Room PArent Guidelines
Updated May 2025
Room Parent Role and Policies
Room Parents are PTO volunteers who support teacher needs in Preschool through Grade 4, within the responsibilities below. There will be no more than one (1) PTO Room Parent per classroom. They are assigned by the PTO Room Parent Coordinator.
The PTO Room Parent Coordinator will hold a meeting with all Room Parents at the start of each school year. Attendance at this meeting is required. If you are not able to attend due to extenuating circumstances, you need to let the Room Parent Coordinator know and meet separately.
The primary responsibility of a Room Parent is effective and timely communication from the PTO to parents in the class. They should connect with their classroom teacher at the start of the school year to align on expectations and responsibilities.
Teachers can ask for the support of Room Parents at their discretion for the following activities and needs. Teachers do not have to use Room Parents beyond PTO communications.
When sending any emails to parents in the class, all email addresses must be BCC’d. Room Parents are not allowed to distribute or share class lists (including contact information) for any reason.
Regarding field trips and volunteer organization, Room Parents should get their pick of one field trip chaperone or classroom activity for the year, and beyond that make sure it's opened up to others to attend. If there are more volunteers than chaperone spots, the Room Parent or teacher will do a random drawing to fill them. If there is still a chaperone or volunteer need once opportunities have been opened to other parents or guardians in the class, the Room Parent is welcome to do more than one field trip / activity during the year.
We recommend each Room Parent, in consultation with the teacher, collect funds at the beginning of the school year from families in the class to support classroom supply needs identified by the teacher. Suggested donation is $10-$15 per family, but families are not required to contribute. If a Room Parent does collect funds from the class, they must track the money received and spent in a Google spreadsheet with shared access by the PTO Room Parent Coordinator. They should also let the teacher know how much is in the fund. Any funds remaining at the end of the year can be used for a classroom item(s) requested by the teacher. Gifts to the classroom from the class fund, which become the property of the school, are exempt from the $150 group gift-giving limit.
Room Parents are not required to organize a class gift to the individual teacher and/or para. If a class gift is coordinated, it must be given from the entire class even if not all families have contributed. MA state guidelines about gift giving apply. The PTO maintains a collection of “favorites” for each teacher for gift-giving ideas that will be shared with Room Parents.
If a Room Parent receives a request or concern from a teacher or parent, they should pass it to the PTO Room Parent Coordinator for review and guidance and determination of any action.
If you have any questions at any time, contact the PTO Room Parent Coordinator at [email protected]
The PTO Room Parent Coordinator will hold a meeting with all Room Parents at the start of each school year. Attendance at this meeting is required. If you are not able to attend due to extenuating circumstances, you need to let the Room Parent Coordinator know and meet separately.
The primary responsibility of a Room Parent is effective and timely communication from the PTO to parents in the class. They should connect with their classroom teacher at the start of the school year to align on expectations and responsibilities.
Teachers can ask for the support of Room Parents at their discretion for the following activities and needs. Teachers do not have to use Room Parents beyond PTO communications.
- Organize chaperone sign-ups for Field Trips in accordance with the guidelines below
- Organize volunteers for classroom events
- Share information with parents about classroom supply needs
When sending any emails to parents in the class, all email addresses must be BCC’d. Room Parents are not allowed to distribute or share class lists (including contact information) for any reason.
Regarding field trips and volunteer organization, Room Parents should get their pick of one field trip chaperone or classroom activity for the year, and beyond that make sure it's opened up to others to attend. If there are more volunteers than chaperone spots, the Room Parent or teacher will do a random drawing to fill them. If there is still a chaperone or volunteer need once opportunities have been opened to other parents or guardians in the class, the Room Parent is welcome to do more than one field trip / activity during the year.
We recommend each Room Parent, in consultation with the teacher, collect funds at the beginning of the school year from families in the class to support classroom supply needs identified by the teacher. Suggested donation is $10-$15 per family, but families are not required to contribute. If a Room Parent does collect funds from the class, they must track the money received and spent in a Google spreadsheet with shared access by the PTO Room Parent Coordinator. They should also let the teacher know how much is in the fund. Any funds remaining at the end of the year can be used for a classroom item(s) requested by the teacher. Gifts to the classroom from the class fund, which become the property of the school, are exempt from the $150 group gift-giving limit.
Room Parents are not required to organize a class gift to the individual teacher and/or para. If a class gift is coordinated, it must be given from the entire class even if not all families have contributed. MA state guidelines about gift giving apply. The PTO maintains a collection of “favorites” for each teacher for gift-giving ideas that will be shared with Room Parents.
If a Room Parent receives a request or concern from a teacher or parent, they should pass it to the PTO Room Parent Coordinator for review and guidance and determination of any action.
If you have any questions at any time, contact the PTO Room Parent Coordinator at [email protected]