At our private the teacher asks a few people. If you volunteered for room parent, I bet you'd get a warm reception. So few parents are willing to volunteer these days.

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 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?

Our public is like that, and felt I was in a bad movie.

Isn't this what "Bad Moms" is about?
Beyond depressing.

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

At our school they help organize field trips and find parent chaperones for the trips and plan interesting events for the kids - like rounding up a parent with a musical talent to come in and demonstrate the musical instrument for the kids, or having someone come in to explain various religious or other holidays, etc. Room parents are also supposed to be a resource for other parents in the class who have questions.

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 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?

Our public is like that, and felt I was in a bad movie.

Anonymous wrote:Usually they beg people to do it. Not many takers.

+1 Sad, but true. It usually ends up being the same group of parents asked to volunteer, over and over again, for room parent and other volunteer roles.

I thought this was just because our school was small but my friends at bigger schools have told me it's basically the same thing at their schools too.