WANTAGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA COMMITTEE CHAIRS TRAINING

OBJECTIVES Understand the importance of the Chain of Command within the PTA as it relates to the School Administration Familiarize each chair with the contents of their folders Demonstrate how to requisition a room for any event How to utilize tax exempt forms, get seed money and fill out a check requisition How to get a flyer approved How to have an email blast sent to the school or specific group of people How to request a Facebook post How to set up a meeting with Wantagh Elementary School or District Staff

THE CHAIN OF COMMAND WHAT IS IT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FOLLOW IT?

WHY DO WE NEED TO RESPECT THE CHAIN OF COMMAND? THERE MAY BE THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW OR ARE NOT AWARE OF. IT CAN MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR YOUR LEADERS (AND/OR SCHOOL STAFF) IF YOU DON’T CHECK IN WITH THEM BEFORE DEVIATING FROM LAST YEAR’S REPORT. IT’S IMPORTANT TO REVIEW THEM CAREFULLY AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THEM.

WHAT IS THE CHAIN OF COMMAND? A Chain of Command is a hierarchy of leadership that keeps everyone working like a well-oiled machine. As a Committee Chairperson, you are a Leader, however, you cannot lead alone. You have the 1st and 2nd Vice-Presidents that coordinate all of our Committees. They will be your first link in our Chain of Command to whom you will reach out when looking for guidance regarding your committee. They will guide you to reach out to the Co-Presidents when it comes time for approvals and meetings with School Staff.

Do not email the Principal or Elementary Supervisor unless asked to do so by the Co-Presidents. Do not send out any communications without PTA letterhead Do not send any communications out without President and Principal approval Do not send any PTA related email to the staff without prior President and Principal approval Don’t forget that even Teachers make mistakes! Do not arrange meetings with the School employees without having advised the Presidents of said need and the reasons why WHAT NOT TO DO

Some more of what not to do Do not expect others to drop everything and attend to you immediately, especially when emailing or texting. They may not be able to give you their full attention until a later time Do not take home any monies totaling more than $100 Make arrangements with the Treasurer to count any monies collected at any event in advance Don’t expect the Treasurer to be miraculously available to write you a check. It requires two signatures, therefore, it takes time Don’t text or email if it’s urgent. Call instead. Keep in mind that it is not ok to do so between 9:30 pm and 7:00am. Do not expect the website/email/facebook page managers to write what you want communicated for you. That’s not their job. It’s yours. Some more of what not to do

Do exchange numbers with the previous chair to ask for guidance Do have a meeting with your committee early on so everyone has a plan of action Do have all flyers emailed to the Presidents or Overall Chairs for 5th Grade Committees for approval prior to printing Do become familiar with the Messenger List Do give all Teaching staff the priority when using the copier Do send room requisitions ASAP after receiving dates of events . Do this via email (will be covered in a later slide) with a follow-up email (CC Principal and Presidents) Do be courteous to office staff at all times Do be aware that not everyone can manage things the way you do. Please be patient with us. We are all volunteering our time too. Do utilize your committee as best you can. They signed up to help. Try not to leave anyone out. GREAT HABITS If you need more help, perhaps the Work from Home Committee can help out Please call them!

WHAT’S IN THAT FOLDER?! Responsibilities Checklist Memorandum from 1st/2nd VP’s Detailed Committee Chair Description sheet(s) Treasurer’s tally sheet Tax Exempt Form Check Requisition form Last year’s report(s)

HOW TO REQUEST ANY ROOM FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT: First make sure that the Presidents know that you will be requesting a room and give them all the pertinent information so that they can give you the go ahead Then log onto the Wantagh School District website www.Wantaghschool.org Click on the Departments Directory Tab and find Facilities You will see the following: Welcome to the Wantagh UFSD Department of Facilities Director of Facilities: Marty Abrams Contact Information: Abramsm@wantaghschools.org (516) 679-6313 **NEW** Click Here to fill out a Facilities Requisition Form Board of Education Approved Fee Schedule for the Use of Facilities Signed Rules for Requisition Form Click on “Click Here to fill out a Facilities Requisition Form” and fill out the form. Click Here to fill out a Facilities Requisition Form after sending it, make a copy for your records as proof that it was sent. Bring it with you to event!

Technology Needs If you need a laptop, projector, or internet access, you should consult with the Co-Presidents regarding who your point of contact is. This does not usually happen on the Facilities request for AV Equipment online form, as this is for equipment from other schools to bring to Wantagh Elementary. The Principal and Elementary Supervisor have a laptop and projector that they will lend out to our PTA after making an official request through the Executive Board. Our District Technology expert is Penny Curry, when requiring internet access for approved presentations.

Tax Exempt Forms Make a copy in case the vendor needs to keep the one you bring and you have more than a few vendors for your event. These are to be utilized when making purchases for the PTA only. You are not to make personal purchases with this form. You must sign the form as the representative. You must submit a receipt to our Treasurer whether it is to be reimbursed, or to prove that the purchases were made and attach to your report. A Master copy can be found in the Treasurer’s folder found in the top drawer of our PTA cabinet in the main office. If you fail to use the form, you will not be reimbursed the taxes incurred.

Seed Money When running an event in which cash will be exchanged, you may need to get some seed money to have bills to make change Fill out a check requisition form requesting seed money. It depends on the size of the event how much seed money is necessary. Leave it for the Treasurer in the Treasurer’s folder. Please give the Treasurer time to process your request. Don’t wait to the last minute. Easy Peasy!!!

How to Get a Flyer Approved There should be an old flyer for most committees. What’s new for the Fall is that we will email them to you so that you don’t have to rewrite the entire thing. We plan to have all flyers and documentation easily accessible to all committee chairs by the fall of this year. You edit the old ones, or create a brand new one, email a copy to either your lead chair, or to both presidents. You can email all at the same time, and wait for the flyer to be sent by the Presidents to the Principal for approval. If any changes need to be made, you will be given direction unless the Presidents make the changes themselves and forward you the approved copy. A copy will also be forwarded to the Secretary so that she knows it has been approved, and knows that the flyer can be distributed. You will utilize the Messenger List if you don’t need every student to get a copy as in the case of order forms.

Having an email blast sent or a Facebook post made on our site. You can either attach a flyer to an email to be sent to the Co-Presidents with a CC to the Email/Website/Facebook managers. Usually once a flyer is approved, you can plan to do this by Friday of any week so that it can be included in the Sunday (or Monday on holidays) night Group email to all families who have subscribed to receiving them. If something has come up requiring an urgent mass email or fb post, the same procedure is followed with an explanation for the need. Once approved by the Co-Presidents, it will be taken care of. It is not the responsibility of the website/email/facebook managers to write up what you need said. It is yours. Please don’t expect them to do so.

How to Set Up a Meeting with School Staff Please do not arrange any meetings with School Staff for PTA purposes without first consulting with either your Lead Chair (5th Grade) or the Co-Presidents. You need to email both presidents to advise what you plan to do and an explanation BEFORE you actually do it. Then update all relevant parties of the outcome of said meeting. The Co-Presidents serve as a the Principal’s most up-to-date source of information regarding the goings on of the PTA., but only if they are informed.

We are here to help you. We appreciate what you do!

That’s a good start for now. Any Questions? Created by MLoeber2016