Anyone who has ever been a part of a Parent Organization knows their position is simply not official until “the binder” has been officially passed to them. (Here I’m assuming the binder is not with the former chair who just moved across the country mid year). It matters not whether you are the president, the treasurer or a committee co-chair, the binder is your Parent Organization’s holy grail. Now, what you inherit in that binder is completely up for grabs depending on just how organized the previous owner was, and the owner prior to her and so on and so on… You may be pleasantly surprised to discover a model template that offers your the absolute best coarse of action with previous mistakes and mishaps duly noted so never to be made again. It may answer every question you could possibly have cutting your learning curve and time you will spend this year to a minimum. You are in luck. Or, maybe not. Instead you may be totally disappointed to find you have inherited so little to go on that you will be starting from scratch. And by the way, Scratch is a place with deep learning curves, ample opportunities for costly mistakes and lots of wasted time. Wow, where was your luck when you signed up for this committee?
And the real irony in all of this is that if we actually saw our children managing their school work in this same way with school binders in similar states of chaos as many of ours are, we would be completely aghast. Come on, you know it’s true. It would be time to call the parent-teacher conference, start the reward and punishment program, hire the organizational consultant. So what’s the take away on this? It’s simple. We know Parent Organizations exist because we play a vital role in the parent-school relationship. Our organizational skills can make us or break us. Theses skills are what help us work more efficiently and effectively toward all our various goals from promoting communication, to offering enrichment opportunities, to increasing fundraising and even serving healthy lunches. SchoolBee is there for just this purpose. Let SchoolBee take the place of your binder. All you need for storing important documents, archiving notes, sharing forms and minutes and working in committees or groups is right there in SchoolBee.
What’s in your binder that should be in SchoolBee?
*By-laws *Standing rules *Tax Exempt Certificate *Insurance Certificate *Passwords, account numbers, etc. *Calendar of Events *Annual Budget *Annual Audit *Officers and Committee Chair list with contact information *Membership list *Minutes of Executive Board meetings, Committee meetings, General PO meetings *Treasurer’s Reports *Committee documentation including notes on events and lists of volunteers with contact information *Copies of flyers, forms and letters *Copies of newsletters *Contacts info of companies and local businesses* Price quotes and contracts with vendors *End of Year Reports *To do lists with deadlines *Information about statewide and regional events (conventions, area training sessions, legislative days, awards programs, etc.)
There, I think that’s it. SchoolBee is your new binder online.
If I missed something important, let me know.
