Some parents and community members might be unfamiliar with the Parent Teacher Organization. Most people have a general idea of what the group is about, but they might not know the specifics. Creating a bulletin board to explain the organization is a good idea for the beginning of the school year. Include some of the activities that the group routinely does and what sort of responsibilities it handles. You can also include information for joining the group.
The PTO often hosts different events during the school year. The bulletin board is a good spot to announce upcoming events. Keep the calendar of upcoming events updated regularly so it stays current. This space also works well if you need additional volunteers to help out with big events that are coming up.
The average PTO handles a lot of behind-the-scenes tasks that the average parent may not be aware of. A bulletin board area gives the group a chance to share all of its achievements through the school year. Include events you have hosted, goals you have reached, funds you have raised and other accomplishments both big and small. This also helps raise interest and awareness in the PTO at the school that might help it grow and improve its effectiveness.
This bulletin board idea goes one step further to recognize individual members of the organization. You can include a group picture of all the members or individual pictures along with some interesting facts about each person. Each member can fill out a simple questionnaire for the bulletin board. Displaying information about the PTO members makes them more recognizable to other parents. This might encourage other parents to either participate in PTO or share their ideas with the members.
Another option is to focus on the students or teachers in the building by spotlighting a few each month. You might honor a student who exhibits good character or helps out with a PTO fund-raising event. Another option is to create a student birthday bulletin board. Ask each teacher to supply a list of the students' birthdays. Change the display each month to list all of that month's birthdays. The students will enjoy seeing their names on display.