10 Tips for Planning Your Back-to-School Night
Back-to-School Night is the big night to kick off the school year! It’s a vital time for cultivating school spirit, recruiting volunteers and building excitement for the school year and fundraisers ahead!
A typical Back-to-School Night brings parents together for a group presentation from the PTA/PTO leaders and Principal before visiting their children’s classrooms to meet the teacher and get a glimpse of the year ahead. Some schools have gone high-tech and parents meet in the classroom for a broadcast welcome from the Principal and Parent Leaders before the teacher speaks. Other schools mix it up with different grades meeting at different days and times, i.e. kindergarten before school begins and older grades within the first two weeks.
No matter how your school approaches Back-to-School Night, keep these 10 quick tips in mind for making it a true success!
1. Direct parents where to park (with people and/or clear signs) so no one loses time looking for a spot. Do the same by clearly marking meeting rooms and classrooms – Back to School Night should be welcoming and not leave parents feeling lost.
2. Provide parent leaders with both nametags and pre-printed ribbons that say “Ask Me” so new parents have many opportunities to ask questions.
3. Let parents know all about the fabulous school events and fundraisers to expect this year, but be careful not to focus solely on fundraisers; you want to cultivate strong community spirit before asking for time and resources.
4. Plan out stations (tables or booths) where parents can learn about new school programs, clubs, after-school resources and volunteering opportunities.
5. Prominently post where and how parents can connect online with your school community – i.e. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Consider posting a QR code which parents can snap with their smartphone to connect to your school’s parent group webpage with links to social media. Check out Tips for Getting Your Parent Community Active with Social Media!
6. Encourage parent involvement with a brief explanation of how simple signing up to get involved will be using VolunteerSpot’s online volunteer calendar and scheduler. Show a quick video tour of the sign up process, and provide simple direction to where sign up links will be posted for choosing committees or volunteer commitments. Check out sample Committee Picker Sign Up Sheets!
7. Food and drinks are a MUST for your Back-to-School night – whether you offer cookies and lemonade, or something more involved like pizza or an ice-cream social, food is going to encourage attendance and give parents another way to socialize.
8. Increase attendance to your event by offering free babysitting for parents who need to bring their kids. BTS nights are typically anywhere from 35 to 50 minutes; work with older kids from the local high school to coordinate a play station (small gym) for kids whose parents are attending BTS Night – have food on hand as well, pizza anyone?
9. Set up a system that helps your parent group collect membership dues on site at BTS Night. Not only does this reflect on the organization of your parent group, but it helps parents feel like they have already accomplished something by the end of the night in service to the school.
10. Ask teachers to use the technology your parent group has purchased and thank parents for the technology during their presentation. (e.g. Thanks to our School-Parent Group for purchasing this Interactive White Board, I’m going to show you a quick presentation…)
Start the 2012-2013 school year off right with a fun and successful Back To School Night!
Photo Courtesy of Barrett Web Coordinator's photostream on Flickr.com
Helpful Back-to-School Resources:
Sample Back to School Night Letters and Sign Up Sheets
Welcome letters from Room Parents
A Parent’s Guide to Back-to-School Night from Cozi.com