Room Parent Information
Room Parent Responsibilities & Guidelines
(As outlined by Principal Ralph Viggiano and the RHPTA)
1. CLASSROOM FOOD POLICY
It is the policy of the Montgomery County Board of Education that only store-bought, pre-packaged food be brought into the classroom for parties, snacks, etc. While everyone loves the idea of home-baked cookies, there is no way to control the quality or contents of the food unless it is store-bought with required labeling. Some children have allergies and are sensitive to even traces of allergens in food.
It is a good idea to take a classroom poll of food allergies and make this available to anyone providing food to the classroom.
2. CLASS PARTIES
There are generally three parties celebrated in the classroom which are organized by the Room Parents: Halloween, Valentine’s Day and an End-of-the-Year field day.
Each teacher has his/her own way of celebrating these traditions. Room Parent(s) might want to meet with the teacher to discuss party expectations, including party timing, food preferences, decoration needs, activities, parent participation, etc. Room Parents should arrange for volunteers for each party, communicate teacher expectations, and remind volunteers that all food must be purchased and not homemade.
Birthdays may be celebrated with a special snack donated by the parents of the birthday child (based on the food policy). Parents can contact the teacher directly to arrange a birthday celebration.
3. SOLICITING MONEY FROM PARENTS
Donations can be solicited for the Class Basket (see below) and for parties. For the parties, a lump sum is usually requested early in the year. Keep in mind that you will have to budget this amount to last the entire year.
Please communicate to all parents that donations are strictly optional and that all children will be included regardless of a donation.
Any other donation requests made of the Room Parent should be cleared with the principal or PTA president.
4. SNACKS FOR STAFF MEETINGS OR STAFF BREAKFAST
Each classroom is asked to provide the snack for one staff meeting OR will help coordinate one staff breakfast. The grade VPs are the coordinators for the staff breakfast and will coordinate with the six classrooms.
5. GIFTS TO TEACHERS
Room Parents CANNOT solicit money for any kind of cash or purchased gift for the teacher. Room Parents also CANNOT initiate a purchased gift by a smaller group of parents. Room Parents are asked to clarify teacher gift policy to all interested parents. Individual families may give gifts to teachers, but it is not to be officially encouraged. Teachers love receiving a handmade picture or card from a child. Optional ways for a family to honor a teacher would be to donate a book to the library, software to the computer lab, or something to the science courtyard in the teacher's name, etc.
6. CLASS BASKET
The spring Silent Auction is one of the biggest fundraisers for the school. Every year, Room Parents are asked to organize a “Class Basket” to contribute to the auction. These baskets are popular and bring good income for the PTA!
Unless another parent signs up to do the basket, Room Parents will be asked to come up with a theme, and ask parents to donate an item related to that theme. Donations are optional but encouraged! (Some parents choose to donate a small amount of cash which is used to purchase items for the basket.)
The PTA selects Class Basket Coordinators who will inform Room Parents (or class basket coordinators) about the logistics of getting the class baskets together.
7. CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Room Parents might be asked by the PTA to recruit volunteers for certain events and activities. Volunteer recruitment is generally done by another committee, but there are certain events that require large numbers of helpers (e.g., Super Saturday, held in the spring). Please keep an ongoing mental list of parents willing to help or who have special skills.