Template

PTA meeting template

Parents and teachers, once a month: what the school needs, what is coming up, and who is helping.

60 minutesFor PTA and parent group chairsAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. Welcome and last month's minutes5 min
    • Is anybody here for the first time?
  2. Principal's and teachers' update12 min
    • What does the school need most from parents this month?
  3. Money raised and spent8 min
    • What did the last event raise, and what is it for?
  4. Events coming up12 min
    • What is the date, and what is still not sorted?
  5. Volunteers needed8 min
    • Which jobs take an hour, and which take a term?
  6. Anything parents want to raise15 min
    • What should the school hear tonight?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

School update. The library needs readers on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Money. The autumn fair raised $3,140, for the playground fund.

Volunteers. Six needed for the book sale on the 12th; four signed up tonight.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Online onlyForty-five minutes, with the volunteer sign-up sent as a link during the call.
First meeting of the yearAdd introductions and the plan for the year.
When the principal cannot comeAsk for the school update in writing beforehand and read it out in two minutes.

When to skip it. In a month with no events and no spending, send a short update instead.

Questions

What happens at a PTA meeting?

The school gives an update, the group goes through money and coming events, asks for volunteers, and parents raise questions.

How long should a PTA meeting be?

An hour at most. Shorter if it is online.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Parent-teacher conferenceTwenty minutes about one child: what is going well, what is hard, and what home and school will each do.Committee meetingFor any committee that has to decide things properly: minutes, reports, motions and votes, with a record at the end.Town hall meetingA public meeting where people who are affected ask the people who decide — with a fair turn for everybody.Book club meetingA book club evening that gets past “did you like it?” — with a turn for everybody and the next book chosen before people leave.Volunteer team meetingFor a team of volunteers: thanks first, then what is coming up, who can do what, and nothing that could have been a message.Office hoursPeople bring questions; you answer them live, and the answers are written down for next time.HOA board meetingFor a homeowners' association: the money, the repairs, residents' questions and the votes.User research interviewOne customer, in their own words: what they were trying to do, what they did, and where it went wrong.

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