Howard F. Ambrose School Parent/Teacher Organization By-Laws: Revised May 2010

ARTICLE I: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The Co-Presidents Shall:

A. Preside at all meetings of the Organization and of the Executive Board.

B. Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chairs and appoint committee heads for The Organization whose appointment is not provided for otherwise.

C. Be a member, ex officio, of all committees.

D. Be a member of the Parent’s Inter-School Council which meets once a month with other PTO presidents and the Superintendent and report to Executive Board.

E. Be empowered to act for the Organization between meetings of the Executive Board.

F. The Co-Presidents’ position shall consist of two people serving staggered two year terms to insure that the transition to a new term of the Executive Board runs smoothly.

G. Be committed to ongoing daytime and evening responsibilities.

H. Assist in the coordinating of the annual Ambrose school directory.

Section 2. The First Vice-President shall:

A. In the absence of both of the Co-Presidents, perform the duties of that office.

B. Assist the Co-Presidents as needed.

C. Work closely with the Room Parent Chair.

D. Work closely with the Enrichment Chair.

E. Work closely with the Publicity Chair.

F. Will coordinate grant requests as needed.

G. Coordinate Teacher Appreciation Week activities.

H. Attend monthly Executive Board meetings.

I. Assist in nomination of incoming Committee Chairs.

 
Section 3. The Second Vice-President shall:

A. In the absence of the First Vice-President, perform the duties of that office.

B. Attend School Council meetings and report to the Executive Board on these matters.

C. Be responsible for assisting the Ambrose School Principal with the preparation and distribution of the Howard F. Ambrose School handbook.

D. Attend monthly Executive Board meetings.

E. Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chairs.

Section 4. The Secretary shall:

A. Record the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board and all meetings of the Organization and forward copies to all presiding Executive Board/Committee Chairs and the principal prior to the next Executive Board meeting.

B. Arrange posting of minutes on school website.

C. Keep all records of the Organization pertaining to the minutes.

D. Attend to the official correspondence of the Organization

E. Keep a copy of the By-Laws.

F. Notify all Board members of Board meetings at least one week in advance of meetings through school notices or email.

G. Notify members of Organization meetings at least one week in advance by email/website and post flyers around school as a reminder.

H. Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

Section 5. The Treasurer shall:

A. Have charge of all Organization funds.

B. Receive all monies for direct Appeal and/or Fundraising contributions for purpose of depositing only.

C. Pay all bills and authorized disbursements.

D. Make reports at all Executive Board meetings, quarterly Organization meetings and the Annual Meeting.

E. Following the close of the fiscal year on August 31, prepares a summary of the year’s financial results.

F. Make an ongoing time commitment throughout the school year.

G. Based on each committee’s revenue and expense estimates, prepares the

annual budget and tracks performance vs. budget throughout the year.

H. Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

 
Section 6. The Charitable Status Coordinator shall:

A. Assist in duties of the Treasurer

B. Keep track of all federal and state filings pertaining to a 501c3 status.

C. Keep track of all filings to maintain 501c3 status.

ARTICLE II: STANDING COMMITTEES

 
Section 1. Standing Committees shall be as follows:

A. Community Outreach

B. Educational Technology

C. Enrichment

D. Field Day

E. Fifth Grade Activities

F. Fundraising

G. Health and Safety

H. Hospitality

I. Library

J. Literary Lunch

K. Mentor

L. Nominating and Newcomers

M. Publicity

N. Publishing

O. Room Parent

P. Social

Q. Web Communication

 
Section 2. Each Standing Committee Chair shall:

A. Attend Executive Board meetings to report on the activities of his/her committee.

B. Appoint additional committee members as necessary.

C. Submit all bills to Treasurer.

D. Keep a written record of the duties and activities of his/her committee and pass this record on to the succeeding committee.

E. Submit a report of the year’s activities to the Co-Presidents prior to the end of the school year.

F. Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

Section 3. Duties of the Standing Committee Chairs:

A. The Community Outreach Chair shall:

1) Oversee plans of Community Service Projects for Ambrose Community.

2) Oversee communication with Special Needs liaison to Ambrose Community.

3) Oversee the liaison between Parent to Parent and the Ambrose Community.

4) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

B. The Educational Technology Chair shall:

1) Work with town wide technology coordinator and the Ambrose Staff/administration to assess the school’s technology resources, needs, teaching and learning.

2) Assist the Ambrose Library/Technology Specialist in soliciting and Coordinating parent volunteers to staff the Computer Lab.

3) Coordinate and execute the Keyboard Class.

4) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

C. The Enrichment Chair shall:

1) Report to the Executive Board of the Organization monthly.

2) Work with the Ambrose School Principal and/or teachers to promote and coordinate enrichment programs for Ambrose students.

3) Provide Enrichment schedule to PTO Co-Presidents so they may coordinate with Publicity, Fundraising, etc.

4) Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

D. The Field Day Chair shall:

1) Assist teacher coordinator in planning and implementing all aspects of annual Field Day which takes place in June.

2) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

E. The Fifth Grade Activities Chair shall:

1) Whenever possible, be the parent of a fifth grade student.

2) Be responsible for all fund-raising efforts for activities that are exclusively available to fifth graders, including the end-of-the-year party and the promotion activities. Such efforts, however, shall be with prior Board approval and shall not be in conflict with any other fund-raising

efforts by the Organization.

3) Be responsible for assisting the Ambrose School Principal and staff with planning and implementing any activities exclusive to the fifth grade, including the end-of-the-year party and promotion activities

4) Be responsible for recruiting volunteers for the Transition to McCall Middle School Team.

5) All Fifth Grade Activities funds which are not spent by the close of the school year for which they were raised and/or budgeted remain in the bank account and are used for a 5th Grade Gift to Ambrose School. This account is handled by the Chair person and not the PTO Treasurer.

6) Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

F. The Fundraising Chair shall:

1) Submit to the Executive Board suggestions, plans, and anticipated expenses for any fundraising projects.

2) Be responsible for the preparation and execution of any fundraising projects voted by the Executive Board

3) Send out Direct Appeal letters before the start of the school year to current Ambrose families.

4) Receive all Direct Appeal funds, compile and give to Treasurer to deposit.

5) Write thank you to be placed on website and an acknowledgement letter to each family participating for tax purposes. Maintain confidential records of all contributions for one year and pass along to successor.

6) Purchase and sell products for school store (i.e., sweatshirts, hats, etc.)

7) Oversee the Box Top project and coordinator.

8) Assist in the nomination of the Committee Chair.

G. The Health and Safety Committee shall:

1) Work closely school Principal on traffic safety and parking issues.

2) Work closely with school nurse regarding children with allergies. Confidentiality is imperative.

3) Work closely with school nurse and physical education teacher to plan and execute Health Fair.

4) Work closely with school nurse and district to facilitate distribution of health and safety information through the website or other means, as necessary.

H. The Hospitality Chair shall:

1) Plan and serve luncheons on first day of Fall and Spring conferences.

2) Plan and serve Holiday Breakfast.

3) Responsible for expressing Organization’s best wishes, gratitude or condolences to a member of the Ambrose staff/administration.

4) Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

I. The Library Chair shall:

1) Be responsible for recruiting and scheduling, volunteers to staff the Library, and be responsible for inventory at the end of the school year.

2) Be the liaison between the School Department Library Specialist and the Ambrose School volunteers.

3) Help to coordinate fund-raising for the library and/or library-based enrichment such as the Book Fair.

4) Assist with Coordinator of Literary Lunch

5) Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

J. The Literary Lunch Chair shall:

1) Be responsible for coordinating lunchtime book discussion groups for grades 2-5.

2) Coordinate committee members to help with groups.

3) Choose books, discussion topics and activities related to the book.

4) Assist in nomination of committee chair.

K. The Mentor Chair shall:

1) Organize and coordinate volunteers who will match interested fourth

and fifth grade students with adult mentors in order to complete an independent project in a field of the students’ choice.

2) Coordinate all aspects of mentor night with School Principal, i.e. date, location, space, refreshments, volunteers, tables for special projects

3) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

L. The Nominating and Newcomers Chair shall:

1) Solicit participation in the Organization by writing and distributing a letter to all Ambrose families describing the duties and responsibilities of

the Parent/Teacher Organization Executive Board and Standing Committees.

2) Work with the members of the Committee and Executive Board to prepare a slate of Officers and Standing Committee Chairs to be elected at the Annual Meeting. This slate shall be distributed to all Organization members two weeks prior to the Annual Meeting.

3) Present the proposed slate of officers to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting.

4) Contact new families to welcome and provide information

5) Assist office with kindergarten orientation and related social events as needed

M. The Publicity Chair shall:

1) Be responsible for all publicity deemed necessary by the Executive Board including the bulletin board in front hall.

2) Coordinate and execute the Class Photo Day in September of each school year.

3) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

N. The Publishing Center Chair shall:

1) Be responsible for selecting and scheduling committee members to work in center.

2) Be responsible for keeping area clean, supplies replenished and filing of catalogs.

3) Make sure work to be done does not sit longer than one week.

4) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

O. The Room Parent Chair shall:

1) Appoint at least one room parent for each home base area in the school and request his/her assistance for Organization projects when needed.

2) Act as liaison between the Executive Board and room parents.

3) Create electronic list for distributing email messages to room parent coordinators. May be requested by principal, PTO co-presidents or others to forward time sensitive information.

4) Coordinate a meeting of all the room parent coordinators at the beginning of the school year to review activities and responsibilities, which shall include, but not limited to:

a) Emergency contact procedures, including coordination of forms returned to school secretary

b) Parental consent forms for the directory/class lists, photographic consent forms

c) Parent meeting at the start of the new school year to provide an opportunity for them to get to know one another

d) Supporting the teacher, including coordinating class trips, soliciting volunteers or collecting funds for projects, gifts, etc.

e) Create electronic list for distributing email messages. May be requested principal, PTO co-presidents or others to forward time sensitive information.

f) Coordinate refreshments and collect direct appeal donations at curriculum coffee

5) Coordinate Welcome Back to School Gift at beginning of each school year.

6) Assist in nomination of Committee Chair.

P. The Social Chair shall:

1) Plan and implement all social activities for Organization members and their families, including events such as family picnics, skating party, etc.

2) Coordinate the Sports and More after school program.

3) Assist in the nomination of incoming Committee Chair.

Q. The Web Communication Chair shall:

1) Work closely with the School Principal to organize and maintain the Ambrose school website.

2) Coordinate weekly electronic communications

3) Coordinate production and distribution of school directory, including posting on website

 
The PTO By-Laws were amended on June 3,2009 and May 26,2010.