Another advantage of having it in the cafeteria before school is that if you have multiple kids at the school in different classrooms you to have to rotate or try to split the time.

Also, I wonder how the teachers feei about the disruption/mess to the classrooms. I know one of my kid's classroom is tree-nut & peanut free whereas the cafeteria is not.

Why do some people need to be so nasty? I'm a NP whose oldest child is now in elementary school. I will have lots of questions like this. Sometimes I dont want to email the PTA - I want the scoop on what's really happening. I ask people who've BTDT for answers.

I just noticed this thread - my child's school (the K-2 school mentioned by a PP) did this differently this year and I think it was really problematic. In the past, they did 'muffins for moms' or 'donuts for dads' in the cafeteria before school; if you went, great, but if you couldn't, no one knew or cared.

This time, they invited ALL parents of this huge school - which meant massive parking gridlock - and held the "breakfast" in the classroom (breakfast in quotes because it was only kids grabbing pastries in my child's classroom.) So the kids without a parent there

The school has a distinct racial and socio-economic gap, and it was awful to realize that most of the white kids in my child's class had one or more parents at this event, and almost none of the kids of color did. I'm sure that has something to do with SES and workplace flexibility etc. I went because my child is super sensitive, but even for WOHM with a flexible schedule it was a pain. And worse, it was pointless - we just watched the kids color and then filed out of the classroom when the "breakfast" was over.

So it just seemed like a waste of everyone's time that heightened the divide between haves and have-nots among young kids.

These events are always hard. Op - I totally get your issue. We went to the school you mention. Bottom line - for some folks - like me - to volunteer at school or go to an event unless it is at 7am or 7pm requires me to take leave from work. I am lucky to have the leave to use - but I hoard those hours like a miser for just such events. There is nothing actually free about the quality of the public education your kid receives in Moco. Donating to the pta, attending open house, volunteering, tech night, scheduling extra meetings with teachers to get real and timely feedback... The not-free list is endless........ It just the cost of doing business. What you attend and where you spend your limited leave and money is based on your kids needs. Some kids eat up those events with two spoons, some kids don't notice or care. if you don't have the leave or flexibilty, it just feels awful on a couple of levels. This issue has been around for decades - the awful commute in this region just makes what was once doable into an impossible event for many parents. Be strategic, pick your events and make it up with quality time otherwise for stuff you can't swing at school.

Its tough, it's just never fair, it is certainly not easy, and it's muddling through an inequitable educational system as best you can. Be well.