Oak Street School PTO
2023-2024 Class Parent Info
Class parents play a vital role at Oak Street School. Being a class parent is a great way to get to know your child’s teacher, classmates, and families, as well as learn more about Oak Street School and connect with the PTO. Class parent responsibilities involve contacting class families to relay important information from the school and PTO. Class parents are also responsible for assisting teachers with planning class parties and collecting donations for party supplies and class gifts. Kindergarten and first grade parents may be asked by your child's teachers to help schedule in-class learning centers. Second grade class parents will also manage a sign up genius for Family Dining. While there are some events where class parents are asked to be present in the classroom, you can ask others to help out if you’re not available to attend. Class parents within the same grade should work together to ensure parties are consistent and equitable across the grade.
There are some aspects of being a parent volunteer that are not the responsibility of the PTO. The PTO, or class parents, are not responsible for selecting field trip volunteers. It is also up to each teacher how often they wish to invite the class parents, or any parent volunteer, into the classroom. Any parent wishing to volunteer inside the school in any capacity must complete the volunteer agreement each year, which will be sent out by Ms. Foley via the Friday Folder.
Here’s what you can expect to do as a class parent throughout the school year.
Serve as a point person between the PTO and class families
Organize class parties
Help out with Holidays For The Children
Collect money from class families
Field Day
Grade-Specific Signups
Selection Process
Class parents are chosen randomly by the PTO, with oversight from the administration. Preference is given to those who have not yet been a class parent for their child's class. If you are chosen as class parent for one child, you will not be assigned to another class unless we are short on volunteers and we receive your consent.
**Class parents must attend the first PTO general meeting, which will be held on September 13th at 9am in the cafeteria.
Click here for the Classroom Parent Selection form
2023-2024 Class Parent Info
Class parents play a vital role at Oak Street School. Being a class parent is a great way to get to know your child’s teacher, classmates, and families, as well as learn more about Oak Street School and connect with the PTO. Class parent responsibilities involve contacting class families to relay important information from the school and PTO. Class parents are also responsible for assisting teachers with planning class parties and collecting donations for party supplies and class gifts. Kindergarten and first grade parents may be asked by your child's teachers to help schedule in-class learning centers. Second grade class parents will also manage a sign up genius for Family Dining. While there are some events where class parents are asked to be present in the classroom, you can ask others to help out if you’re not available to attend. Class parents within the same grade should work together to ensure parties are consistent and equitable across the grade.
There are some aspects of being a parent volunteer that are not the responsibility of the PTO. The PTO, or class parents, are not responsible for selecting field trip volunteers. It is also up to each teacher how often they wish to invite the class parents, or any parent volunteer, into the classroom. Any parent wishing to volunteer inside the school in any capacity must complete the volunteer agreement each year, which will be sent out by Ms. Foley via the Friday Folder.
Here’s what you can expect to do as a class parent throughout the school year.
Serve as a point person between the PTO and class families
- You will need to attend PTO general meetings so that you are up to date on what is going on with the school and PTO. There are three of these in a school year. If you are not able to attend all three meetings, you can work it out with your class parent partner so that at least one of you attends a meeting.
- You’ll be asked to relay PTO information to families in your class to make sure they’re aware of what’s happening. This is done via email.
- The PTO is not allowed to receive families’ contact information directly from the school. It is the job of the class parents to confirm with the teacher that the class directory, found on the Membership Toolkit app and website, is a complete list of students. If the teacher says the directory is incomplete, you should ask the teacher to ask missing families for permission to pass on their information to you. You are then responsible for encouraging the missing families to verify their information in the directory. More information on this process will be available in September. This task will be mostly in the fall, but will need to be repeated with each new student who joins the class.
Organize class parties
- Teachers will ask you to assist them with class parties. Sometimes they will ask you to plan the whole thing, and sometimes they will ask you to help execute their vision.
- You may, from your fellow parents, request contributions of decorations, craft supplies, etc. Your teacher may also ask you to recruit additional parent volunteers to help out during the party. A class will typically celebrate all major federal, secular holidays, as well as the end of the school year.
- Class parents in the same grade should work together to make sure parties are equitable and consistent across the grade.
- Class parents are not expected to pay out of pocket for parties. All supplies should be donated from fellow parents. If you feel your teacher’s party requests are more than you and the other parents are able to fulfill and you are not comfortable speaking with the teacher directly, please reach out to the PTO and we will work to resolve the situation.
Help out with Holidays For The Children
- During holiday time, each class adopts a child and collects money to buy holiday gifts. You will be asked to collect funds for these gifts and pass them on to the chairperson of the event. The chairperson will redistribute the funds evenly to each class, and you will be asked to shop for the gifts. You can also ask another parent to do the shopping if you’d prefer. More details on this process will be available in November.
Collect money from class families
- For classroom teacher gifts -- a donation of $10 is suggested.
- For specials teachers - we are beginning a new program to collect for teachers and staff who are often overlooked. Donations will be put into a general fund and distributed proportionately amongst the staff. As is the collection for classroom teachers, participation is optional. More information on this will be available in the fall.
- It’s best to ask for this money early in the school year. It can take a while to collect from every family. You may need to offer reminders multiple times throughout the year. Some parents forget to contribute, or they choose to do so again at the end of the year.
- Venmo seems to be the most popular and efficient way of collecting funds. You can also ask parents to mail checks or cash to your home, or they can put an envelope with your name on it in their child’s backpack. The teacher will put it in your child’s backpack to bring home.
- Consider giving the teacher two gifts with the collected funds -- December and June.
- You may wish to set aside some money to recognize Teacher Appreciation Week. An alternative to a monetary gift is a collection of drawings or messages from the students.
Field Day
- Your teacher may ask you to join the class during Field Day in June, helping students get to their events, cheering them on and taking them to the restroom. This is especially true of younger students. If you are asked by your teacher to attend field day, you do not need to participate in the general sign up.
Grade-Specific Signups
- Most grades have ongoing programs or opportunities for parents to volunteer in some capacity. Sign Up Geniuses will need to be created to manage these volunteer slots. Examples include family dining, learning centers, and mystery readers. Your teacher will provide more information about what is available for your class, and the schedule.
Selection Process
Class parents are chosen randomly by the PTO, with oversight from the administration. Preference is given to those who have not yet been a class parent for their child's class. If you are chosen as class parent for one child, you will not be assigned to another class unless we are short on volunteers and we receive your consent.
**Class parents must attend the first PTO general meeting, which will be held on September 13th at 9am in the cafeteria.
Click here for the Classroom Parent Selection form