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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Anonymous wrote:
I signed up as Room Parent in Kindergarten and have been very involved, either as a Room Parent or PTA Board member, every year.

I certainly didn't do it for preferential treatment. I did it to help, and I'm glad I was able to. I know that coming into school and being with a bunch of kids is not a lot of people's idea of a relaxing afternoon, nor is planning a party, or buying snacks at the last minute when they are needed. I'm just there to help the teacher, and I hope that my work shows that I care about the kids, the teacher, the class and the school community. I also think it's important to show my kids that I'm involved at their school. Remember, you are there to help. Let your hard work or involvement be the example that you should be more involved.

Like a lot of posters have said, I think teachers DO pick the known commodity. I think as the years roll on in Elementary School, it not only gets harder to find room parents, but the levels of participation drop dramatically, whether it's monetarily or physical in-class presence. So if teachers need to choose someone who is going to know 3/4 of the parents and they can work personal relationships to get things done, they are going to take the path of least resistance. For what it's worth, I was always given the sheets where people had volunteered to be room parent, and I always reached out to them and asked them to help at parties, planning, etc.

OP, try to get involved and just keep staying involved. Talk to more people, volunteer with them, reach out to the PTA and ask where you can help, and I promise it will be noticed. Any good organization is always looking for new volunteers.

But if there are all these other parents who signed up to help, why would you be room parent for 7 years and for your second child as well? Couldn't you have allowed a friend to be the room parent for at least the last 3 years? My kid's class has close to 100 kids in it and 10 parents at least on the room parent committee. We have parents at our school who push to be room parent, then PTA president in elementary, PTA president in middle, and so on and they try to push others away so they can have even more control. After a while, yes, people drop off, because they don't want to deal with the drama and feel unwelcomed. But really it's what those parents want, at least at first. By middle maybe they change their minds and want some help but others are too discouraged by that point. There are so many movies (Bad Moms is a recent one) where there are these domineering moms who just like to run and control things. It's a stereotype, and many are not like that, but they do exist which is why it's a stereotype. I see nothing to think that OP was rude or distrustful. She's just annoyed at the Gwendolyn like parents at her school.[/quote]

Well, let me be clear - I was totally picked at random to be the Room Parent in Kindergarten. I did it for my first child's K, 1 and 2 year (and 2nd, the teacher had to send out multiple emails to get anyone to do it). I then stepped away in 3rd and 4th when I joined the PTA Board. Someone who had helped me in previous years ended up stepping up when I stepped away and it was very difficult for her to get people to help in any way. I think each school and teacher is different, but I certainly wasn't "blocking" anyone from being Room Parent!

We make a big point at the Room Parent meeting that this should be an all-inclusive and NOT cliquey thing. There are, of course, groups who will tell parents "we're good. we don't need your help" and that is certainly not cool! I was always inclusive and let people help, so I hope I was welcoming and different in that way. But I do know what you mean about the clique factor.

As far as the PTA Board positions go, we don't have a lot of people lining up for these at our school. There are easily 2-3 positions that we have to fill each and every year on the Board, and it's difficult. It's a big time commitment and a lot of time at school, meetings, committees, email, etc. and we try to reach out to parents who have been at school and shown their interest in volunteering. I'd like to think we're pretty inclusive and welcoming. Committee Chairs are even harder. So I think while it may appear cliquey, I think you are probably seeing a small group of volunteers that have to band together to get the stuff done. By March, it's nearly impossible to get anyone interested in anything - everyone is burned out.

So that's why I was suggesting volunteering to the OP, helping where she can and becoming known to the PTA and school community. If her school is anything like ours, they will notice and surely ask how she would like to help out (and she'll probably have a pick of things!!).[/quote]

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