Whether due to busy schedules, lack of communication, or all of the above, many classrooms suffer from STP syndrome (the “same ten people”), where the same group of parents end up volunteering. To balance the workload and make it easier on everyone, here are five ways to get parents more engaged in the classroom.

Open up lines of communication.

While it's a great idea to send flyers home, most parents are online and on smartphones/mobile devices, so reach out to them on a channel where you know they will see your messages right away. Talk to the teacher about whether she has a class website, blog, Facebook page or Twitter account, that can be maintained by a parent volunteer to keep the entire class community current.

Make it easy to sign up to help.

 The thought of another year of reply-all emails over whose turn it is to help or who is bringing what treat to the class party makes many parents cringe and paper sign-up sheets can often get lost. Keep it simple this year with free online sign up sheets and parent volunteer calendars from VolunteerSpot—free and easy scheduling, plus quick sign-ups from a smartphone or computer (and automated reminders) equals a recipe for success. 

Embrace parent skills, talents and preferences.

 Class parents have all kinds of hidden talents and skills you may not know about. Get to know your class parents and more of them will get involved! For the working mom who can’t volunteer during the week, but enjoys gardening, instead of asking her to help with the class party during the workday, suggest she water the class garden on weekends. Bonus: she can bring her family. For the dad who finds recess chaotic, but likes art, invite him to help make props and costumes for the class performance. Tip: issue a short survey to parents at the beginning of the year asking about their general schedule, their interests, hobbies and the class activities they look forward to helping with.

Show volunteer appreciation.

Recognizing parent volunteers for their contributions to the classroom is a proven way to encourage them and motivate others to pitch in. Simple thank you notes from you, and when possible, from students, go a long way to show parents they are appreciated.

Encourage feedback from parents.

Encourage class parents who volunteer to send you a quick email about their experience—what did they like, not like, or find to be the best part of their time with the class. Sometimes simple things like letting parents know where to park, breaking kids’ activities into smaller groups, or moving a start time to make it easier for a working mom to pitch in, can go a long way in boosting parent participation.

VolunteerSpot is proud to save room moms and teachers hundreds of hours by simplifying the task of signing up, scheduling, and reminding parents—reducing your busy work and leaving you more time to focus on what’s important. Room Moms use VolunteerSpot to coordinate weekly readers, recess and classroom helpers, holiday parties, field trips, potlucks and more! Take a tour today.