Welcome back! There is so much excitement at the beginning of the school year-new teachers, new classes, new school supplies, new grade levels, and new opportunities for you to be involved in your child’s school. One of these opportunities is something we piloted last year with great success, Room Parents for our classrooms.
What is a room parent?
A Room Parent helps make our school a nurturing environment for our kids and a warm community for parents. Some of the work of a Room Parent includes…
·Assist teachers with projects, celebrations, and other needs to make our children’s school experience special, for example coordinating food for a potluck, recruiting volunteers to organize books for a class reading library, or creating a photo book about a class art project. Room Parents and teachers can work together to share ideas and set priorities.
·Keep parents connected to each other and our school. Room Parents work with teachers to create class contact lists, and encourage parents to work together by joining the PTA and participating in fundraisers to support our children and our school. Room Parents also can help build our school community by organizing informal play dates or other fun, room-only events that help families get to know each other better.
·Help recognize our staff and promote our school. Room Parents might organize a group gift for staff at holiday time or when the school year ends. Room Parents also may help with open houses that showcase our school to other parents.
WHO CAN BE A ROOM PARENT? Any mom, dad, grandparent, or guardian can be a room parent. Consider volunteering if you enjoy getting to know new people and helping out. You need not be a stay-at-home parent, but your life should have enough flexibility to allow you to be in the school occasionally beyond drop-off and pick-up. It’s also helpful if you have access to email, but are equally comfortable picking up the phone to call a parent you may not see regularly.
IS IT A BIG JOB? The work of a Room Parent should be enjoyable, not overwhelming. You will have the support of other parents, PTA, and school leaders, so you won’t be on your own. The most successful Room Parents are willing to ask other parents to help out. In fact, one of the main goals for having Room Parents is to help involve more people in school activities. “Many hands make light work!”
HOW DO I VOLUNTEER
Please fill out the form (You will also need a CORI returned to the main office prior to any volunteering in school) and return to your teacher, PTA board member, or email me at [email protected] (If responding by email be sure to include all info below) . Feel free to contact me with any questions. If this job isn’t for you, watch for other opportunities to get involved, both with your child’s class and with the PTA as a whole. You will be glad you did!