How are room parents chosen at your lower school?

[Anonymous]

They volunteer at my children's school. If no one volunteers, there's some subtle arm twisting of likely candidates.

[Anonymous]

The head of the LS contacts you over the summer and requests that you take on the job. Kind of hard to say no when put on the spot

[Anonymous]

Do you want to do it OP? If so, let folks know. I only had to do it once when my DD was really little.I forked over a ton of my own money for activities and for teacher gifts. As others have said, it is a thankless job.

[Anonymous]

We're starting our two kids at a new private this fall and I was a little bummed to go to the new parent reception and realize that both room parent roles were assigned last spring before we knew they were available. Not that I have a ton of extra time for volunteering but I was planning to suck it up and get involved in year 1 to get us all better acclimated to the new school. Hopefully next year.

[Anonymous]

There will be many other ways to get involved. I hope your family has a great year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're starting our two kids at a new private this fall and I was a little bummed to go to the new parent reception and realize that both room parent roles were assigned last spring before we knew they were available. Not that I have a ton of extra time for volunteering but I was planning to suck it up and get involved in year 1 to get us all better acclimated to the new school. Hopefully next year.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Also, I think it is better for everyone to know something about the school before you are a room parent. There's no way I could have done it the first year my kid was in a school and I don't think I would have been at all helpful to other families or the kids if I had tried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're starting our two kids at a new private this fall and I was a little bummed to go to the new parent reception and realize that both room parent roles were assigned last spring before we knew they were available. Not that I have a ton of extra time for volunteering but I was planning to suck it up and get involved in year 1 to get us all better acclimated to the new school. Hopefully next year.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Also, I think it is better for everyone to know something about the school before you are a room parent. There's no way I could have done it the first year my kid was in a school and I don't think I would have been at all helpful to other families or the kids if I had tried.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours it's a mafia. The queen bee (head of the PA) hand selects one of her minions to oversee all room parents. If you lobby and court the minion or the bee, you will be selected as the room parent. However, a courtesy email will go out to the entire class asking if anyone wishes to volunteer as the room parent. This makes the process appear transparent.

This is exactly how it's done at our kid's school.

I've been the minion, and let me acquaint you with my perspective. My friend, who is basically taking on a part-time job by heading up the PA, begs me to find room parents (or grade reps in MS and US). I, knowing from personal, hard experience what a thankless job it is to be a room parent or grade rep, gird myself to, in turn, beg anyone I know who might possibly be willing to do said thankless job.

First, I try sending cheery emails ("Hope you're having a great summer! Looking ahead to the school year . . ."). When these fail to yield the required roster of room parents, I fortify myself with a glass of rose (pink for optimism) and start dialing up folks ("Hey -- how are you? I understand Ruby will be in Miss Piggywinkle's class this year . . . " ). I do my best to make the job sound like fun, fun, fun and tell all kind of lies about how other parents will step right up to pitch in as needed. I tell myself that the folks I'm conning will eventually forgive me . . . or not, and, if the latter, hey, I only need to spend the next x years until graduation avoiding them at every school function.

If, at any time during this process, someone were to "lobby and court" me, I would swoon in relief, gratitude and elation, and happily check that class/grade off my list. Then, I would pour myself a celebratory glass of rose and thank God that I myself have only had to be grade rep once in my life!

You are not in a top tier school. We don't care how they do things in Ashburn or Olney.

[Anonymous]

What the heck does a room parent even do???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're starting our two kids at a new private this fall and I was a little bummed to go to the new parent reception and realize that both room parent roles were assigned last spring before we knew they were available. Not that I have a ton of extra time for volunteering but I was planning to suck it up and get involved in year 1 to get us all better acclimated to the new school. Hopefully next year.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Also, I think it is better for everyone to know something about the school before you are a room parent. There's no way I could have done it the first year my kid was in a school and I don't think I would have been at all helpful to other families or the kids if I had tried.

+1

+2. Let me gently suggest that if you are new to a private school and think you would make a good room parent your first year (especially in a K class), you consider taking your foot off the gas a bit and listening a little more before you talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the heck does a room parent even do???

Pick her friends to help with the most fun things. And the coerce lesser (in her mind) parents to do all the grunt work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're starting our two kids at a new private this fall and I was a little bummed to go to the new parent reception and realize that both room parent roles were assigned last spring before we knew they were available. Not that I have a ton of extra time for volunteering but I was planning to suck it up and get involved in year 1 to get us all better acclimated to the new school. Hopefully next year.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Also, I think it is better for everyone to know something about the school before you are a room parent. There's no way I could have done it the first year my kid was in a school and I don't think I would have been at all helpful to other families or the kids if I had tried.

+1

+2. Let me gently suggest that if you are new to a private school and think you would make a good room parent your first year (especially in a K class), you consider taking your foot off the gas a bit and listening a little more before you talk.

What if you are a new parent in a PK class? These responses sound like it some full-time paid job that you need experience in. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours it's a mafia. The queen bee (head of the PA) hand selects one of her minions to oversee all room parents. If you lobby and court the minion or the bee, you will be selected as the room parent. However, a courtesy email will go out to the entire class asking if anyone wishes to volunteer as the room parent. This makes the process appear transparent.

This is exactly how it's done at our kid's school.

I've been the minion, and let me acquaint you with my perspective. My friend, who is basically taking on a part-time job by heading up the PA, begs me to find room parents (or grade reps in MS and US). I, knowing from personal, hard experience what a thankless job it is to be a room parent or grade rep, gird myself to, in turn, beg anyone I know who might possibly be willing to do said thankless job.

First, I try sending cheery emails ("Hope you're having a great summer! Looking ahead to the school year . . ."). When these fail to yield the required roster of room parents, I fortify myself with a glass of rose (pink for optimism) and start dialing up folks ("Hey -- how are you? I understand Ruby will be in Miss Piggywinkle's class this year . . . " ). I do my best to make the job sound like fun, fun, fun and tell all kind of lies about how other parents will step right up to pitch in as needed. I tell myself that the folks I'm conning will eventually forgive me . . . or not, and, if the latter, hey, I only need to spend the next x years until graduation avoiding them at every school function.

If, at any time during this process, someone were to "lobby and court" me, I would swoon in relief, gratitude and elation, and happily check that class/grade off my list. Then, I would pour myself a celebratory glass of rose and thank God that I myself have only had to be grade rep once in my life!

You are not in a top tier school. We don't care how they do things in Ashburn or Olney.

Wow. That's super rude and snobby. What school do your kids go to, so I can make sure to avoid it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At ours it's a mafia. The queen bee (head of the PA) hand selects one of her minions to oversee all room parents. If you lobby and court the minion or the bee, you will be selected as the room parent. However, a courtesy email will go out to the entire class asking if anyone wishes to volunteer as the room parent. This makes the process appear transparent.

This sounds like something out of a movie about mean girls. PP, do you like the school otherwise? Or does the tone of the PA, the queen bee thing, generally extend to the feel of the school?

[Anonymous]

At ours, the teacher asks a few people, usually people who have been at the school for at least a year. We did it one year. It was fine, nothing big. But we do have a lot of other parent volunteers for school and class events, so that's probably why the room parent thing was not such a huge burden.