Diocesan PTO Council Fosters Communication

By Maria Gaetano
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 8/22/02)

At some schools, the parent-teacher organization (PTO) is a priceless aid in organizing volunteer parents, fundraising for needed supplies and supporting teachers and faculty in their roles. At other schools, principals have gone so far as to tell PTO leaders to back down and let the principal run the school.

Regardless of which end of the spectrum a PTO lies, involved parent volunteers can receive valuable aid by networking with other PTO members.

Fostering that communication between diocesan school PTOs is the main purpose of the Diocesan Council of PTOs, an extension of the diocesan school board begun in 1996, works closely with the Schools Office.

According to Diocesan Council of PTOs President Jim McAndrews, the council plays a significant role in helping individual school PTOs, which in turn greatly benefit their respective school. The council aids inter-school communication in the areas of fundraising, student recruitment and development activities. The council also provides assistance to school leaderships in the areas of legislative issues of concern to Catholic schools, networking of parents and resources and other school matters.

All Catholic school PTOs within the diocese are invited to join the council and to send representatives to the meetings. Each school PTO may elect one voting representative for the council. Other representatives may attend meetings and participate without voting.

During the last school year, then-Council President Janice Sutera Wolfe created a spreadsheet that documents school size, fundraisers and dollar amounts raised, which has been very valuable in assisting PTOs as they fundraise, said McAndrews. Wolfe also gathered and organized email contact information for virtually all diocesan PTOs, an effort that has paid off in faster communication, lower costs and the ability to easily share documents between different PTOs.

McAndrews, who was vice president last year, said that as president this year, he hopes to build on the base Wolfe started and improve the council infrastructure with a Web site that would link together local PTOs and provide resources and networking opportunities. He also wants "to provide good, informative programs at the meetings that are helpful and of interest to PTO members." The September Council of PTOs meeting will include a "pastor panel" that will discuss the school/pastor relationship and what pastors expect of Catholic schools and vice versa.

McAndrews brings to his presidency a long history of experience in Catholic schools. He attended Catholic high school and received his undergraduate, law and masters’ degrees from Georgetown University. McAndrews has two sons in Catholic high school, a son and a daughter at St. Mary School in Alexandria and a young daughter who will attend Catholic school next year.

As an involved parent of Catholic school students, McAndrews is in tune with local PTOs and parents. "Schools don’t consistently realize the role the PTO plays," he said, "The school is immensely better financially and in academics because of parents. Good dialogue between schools and PTOs is necessary" for the school and for the families. At St. Mary School, he said, 90 percent of the parents participate as volunteers for the school, and the effects are noticeable.

"The children learn better and are more attentive with parents around the school. They realize that school is important to their parents, so it becomes more important to them," McAndrews said.

Dr. Tim McNiff, diocesan superintendent of schools, said that the Diocesan Council of PTOs "facilitates communication on a diocesan level. In working with Catholic schools and parents through the council, the topics have been interesting and the dynamics, great." The council provides McNiff with a chance to dialogue with parents from every school across the diocese, something he said is invaluable to him as superintendent.

Bill Tobin, the council’s legislative liaison, keeps the PTOs informed about legislative developments affecting Catholic schools, especially if a grassroots campaign effort is warranted.

The council meets as a whole three times a year, with additional officers’ meetings held a month in advance to plan the general meetings. For information on the Diocesan Council of PTOs, contact your local Catholic school PTO, or the Schools Office at 703/841-3519. 

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