Make contact with your child's teachers. Teachers are your best source when it comes to middle school, how it operates, what the parents can do and what specific type of organization is most needed and will benefit the most people. Make your organization available to the teacher as a resource. Support the staff; don't try to boss them around.
Talk to other parents and encourage them to join the group. Exchange names, phone numbers and email addresses with other parents who indicate interest. Email or phone is probably the easiest way to get in touch with the parents and family members. Many middle schools no longer have a homeroom, so there isn't necessarily a daily gathering of the same students in the same place where a teacher can dispense information.
Children attending a middle school can come from several different elementary or feeder schools. If you are intent on creating a group for interested parents and families, include everyone and not just those families from the elementary school that your child attended.
A strong parent group greatly benefits middle school students, their teachers, the administration and educational outcomes. Middle school family involvement can include helping with school clubs, sports teams and field trips. The parental/family group can serve as fundraisers. Parents can serve as liaisons to the media, notifying the newspaper and radio stations when an event is going on at the middle school.
On the flip side, the school needs to encourage parent and family involvement because middle school students are at a time in their lives when they are faced with a variety of issues and challenges and the choices they make have a bearing on their future. Having parents involved helps the students cope better with the hardships that go with adolescence and puberty. Because middle school is different from grade school in that the structure is different and the child's school day is fragmented, the school needs to provide families, particularly parents, with tips on how to serve as both a resource and advocate for their children.