full of people, half of whom probably weren't even connected to my PTA and read my speech out. And you know what happens in these social situations that everyone just kind of falls quiet, and so I was suddenly really relieved that I wouldn't have to read out my speech to the entire pub and it was just concentration in the function room. So that was something I hadn't really thought about beforehand, and I feel like I got really lucky uh that um we just had this little room by ourselves so everybody could hear and it wasn't too noisy, and it felt like a kind of private meeting. So my first top tip for holding a meeting or an AGM in the pub is to try and get a separate room so that you can actually do the meeting and it's it's not really noisy and you get interrupted. Um my second top tip is that in the end I decided to have the AGM part right at the start of the social evening. Uh so I figured out from looking on some of the PTA forums that some people are completing their ADMs in about 15 or 20 minutes because you know basically it's just running through those reports and confirming things and then doing the votes. And I thought, wow, that's that's pretty impressive. I think I'm gonna have a go at that. And so uh so yeah, I decided just to run it at the start of the meal. So everybody arrived and were sat down and they all had a drink. Um, the pub was so so helpful and just said, you know, just let us know about ten minutes before you want the food and and we'll bring it out when your ADM is finished. So that was particularly helpful. Um on a personal note, because I have to read out my chair's report and chair the meeting, I I always get really, really nervous uh doing that, even though I've done it about four times now. I I just feel really nervous. And so actually it was really helpful to me to get the AGM out of the way, and then I could relax for the rest of the evening and enjoy my meal and enjoy chatting to some new faces that were there. So my second top tip is to get the meeting part out of the way as soon as you can while people are still fresh and they've just got a drink in their hand and everybody can concentrate and do what is necessary, and then you can go on to enjoy more drinks or food or general chit-chat, whatever. So basically, um in summary, my ABM was a huge success. Um the other thing that made it a huge success is that when we were doing the voting and and asking for um committee members, uh we so we only have three um positions on our PTA, which is the chair, the secretary, and the treasurer, and then everybody else is a sort of like just a general member. Um so we sorted out our three positions, which were pretty straightforward because everybody was still continuing this year. And then I asked if anybody else would like to be a general committee member. Now, for the past four years, when I have asked this question at an AGM, either nobody else has been there apart from current people on the committee, or there is just a you know, one of those tumbleweed moments where nobody puts their hand up, nobody looks at you. And it's just so awkward as the chair and uh also so uh upsetting and demoralizing at the same time. Quite crushing as well, I think. But I had a new experience. Three people put their hands in the air immediately. Um I didn't need any persuading or any anything. They they just volunteered. And I have to say if you've ever had a PTA like mine where for four years we haven't really had any new volunteers, you will understand when I say I actually felt a little bit emotional that uh there were three brand new, fresh-faced people willing to help, and that was a really, really wonderful moment. And to be honest, that completely made my evening. Uh I was absolutely thrilled, and the other two committee members were also completely thrilled just to have an injection of new energy and some fresh ideas um of some people um you know in different classes. Oh, I cannot tell you how happy that made me. And and then for the rest of the evening, I had an absolutely fantastic time socializing, having some good food. It was great. So I would really encourage anyone thinking of having a meeting or an ATM in the pub to tie it in with the parents social. It worked really well for us, and I would definitely, definitely do, but I'm not sure what I'm saying. Why don't we hear from Louise about what she gets up to with her PTA? Louise, welcome to the PTA podcast and thanks so much for joining me today. I wanted to speak to you to find out a bit more about your school's PTA and what kind of volunteering you do. I know you can offer my listeners quite a unique perspective as you volunteered with PTAs both in the UK and the US. So I'm really looking forward to hearing about any similarities and differences between them. So why don't we kick off with you telling us a bit about yourself and how you got involved with your current PTA?

Okay, thank you. Um, I am a mum of two. I have a girl who's 11 and a boy who will be seven next Saturday. Um, we are currently living in America, as you just said. Um, we've been here for three years, and uh, but I was born, raised, and schooled in the UK, and that's where I started my PTA journey um with my eldest. Um, and as far as I can remember, when I was younger, my parents were always involved in the PTA. Um, and so therefore, when I had my my daughter and she got into her school, I was like, I'm gonna join that. I'm I love helping people, as you said in your previous podcast, and I wanted to be part of that. Um, and I think the month before she actually started school, there was a fundraiser, um, which was a fashion show. And me and my mum actually went along to it, and I saw a person on the PTA, and I went up to her and went, I want to be involved. And she was like, Oh, what year is your daughter in? I went, she's not started yet. And she was like, Wow, you're keen. And I was like, Yes, I am, I am that sort of person. And she was like, Well, that's exactly what we need. Um, so yeah, I am that I as people say, Oh, you're that sort of person. So, yeah, that's that's how I got involved. Um, and I was part of the PTA for uh, let me see, for four years in the UK, uh, and then we moved over to America, and I didn't actually join when um my daughter started school over here. I kind of took a break because I'd actually been a governor as well in the UK. So yeah, so I have that perspective too. Um but I uh I took a few months before I actually approached the PTA and said, Do you need any more helpers? Um, because they do have a little bit of a different way of recruiting and getting people involved in the PTA over here, anyway. Um, and do you actually pay to be part of it?

Uh yes, and I was quite interested to find out more about how that works because when I heard about that, I was quite flabbergasted and a bit confused about how exactly you would ever get parents pay to join the PTA. So, yeah, can you just explain exactly how that works, please?

Yeah, so um, yeah, I know in in the UK, if you said you have to pay to have a PTA, you would never have any volunteers, or unless it would be like the odd one or two. So in America, they actually the PTA has its own like website and we have our own Facebook page and everything like that. And at the beginning of the year and throughout the year, they basically advertise you can join the PTA. And they um and it's a family membership, and I think it was $15. So majority, I'd say probably about 70, 80% of my particular school pay because we do have some families that probably can't afford that um and do get help, as in most schools, you know, a lot of schools all over the country and back in the UK. Um, but that actually just it funds the PTA to not only exist but then help the school. So it space to becomes a baseline fund for the school. I see. So yes, and the $15 covers the mum and dad, if you've got that, and I think it's two kids. But no one really equivals if you had three, for example, you know.

So those funds, so that $15 goes to your school's PTA, it doesn't go to like a national PTA in America.

No, no, it goes straight into the school funds. So when the PTA, like we hold um, we had a picnic the first month of school, um, or they hold any events or they hire things into the school, that's already a baseline funding we've got for the year. And they have incentives like if you join the PTA, or if you've joined by this day, you'll be entered into a raffle, etc., like that. Um, but no one, if you turn up to the picnic and you have a page or PTA funds, no one would stop you, no one would question it. You know, they just they just ask you to do it, and it seems it's the norm over here, so no one questions it or says, I don't want to do that. Why would I do that? Because as I think they just see it's helping your school, um, and you're getting the benefit back out of it. Of course, yeah. Um so um, so even though as a family you are part of the PTA, there is a core, a core PTA, which is what I would make more similar to the UK. Right. Um, it's majority in my school, it's mums, as I find that's what it is in the UK. Yeah. You do have two dads, I think it is, that are quite key members. Um, so you have that core, and we're the ones who turn up to the PTA meetings once a month and and and things like that. And we're the ones who discuss what's going to happen, what we're gonna organize, etc. Um, but it's open to anyone who's paid that membership.

Okay, okay.

So they all get a monthly newsletter or weekly newsletter, sorry, I think it is, from the PTA who's paid up that membership. So they all everyone who's paid that due knows what's going on with the PTA.

Yeah, so that's like your kind of PTA committee there, isn't it? No, we have a committee as well. Oh, do you?

Right. Yes, there's an inner core as well. So those people are um elected every year. Okay. Um so we have a PTA chair, we have finance, um, or treasurer, which say, um, secretary. Um we don't specifically have a fundraising lead because we have um chairs or leads for each part of anything that's organized. So I actually am the readathon fundraising chair. Readathon, okay. Yes, that's one of our things we do, um, which obviously we can discuss. Um, so we do have a couple of members, but the inner board are elected, whereas the rest of us who do those things, we kind of volunteer for. Um, and it's that inner board of four, I think it is, that make the final decisions, and they and they're the ones who have a meeting with like the principal or head of it. Okay, okay. Um, so yeah, we it it it gets quite complicated over here because there's so many people involved.

Yeah, so just to kind of put put your school into context, excuse me, how how big is your school?

How many children do you do you know you have? Yes, so we're supposed to be a school of 530, I think it is, but we're actually um well over that with 700 children right now. Right, okay. Yeah, because the way the schools run over here to even like go to the school is different to how it's in the UK. You don't actually apply if you're in an area. If you live in a particular house, you go to a particular school. So um, yeah, so there's way, way more kids at the school than there should be. And what um age range is that? Um, so that's from kindergarten to grade six, um, which is the equivalent of year one to year seven in the UK.

Okay, and what's the um relationship like between the PTA and the parents and the school?

Um, I was actually discussing this with my daughter yesterday, and she felt the PTA in the UK were more involved because she knew them all. There was only eight of us. Okay. Um, and she was like, there was a better relationship. And I was like, I don't think there was from my perspective. I didn't think there was. Um, I feel I know we're more involved over here, maybe because there's more of us, I'm not quite sure. Um it we have a great relationship with teachers um and the principal of the school. Um, maybe because I've had a little bit more involvement. I feel that over here. Um, because I do volunteer when I go into school, so pretty much all 700 students know me right now. Yeah, that's not from a PTA perspective, but um, but yeah, they all know I'm on the PTA. Um, and they all know the chair, the chair of the PTA, but she's also a substitute teacher. So um we are very active, we do do a lot of fundraising. So, and as we have this week's newsletter, uh we're I feel like we're in the eye all the time of like things we want to do for the school, and and like one of the teachers, the librarian in particular, she's always saying, Well, they bought me a lot of books. I love the PTA, and I feel like they're more appreciated at the school than they were at my old school. Yeah, I don't know.

So, do you think maybe that's just a difference in communication between the two PTAs? Maybe the PTA you're on at the moment, maybe is is just better, more consistent communication, do you think?

Possibly, yeah. I I do think that's that's true. Um, and I think from the other the parents' perspective, they're all they uh if you're talking to them, they will mention the PTA. Um, and like some of them are like, Oh, I've not paid my dues this year, and then they'll do it, but they've no intention of actually being actively involved, but they're willing to support, and then when we send out fundraisers, we've just done a big fundraiser. Um people are much more aware and much more willing to give, I think, because we're always there in the limelight. It's it's often mentioned on the principal's uh weekly message as well, if we've got something coming up. So people might not know exactly who the PTA committee are, and the interior, you know, the specific people, apart from when we're doing like a particular fundraiser, there's a certain person who's in the limelight. We all know who the chair is, but that's it. So we may have been more known in my smaller school back in the UK, although that was also 400 students. But I think as a PTA as a whole, the communication over here is much better. Yeah, and we get a lot better response from it.

Yeah, that's really interesting. And and a weekly newsletter, that's that's quite a hardcore thing to produce every week. So, do you have an awful lot of events going on um every term?

Um yes and no. So um, yeah, so it's it I'm saying it's a newsletter, it's actually an email, you know, so we probably call it a newsletter, so it's not a physical piece of paper, we're not killing the planet. Yeah. Um, and we actually have a person who produces that every week. Okay. Um, and it literally might only be a couple of paragraphs in there. Um, but we have uh, but we'll announce things that are happening in the school, even if it's not directly run by the PTA. So I think next week we'll be in announcing. We've got a book fair coming up in November, which the librarian is running. Um for the last three weeks we've been doing um an armchair for fundraiser, which is what I mentioned. So that's been our key headline.

Um so sorry, can you just tell me a bit about that?

The armchair Yeah, an armchair fundraiser. That is a huge thing that most schools do out here. Um and it basically means do nothing. There is no going to an event, there's no buying anything, sponsoring. It's literally from your armchair, you can click on a link and donate to the school.

Oh wow.

Um that's that's pretty much it, and hence why they call it an armchair fundraiser because you don't have anything, you just give the school your money. I heard it and thought that's not gonna work. But we raised three weeks raised $18,000. Oh my goodness. Oh, yeah. I mean we have a big thousand. The money over here is mental. I will I will give you that. We used to raise like $3,000 back in the UK on summer fair, which was our big end of year thing. Oh no, that that's a drop in the water. It's insane the amount of money we can get over here. I mean, we are in a decent area with with you know. Parents that work and things like that. And we do have some lower income families. But yeah, and we are a big school. But that was that's our that's our one of our meaty fundraisers, and $18,000. They basically put out if we raise $15,000, um the principal would be dunked in a dunk tank. But there's always an incentive for raising a bit of money. Um and each week, if you donated, because the way the form filled in, you basically put your name in, and then you put the kids at the school. So you put both your kids, or three, four, or one of your kids, whatever kid you had at the school, you put the kid. And then out they drew out of a hat of the people who donated in like the first week, they drew 15 names. And they got to have a lunch bunch, I think it was, with the principal.

Okay.

Which basically is the principal will go and sit well near them because they're all spaced out because of COVID. Okay, because of COVID. Um, but near that little group for lunch. Okay, so they felt like they had lunch with the principal.

Um so that wasn't based on how much they donated, it's just the fact that they did donate.

Just the fact they donated. So they could have donated one dollar, they could have donated two hundred dollars. It was just a donation. They all pulled 20 kids were pulled out of a hat and they got a lunch bunch. Yeah, I can't actually remember what the reward was for the second week. Okay. Um, and then the third week, I think, in fact, yeah, and then the third week, it might have been the lunch bunch all three weeks, I think. And then out of everyone who donated, they pulled out 20 kids who actually got to throw two tennis balls at the dunk tank to try and dunk the principal. Um, and they recorded it on Friday, and then that went out with the weekly uh principal's newsletter and also on the PTA's newsletter. So we all got to see the headmaster dunk multiple times.

Well, did they get dunked in? It was just water, just the water. Oh, just water. Okay, I thought it was going to be like slime or something like that. So that makes a big difference, doesn't it, if the principal or the head teacher is really willing to get involved like that. I mean, I'm sure not every head teacher would be willing to be publicly dunked into what something. So, with the armchair fundraiser, how how was that organized? Did you just have a link to a website where people could put in however much they wanted to donate? Were they encouraged to donate particular amounts or anything?

Um I think previously, um, because we didn't have an armchair last year, we decided with COVID and people being off work and things, it wasn't a good thing to do. Um, previously they had like a table. So um if you donated $25, you'd get such and such, and $50, you'd get some, you know, you'd get something, or the kids would get something. And I know if you like if you donated a thousand dollars, because we do have parents or have had parents like that, um the kids, the kid would get their name on the marquee. Oh, that's what what the award was each week. Sorry, they got their name on the marquee. Now, our marquee is literally a stone structure um in the front, because I was physically thinking of it as like a tent marquee that you get for weddings. Yeah, yeah. It's like a stone structure at the front, and it has like um what do you call it? One of them scrolly. Oh, yes, I don't know what they're called, but I know what you mean. But I don't know. You know what I mean. Hopefully, people understand what I mean. Yeah. Um, and we have on there like Welcome to Shrevewood, um, it's family excellence, relationships, our motto, and um, and then we like this week or the last three weeks, we've had all the kids' names scroll up on there. Oh, okay, um as winners or you know, of the the arm ramchair fundraiser. Yeah, so um, yeah, so it that's on all the time, and my kids have had their names up there for other competitions they've won. And and the kids really like that.

Um that's a nice perk for the kids, is it? See their name scrolling past.

Yeah, so but we didn't put any values on that this this time. We literally there was a list on the thing, but it was like you donate $25. It's thank you very much, it's brilliant, and it was just like thank you statements of you know, and it was like we donate $500, you're amazing. And wow, so yeah, we didn't put anything on it. I think at the moment it's taking that away, and it's like we appreciate a dollar as much as a hundred or every little helps right now, yeah. Um, so and it was to try and make the school more inclusive as well.

Yeah, so people can donate a lot whatever they want and still be included in that. Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

Um we also it's good.

Does the armchair fundraiser do you do that every year or every term?

They do it every year and it's always around now. Okay. Um, we didn't in COVID, um, but we we have done it, or they they have done it every year that I'm aware of.

Yeah. So that's really interesting. So you've already you've just given us two fundraising ideas, which don't involve any organization really from the PTA at all. You've got your $15 to join the PTA, and then you've the on tech fundraiser, which I guess is setting up a website or a link for people to pay through, or however people manage that. And and neither of those things involve, you know, raffle tickets or prizes really, or anything like that. So nothing at all. That's incredible. So, and you've raised $18,000. I'm still trying to get my head around that figure. Oh yeah. Um so so you said that um schools in the US that parents do seem to donate quite a lot to their schools.

Yes.

So is there is there sort of an expectation on you as a parent then that to to sort of be donating a certain amount each year to your school or anything? Um, I've never actually felt that.

Okay, if I'm honest, even though we do have quite a few different fundraisers, other than actually like paying the dues to be in the PTA.

Yeah.

Um, although there's no pressure to do that either. Yeah, you know, um, so I think if you didn't want to, no one would say anything, no one would really know. Um if you hadn't.

Yeah, because you still get to join in the activities whether you have or haven't.

All the activities. Um and yeah, that's there's no pressure to, but I think because people do, you kind of just do it anyway. And um, I find that Americans are very um involved in their students anyway. They want their kids to succeed academically, right? Um and America's very um financially focused anyway. Um, like they they literally from having a kid, a lot of parents are putting funds away to get them into university and to be able to pay for the university. Yeah because it's a lot more expensive over here. Right, okay. So they are invested in their kids from an early age, doing well at school. Yeah. Um, because obviously there's also scholarships that they can get. Um so I think if they feel like back in school, they get to do well. Um yeah, so you know, I haven't felt I had to donate. Um obviously, my kids are like for the fundraiser that I particularly run, um, there are incentives for how much you donate. So that one is more incentivized, and the kids actually have to do something for it. Um so you'll find that the kids are like, you need to sponsor me, you need to pay money. And yeah, then the kids are asking specifically, or um, but for the armchair and just joining in general, and it's there's no pressure.

Yeah. So so just to be clear about the $15, um, if you do pay the $15, do you get anything different to a family that wouldn't that hasn't paid the $15? No, there's nothing different there. It's it's basically just giving families the opportunity to donate $15.

Pretty much, yeah. Um well you'll get the you'll get the PTA newsletter, okay, and then um you'll also get like the invites to the PTA meetings and things like that. So if you want to be involved and put your opinion forward or any suggestions forward, then you'd get that. Um, but yeah, you literally you don't actually get anything. You don't get a t-shirt or anything, you have to buy those ones. But um no.

So that's really interesting, then what you were saying about sort of parental involvement and the fact that possibly in America parents are more bought in to the education system, maybe, or bought into the fact that by donating to the PTA it will have an effect on their child's education in a positive way.

Yeah.

So they're more it sounds like they're more likely to be involved and to get involved in all the fundraisers. Because I don't know if it's the same for you when you were on the PTA here in the UK, but sometimes um when PTAs organise events, not many parents actually take part. And um obviously that's for a host of reasons, but you know, it's interesting. I and I wonder if it is connected for some people to that perception of well, the PTA money is going to help my child improve their education.

Yeah, and I think that by donating that 15, they also part of them are like, that's my bit. I now don't actually have to help out. Don't do it for that reason. So they feel like they're involved, but they don't actually have to set things up and take things down. You'll find that that's that that inner core of about I think it's about 30 of us, that's still not a lot for the big school. Um, we tend to still do that, you know, if we have to set up an event or organize things, it is the inner core that does that. Um, and a lot of the parents, because they are most of them are working full-time and things like that, are like, well, I've I've paid the money um and I've that's my bit. I want to help, but I don't have the time to do it. Um so they they do it that way. Yeah um because we we actually asked for volunteers to help put up some tables, the book tables. The PTA actually bought the tables for the school um so the kids could sit out outside, and we asked them to come over a couple of mornings, and we had five volunteers in total.

Out of 700 children used to be able to get a lot of people.

700 children's parents, so um, yeah, so you know there's a few hundred parents there. Um, so we don't always get a response. I mean, yes, people are at work, um yeah. So even though we have got the resource of hundreds of parents, we still don't necessarily get them. Um, apologies. My husband does stream UK TV and he's watching football.

Okay.

Uh so actually, so that's a problem shared by UK and US um schools volunteering.

No different than that, absolutely.

No different at all, despite everything we just said about parents being more bought in.

More bought in financially, not necessarily with their time. Yes.

Could you tell me a bit more about the you mentioned you're involved in organizing the reader fund, Louise. Can you tell me a bit about what's involved there and what you do?

The school used to have or does have a big fundraiser, which is usually in the um spring, sort of March time. Um, it used to be a a run. So the kids had to do 35 laps.

Wow, 35?

Yeah, 35 laps, but it was of the gym. So you know, it's probably like probably about a mile, I reckon. Okay. Um so um, yeah, it's not 35 laps of a huge, huge track or anything like that. No, but um, and parents could sponsor them doing the laps um using a particular site we use for fundraising. Um, but we then decided to change it. Um, and I think they'd done the readathon previous to when we came over here, um, but it was the first time we'd done it since we moved here, it was last year. Um, as the kids weren't in school doing laps of a gym wasn't gonna happen.

Yeah.

So they brought back the readathon and it was a great success. So previously the kids would read in school. Um, they'd have I and I know my UK school actually had like a reading um fundraiser as well, and and it's like book week. Yeah, you stop, like the bell would go off and you stop and you read. And it was kind of similar to that. So the bell would go off and the class would stop and they'd all read and they'd have guest speakers in. Um, and we've done that in the US when we first came over here, and I actually went in and read to my my daughter's class. Oh, wow. That wasn't sponsored, and there was no money entailed to it. Yeah. So the read-a-thon we did last year, we decided rather than saying if you like sponsoring per minute, that potentially wasn't going to work. Um, and we also changed the site we normally use to the one we are actually using for running. I don't know if you want me to mention that because it's a good one. Yeah, sure.

Yeah, that's fine to mention it.

So it's I think it's called Booster Thon.

Okay.

And that is used across America, and I'm not quite sure, but you might be able to access it in the UK as well. Okay. Um, and it's a specific sign, and it's normally used for um more like running events than running 35 laps. But we we found that their support they gave us as a PTA was better than another one we'd been using for the previous readers on before we got here. Yeah, so we went back to them and said, could we tailor it to use? And they said yes. So we changed it from 35 laps to um I think it was just parents could sponsor a flat rate if the kids read full stock, or anybody who wanted to sponsor.

Yeah.

But um via that site, it actually has um prizes that you can purchase as a PTA, which obviously you lose some of your funds. So if the um if the kids are read such and such, they could get uh a rocket or something like a plastic rocket thing. Okay, but we decided not to use their prizes, we actually bought our own prizes as part of the school, and um and also because we were trying to go away from minutes and how it was we didn't want parents to have to do much. We felt if we gave the parents tons to do at home, or even the kids to do logging minutes each day, it wasn't gonna happen. Exactly.

Yeah, you've got to make it so easy for people, haven't you? Or it just flops, yeah.

Um they uh the PTA messaged out saying we need someone to organize the readathon. I was like, that's books, I'll do that. Yeah, so I came up with an idea of a bingo card, which was actually something I'd taken from my UK school week. Okay. Um so on the bingo card, so for grades K through to grade two, yeah. So five through to seven, eight, sort of eight.

So that's like our key stage one over here, isn't it? Yes, key stage one, yeah.

So we had that sort of split as well. Yeah, they had a bingo card with 16 squares on it. Yeah. And we kind of gave them, I think it was the top left square, was register on the Booster Font site to fundraise. Yeah. So even if no one had even donated, it didn't matter as long as they registered. Yeah. Um, and then we gave out if they completed a line, they got a prize. Um, and if they completed the full card, they got points for their year.

Oh wow.

So it was a c it became a competition as well within the school.

Oh, that's such a great idea.

I created a Google form. So this is what the only thing they really had to do was mark off on their Google. We we did it all in Google as well. So they had a Google slide where they could keep track of their bingo card each day. Um, and then a Google form, which was linked on the slide pack that went out to them all. Um, when they completed a line, they went on and ticked that they completed a line, and then we got a big spreadsheet. And then when they completed their bingo card, they had to go on and click, they completed it. Yeah, and I think a line was something like five points for the year, uh, all the class, and then the full Bingo card, I think was 20 points or something, 25 points, or something like that.

So you mentioned that the line, did they also get a prize, or was the prize the five points? Actually, it was the points.

Okay, it wasn't points, okay. Yeah, so if they raised money, if they did actually raise some money, that's where the prize is involved. And we had three levels of prizes. So if they raised $50, they got I can't remember the first prize. It's okay, something trivia. Um, but they got I know one of the prizes was a uh a beach ball. Okay. And we actually got a company to put the school's logo on the beach balls, and we got them in the school's colours. Oh, that's so cool. So um, yes, we have blue and white beach balls, and I think it probably was the first prize was the beach ball. I really I've forgotten one of them. But if they raise so it was like $50, they re they got one prize. If they got $100, um they got two prizes, and then if they raised $250, they got an ice cream voucher. So we have a a little restaurant at the top of the road with the schools on that sponsored the fundraiser in a way. Um didn't actually give any money, but they discounted ice cream.

Wow.

So um, so it gave basically it's like a four-dollar voucher for ice cream and one scoop of ice cream and one topping. Their scoops of ice cream are like three. Okay. It's not a scoop of ice cream as you imagine in the UK. It's like three American sizes, it's huge, right? Okay, so they um any but we decided again, COVID times people don't really have the money that we're normally used to raising. Uh our target was 10,000. Yeah. So, you know, just bantering these large figures around. Um, we raised 28. 28,000. Yeah, so hence the school loves me right now because I more than smashed our target. Oh my gosh, that is amazing. Well, congratulations, that's such an amazing achievement. Well, I think that's that particular fundraiser, we do tend to try and aim for 25,000. And that's been over two weeks. Wow, see it runs in fact, it's not even two weeks, it's Monday to a week Friday. So short of two weeks. That's me. 25,000, and it's yeah, it's insane. And they all get on board. And the fact that you're sponsoring kids, suddenly the money starts rolling out as well. Absolutely, and the kids are like, I really want the beach ball, yeah, I really want a four-dollar ice cream poucher. But we decided because we didn't think we'd raise that much, we were 10,000 was our goal. Yeah, um, we decided near the end as well, because some kids are raised like 200, but like we have families that have two or three kids in the school, yeah. So it was like, we're now getting families to raise 500 or 750. Gosh, which doesn't really happen because people tend to split out the, you know, family tend to split out the donations between all the kids. Of course, yeah. But we said, as a family, if siblings raise 250, so if they raise 125 each, yeah, they would get the voucher as well.

That sounds pretty fair to me.

Which, which and and everyone appreciated that much more, including me, because that's how my kids got their thing about. Yeah, even though they said, Oh, you can have them anyway. I was like, No, my kids should still earn it. And just because I'm doing a couple of Google bits and organizing. No, that's not fair. So um, yeah, so that's that's that's how we did it, and that worked really well. And we found that some families that had literally five dollars off, you know, they'd raise 240 or something like that. They'd be like, Oh, let's let's give the kids another five each. And yeah, some of the amounts actually ticked up a little bit better because of that. Um okay.

See, I I wouldn't think that that would um work so well over here in the UK. Sort of, I don't know, trying to persuade, trying to, I guess, reward the children who'd raised more money. I haven't ever really seen that over here in the UK. But perhaps that's you know, perhaps that is happening, but it's it's certainly not happening in my area. Um, because obviously not everybody can afford it, not everybody can get loads of sponsorship. And so I guess from from well, certainly from my PTA, I don't think we would want to, in a way, penalise anybody that couldn't raise it.

And that's how somebody else.

And that's how I feel over here because I don't have the family network I would normally tap into. Of course, yeah. For my kids to raise any money, and most of our friends are parents at the school. Yes. So it's like I can't even ask you to raise sponsor my kid because you're sponsoring your own. So I find I struggle when I'm eating like that. Yeah. But because of the bingo cards in the point system, it meant that even if a kid couldn't raise funds to win the three prizes, which you know, as I said, they weren't like trips to the moon and maintaining prizes. So if you didn't get it, you didn't feel like you've lost out. Yeah. Um, but the we I communicated with all the teachers and I basically got them to incentivize their own class. Yeah. And my son, because he was in kindergarten at the time, it was his first year in school, never actually set foot in the school, it was all online. Oh wow. Teacher was really good with them, and you know, and even because obviously the kindergartens couldn't read read themselves, it was reading with a parent. Um, so like some of the things on the bingo card was reading with a torch, reading outside, reading under a table, you know, reading to a family or with a family member for 20 minutes, or you know, it was it was stuff that the younger ones could do. We had a few harder tasks on the older ones because they had 25 to fill, but the middle one again was the middle, yeah, the middle square on the 25 was registering on the site. But um, we made it so the teachers then incentivize. So if they did a line, so if the class had five lines, they would get um an extra story time that week. Okay, yeah. Um, and then the um I think the class that raised the class that competed the most bingo cards won a a lunch bunch with the principal. Okay. Um, although it was online. Yeah, just online lunch bunch. Um, but the kids over here love these lunch bunches. It's amazing how much they're like, oh, I gotta have like my lunch with the principal. It sounds like your principal also really likes the lunch bunches. I think so. I think he just like he just loves the kids and everything. Um we also had the deputy principal as well, Miss Holly, last year. So she was um she's now left our school, she's principal of another school. So she was always like, Oh, I'll have a lunch bunch. And yeah, there's a few that and the librarian, lunch bunch with the librarian. Um so um, yeah, so my son's kindergarten class, she had four levels of prizes. So if there was like 10 completed bingo cards, they'd get a dance party on the pile.

Oh, um, so there were an awful lot of incentives going on. So there's the points incentive, there's also raising the money, the actual money, and then other sort of class incentives as well.

And then there was a school-wide competition. Um, and I think I can't remember what the prize was of a school-wide competition. So we were taking the points off the Google form and we were putting it into a chart for grades, and we were like, Oh, kindergarten, and we did it as a percentage because some years have more kids in than the others, so we thought that wasn't fair. So we did it as a percentage of the year, yeah, um, rather than actual numerical value. Yeah, we had like a whole mathematical thing going on in the background. Um, and we had that, so the PTA newsletter that was going out, we had that going on. So it's like, oh, first grader in the lead or kindergarten right. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah, and then fourth grade, you need to pull your socks up, and just to try and get the kids to do a bit more reading and just fill in their little card, and because yeah, that's all they needed to do. Um, and then the the class that won that overall, they also then got a or the grade that got that, they got a prize as well. I can't remember what that was really bad of me because I know the kindergarten literally just edged it in the last day. My um my son's class won everything they possibly could. Um, it was it was amazing. I well, I had a very active teacher because for my sins, I'm also a room parent in the school. We have those as well. Um, so because I had as the room parent of my son's class, we had a a weekend competition going on as well. Um, for the class that raised the most funds over the weekend or did the most read. No, it wasn't the funds, it was funds and reading, I think. So I emailed all his class out on a Saturday night saying, Oh, we're currently in second position behind such and such a class, or you know, in first grade. And then the following day, they all stepped it up a notch and absolutely blew the competition out of the water. But I was like, I'm using my inside knowledge because no one else knew that. That's very good. Very good. But you know, that's kind of cheating a little bit, but it did raise a load more funds by having this extra competition over the over the weekend and for a class to win, win an extra prize.

But can I just can I just ask you, Louise, what you mentioned your room parents? What exactly is that? Is that a PTA thing or is that something separate?

That's actually separate. Um uh, but it's actually run by a member of the PTA. Okay. So your PTAs seem to get everywhere. We do, we do get everywhere. They um the PTAs over here do kind of run the school. Um, okay. They because we're raising so much money, yeah. We kind of get a bit of a say. Um, we go to the principal and say, What do you need? And then we say, Okay, we'll we will fund the new library, or we'll fund the tables, or we'll fund the new playground. And yeah, um, so yeah, we've built half the school in a way with the fundraising we've done. So, and then a part of that, the PTA, um, we have a one one of the positions is the room parent um weed and such. And then they basically organize a team of people. Most of us are on the PTA. And we we basically get given a class. It's usually a class that one of your kids is in. Um, well, it is no, sorry, it is a class that one of your kids is in, and you liaise with the teacher and the parents. You kind of become that extra link. And if we have any PTA events coming, we do an extra email out and specifically target your parents. Right, okay. So, like, like I was telling all the room parents how their classes were doing and who needed, you know, and needed to incentivize your class or your class is doing really well. So then they could go and target their parents and say, look, let's let's do extra reading or let's do some extra fundraising. And and it gives it's just one extra person to basically belly button to the parents and make sure they know what's going on.

Um, and so that sounds like um, I guess over here we'd call it a class rep.

Yes.

And I know some PTAs have that. Um, my PTA doesn't have that because our schools is so small that we just don't need it really. We have all our parents on one WhatsApp group, so we can contact them directly, which is so helpful. But I know in other schools they do have class reps just to be that extra link and that extra person to contact um and and pass on information. So yeah, it sounds funny.

So yeah, so I I do both for those roles. Um, I'm actually we're imparented both my kids' classes this year.

Oh wow, okay. You do sound busy.

I'm extremely busy. I like it though. I like helping.

Yeah. So um if your on chair fundraiser raised 18,000, then your reader fund raised $28,000. What what kind of figure did you raise for that whole year?

Probably $40,000, $50,000 in a year from various fundraisers, and obviously the donations at the beginning just to join me. Yeah, it's silly money if you think about it, compared to what you'd raise in the UK. You never don't want to get that level, I don't think that's really crazy.

Yeah, well, especially just raising that from your parent community. That's just astounding. I I'm I'm really gobsmacked. I really did not expect you to be saying figures like that at all.

No, um, yeah. When I first came here and they were saying figures like that, or we hope to raise this from I was like, in in two weeks. Is that not the year or two years, maybe more? They were like, no, yeah. Um, they look at you like, why wouldn't we? Yeah, so then and I'm sure there are schools in America that don't raise anywhere near those amounts. And I know I'm aware of schools that raise more than that. So um and I do think it depends on obviously your location. Um, we're not far from DC, you know, in an affluent part of the area, you know, part of America. So we're lucky in a way that we can do that. Um we basically retited out the whole library, we've done all the outside areas, and you know, we're in a good school that has that support and and then does spend it, and but you know, it does go back to the kids that and the kids can see where their money's going. So um we bought like small library, little books and libraries for each class last year with the reader farm money.

Wow.

Um so each class is its own little area they can resource as well without having to go to the main library, um, which is which is great.

Um so then so if your school is raising say about $60,000 a year, that is that all being spent then on on things that the school needs. I mean, I know that sounds a bit like a bit of a ridiculous question, but I I you know if we had £60,000 to spend at my school, I'm not quite sure what we would spend it all on, if I'm honest.

Oh, yeah, it is, yeah, it does go all everything goes back into the school. Um, so I mean, they will spend money on like hiring a DJ for the picnics and the discos, and uh some of it will go towards um like the prizes we got, although we didn't we didn't spend a master amount on that. We do try and keep that down, yeah. Um and then yeah, it all goes back into the school. We had to, I know they had to like fund part of the the porter cabins we had to get um the school got a bit bigger, obviously. So we have to extend the school. Um, they've resurfaced the whole car park. Oh my goodness.

Um so how does the um PTA decide what to spend the money on? Do they chat with the principal and come up with a joint decision, or does the school say we need money for this, that, and the other? And the PTA um raises specifically for those things?

Pretty much, yeah. The for the yeah, they go to the principal and the deputy principal and the school and say, What do we need money for this year? What targets do we need? So at the beginning, we sort of kind of say, What targets do we need to try and get this year? Um and then so like, and then we'll also go back and say, Okay, we'd we'd like to hold the reader plan again this year. Are you happy with that? Can we do it these dates? Does that affect anything the school's doing? Um, so it's a bit of a two-way street, but then ultimately the school will say, Can we spend money on this? Or can we raise this much money? And then we'll go, we'll do our best. And yeah, we'll fund that. We always like to have something in particular that we'll we will fund.

Yeah.

Um, so like we've we've funded um teacher appreciation week as well before now, um, which is a thing over they do over here at all schools. So like we hired in like a little um because they were back at school last year for that. So we hired in a little food truck, and the teachers will got coffee and and food for the week. And so it's just little things like that as well. Yeah, if we've got the funds, it's like okay, we can actually we can help towards that this year, and we can make it bigger, or like the grade six when they leave, it will fund whatever party or whatever they they're doing. And yeah, um, and like like I said, the librarian asked if she could have money for new books and new shelves, and so it was like, yeah, absolutely, we can we can raise some ways for that.

Um so it sounds like the PTA's remit um at your school certainly sounds just a bit wider than, for example, my PTA's remit. So our in our constitution it talks about providing things for the children, like enhancing their education and their experience at the school. So we wouldn't normally fund anything, you know, like a teacher experience like you were just talking about there. So your PTA's remit is slightly wider than perhaps. Yeah, yeah.

It's it's anything that benefits the whole school, I think. Okay, okay. Um, so like wheel are paid for the dunk tank, obviously. Yeah. Um, so so even if it's it's fun, uh, it it doesn't matter if it's part of the school and and just that whole you know ethos of making it, yeah. As I said, it's all about family and relationships and excellence. Um that's that's what they keep promoting, and they don't want the whole school to be involved, and and we do try to make it so it's not necessary, like with the point system, you know, they could still win prizes and they can still do something, and like we don't say you have to be part of you know, you don't have to pay the $15. We just want people to be involved and just come along and play and um and they also have um the PTA actually organizes all our spirit wear as well, which is um like t-shirts and hoodies with the school logo on. So we're in charge of all that, the funds that charges for that. Um yeah, the the PTAs over here do have a lot more involvement, they do kind of run the school from every perspective except the academic side, I suppose.

Um and they're still just volunteer positions because that sounds like an awful lot to take on, like especially for the chair of the PTA to manage all those different things.

Yes, all volunteers.

Um as I said, our chair happens to be a substitute teacher as well. Um so she sometimes comes into the school as a teacher, yeah. Um but yeah, the the the main part of the committee, they're all parents. Yeah. Um so I think with one of the the particular the inner court left right now, we'd be a bit lost. I don't know. You mentioned that you've lost quite a few of your inner PTA. When you lose a key person like that, it's like what are we gonna do? Yeah, um, and I know back in the UK we had that same circumstance. We lost our um chair and treasurer uh one year because they their kids aged out of school. And at one point we were thinking we'd have to actually dissolve the PTA because no one would step up into those those positions, and we weren't getting any new members, it was really hard to recruit. Um that year I volunteered, I was the only one from that year. Okay, um, and that had 60 students worth of parents, yeah. Um, so yeah, we managed to get through with a very, very small committee for about a year, and then we managed to get more recruits back in. But even yeah, so UK or US, that actually getting people to be involved in that inner core is still hard. It is still hard, yeah. Yeah, and even over here, with you know the parents being more actually involved, they're not willing to still give that amount of time. Um and I think I don't know, I think in the UK it's getting that stigma of you make cakes in jail and you hold a raffle every now and then. Yeah, it's still no, that's how people perceive the PTA. They're that busybody mums who just, you know. Um, and it's like PTA isn't that at all. Yes, we help with the fundraisers, but it's like we want the best for our kids at that school and the school for years to come. Yeah.

Wow. Well, thank you so much, Louise, for sharing your experiences of your PTAs in the UK and the US. It's been really, really interesting to hear of all the differences and also all the similarities, like you know, just trying to find volunteers, which seems to be a recurring theme in the PTA world that nobody can ever have enough volunteers.

Yeah, I hope there's some different ideas that people can use, and I hope people can raise lots of funds for their kids and their schools.

So oh, thank you so much, Louise. I hope you enjoyed listening to Louise's stories from her PTA experience. And yes, I am still trying to get over the figures that she was quoting in that interview. They were quite astonishing amounts of money. If you'd like to join in the discussion or want to contact me, please drop me a line using hello at PTApodcast.com or have a look at my website at the code. I look forward to chat.