Room Parents

Guidelines, responsibilities, and key dates for the school year. (Update this line with the current year.)

Roles Overview

Room Parent Coordinator

  • Facilitates communication between PTSA and teachers/room parents.
  • Provides ideas and support to ensure a cohesive grade-level experience.

Room Parent & Co‑Room Parent

  • Acts as classroom liaison between teacher and parents throughout the year.
  • Communicates class and PTSA events, recruits volunteers, and keeps activities running smoothly.
  • Collects class donations, tracks expenses, and supports yearbook photo collection/coordination.
  • Assists with planning class parties and events under teacher guidance.

Room Parent Responsibilities

  1. Meet your teacher early to align on needs, celebrations, and how they prefer to work with room parents.
  2. Create a welcome letter for families with an intro and the classroom donation request.
  3. Set up a collection process (with two people for checks & balances) and track donations received.
  4. Communicate regularly with your teacher and class; forward PTSA updates from the Coordinator and give ample notice for volunteer requests.
  5. Plan class parties with your teacher, manage budgets/purchases, and update parents after each party on funds remaining.
  6. Attend room parent meetings (orientation and planning sessions across the year).
  7. Recruit volunteers for school‑wide events when asked by PTSA (e.g., Spartan Race, Staff Appreciation).
  8. Coordinate gifts with parents using teacher profiles; class gifts are from the entire class, regardless of donation.
  9. Yearbook: ensure photos from major events and help complete the class activity page (training provided).
  10. Confidentiality: keep classroom observations private and defer academic/behavior conversations to teachers/staff.
  11. Financial transparency: send a trimester report to the PTSA Treasurer and class parents itemizing funds in/out.

Donations are always voluntary. Please communicate that clearly to all families.

Key Areas

Collecting Donations
Decide the contribution request with your co‑room parent; send a welcome/intro letter; account for all funds; communicate expenditures at the end of each trimester.
Class Parties
Work with your teacher to schedule parties, recruit volunteers (including a photographer), and allocate funds appropriately.
Teacher Gifts
Use teacher profiles to plan appropriate gifts for winter holidays, birthdays, and year‑end; give advance notice to parents.
Field Trips
Help recruit chaperones when requested by teachers.
Communications
PTSA communications come via the Room Parent Coordinator; share class‑wide updates with parents and always get teacher approval before sending.

Planning Calendar

October

  • Reflections
  • Red Ribbon Week
  • Halloween

November

  • Veterans Notes
  • Candy Donation
  • Book Fair
  • Food Drive
  • Thanksgiving

December

  • Adopt a Family
  • Classroom Winter Party
  • School‑wide Holiday Event

January

  • Bingo Night
  • Upper Grade Outdoor Education

February

  • 100 Days of School
  • Book Fair
  • Open House
  • Valentine’s Day
  • International Day

March

  • Read Across America
  • Spartan Race

April

  • Spring Carnival
  • Upper Grade In‑Between Talks

May

  • Staff Appreciation Days
  • Irvine Junior Games

June

  • Classroom End‑of‑Year Celebration
  • School‑wide End‑of‑Year Celebration

Check with teachers for classroom‑specific activities and dates.