Room Parent FAQ

Your primary role is to support classroom activities as requested by the teacher and act as the liaison between the teacher and classroom parents. The PTA also has a room parent coordinator to help facilitate communications between the PTA and other room parents.

Each teacher has his/her own preference as to how much or how little he/she uses the room parent. Most teachers like room parents to coordinate class parties, schedule duty-free lunches, and help find other parents to help with classroom activities as needed. Please talk to your teacher to determine what he/she wants you to do. You may want to send an introductory letter to your parents with your contact information, notify them of some of any known upcoming class events/needs, and ask them how they are willing to help.  Also, occasionally you are asked to help the PTA with school wide projects such as help recruit volunteers for the teacher appreciation activities, book fairs, field day, etc.

Room Parent Responsibilities

Duty Free Lunch:

Teachers love to have a "duty free" lunch.  A duty free lunch is enjoyed when a parent offers to take the class to lunch and supervise the children during their lunchtime one day during the week.  It is not hard, lasts only 30 minutes, and provides a wonderful opportunity to get to know the children in your child's class.  You may have parent volunteers from your class who would like to do this on a rotating basis. A good tip is to schedule one month at a time and send out reminders the first of every week.

Class Parties:

There are two parties each year, a holiday party and an end of the year party.  The menu for the parties and all school activities must follow the state nutrition guidelines. *(see below for state nutritional guidelines) There are several ways to organize a class party. You can ask parents to donate money or necessary items.  Sometimes it is easier and less expensive to ask for a minimal amount of money and then ask someone who likes to shop to purchase the party supplies. If someone has expressed an interest in participating or helping plan a party, please include him or her.  Your phone call may be just the encouragement and confidence-builder that they need to get more involved! Your teacher is an excellent resource to find out what has worked in the past and, maybe more importantly, what hasn't!

What are TAP Lunches and how do they work?

Teacher Appreciation (TAP) Lunches are designed to provide a special treat the teachers and staff of our school to show them that they are appreciated.  Each class is responsible for helping with the event once a year.  As with parties, there are several ways to go about planning for this event.  As a room parent, you can ask for money donations or for parents to send in food items.  Do what works best for your particular class.  Suggestions of things to have are: pasta or taco bar, fruit trays, soup and salads, veggies & dip, chips & sauce, cheese & crackers, sub platters, trail mix, sweet treats, etc. Please keep it simple and do what works best for you. This event is meant to be a treat for the teachers not a source of stress for the parents!

How should I handle teacher gifts:

If you choose, a class gift can be given to the teacher during the year -- usually at Christmas-time and/or at the end of the school year.  Remember that all families in your class may not be able to afford to contribute very much. Please be considerate of that when selecting the gift and consider the cost of the gift.  Good resources for teacher gift ideas are gift cards to their favorite places to shop or eat, items for the classroom, etc.

Important Points to Remember:

*Nutitional Guidelines:

You may not have carbonated beverages or foods consisting of mostly sugar.

Parents may purchase ice cream cups from the cafeteria for parties.

Snacks Allowed for School / Classroom Activities: