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 VicePresidents 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
➢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!
• 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)
WHAT’S
IN THAT
FOLDER?!
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: [email protected]
(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