Room Parent Resources

Generally, AES teachers have a sign up sheet at the start of the school year during orientation nights where you can sign up to volunteer time as a room parent. If you do not see a form, reach out to your teacher(s) directly through the TalkingPoints app or email. 

There’s no real ‘job’ description for a room parent. What you end up doing really depends on the teacher, the grade, and the year. Some teachers, especially in lower grades, rely heavily on room parents for things like distributing info, soliciting volunteers, classroom parties/activities,etc. Others don’t necessarily need as much from the room parents. Either way, here are some of the things that you should definitely expect:

• Birthdays/Holidays- Room Parents are typically in charge of making sure the class is aware of the teacher and buddy’s birthday. Some Room Parents decide it’s easiest for the class to pool together and buy a larger gift, others like to let the class do their own thing. Typically the times we think about sending gifts are their birthdays (if it’s a summer birthday, you could always consider celebrating a half birthday), Winter Holidays, Teacher Appreciation Week (in May) and the end of the year. Please ensure that parents know that gifting is always optional. If you decide to do any group gifts, please include the entire class on the card, not just the people who participated, as some families can't always participate.
  
  

• PTA Information distribution-  A Room Parent is a PTA role. There may be times that information needs to be distributed from the PTA quickly, and Room Parents are the best method we have found without adding more to the teachers’ plates. If you get info from the PTA and a request to forward it on, please please please do so!
  
  

• Volunteer Opportunities- If a teacher needs any help in the classroom, field trips, etc, they typically reach out to the Room Parent first. If volunteering is something that interests you, you will need to have completed the Wake County volunteer process. You are not allowed to volunteer in classrooms without the background check.
  
  The process is online: https://www.wcpss.net/Page/55232
  If you want to renew your volunteer status from last year, the application to do that ends on Oct 1st. https://www.wcpss.net/Page/57875
  
  

• Yearbook Photo Collection- If you attend any classroom event/field trip/party, etc, PLEASE take pictures for the yearbook. We currently do not have a yearbook committee and are not sure if we will, so we do have to rely on Room Parents to fill our yearbook with candid photos. (Ask the teacher first if there are any kids not allowed in the yearbook for any reason)

Hello _TEACHER_ Classroom Families!

We have the honor of serving as room parents for __TEACHER__this year!  We look forward to working with you to best support _TEACHER_ while they supports our students!  Please bookmark this email in case you need to reference or contact us throughout the year. :) 

Room Parent Contact Info: 

Room Parent #1: _________ (Parent of _Student Name_) 

Cell: ____________

Email: ___________

Room Parent #2: _________ (Parent of _Student Name_) 

Cell: ____________

Email: ___________

Some important things room parents do:

1) Celebrate our teachers!

Be on the lookout for emails from us about birthday and holiday gifts this year. Donating/gift giving is 100% optional and gifts will be delivered "from the class" so no student is excluded. If you have great gifts in mind, please let us know! 

Our awesome teacher, of course- __TEACHER_

     Their birthday is __TEACHER BIRTHDATE_

     Their Favorite Things __LINK to Specific Staff Favorite Things_

Our “classroom buddy” is ____CLASS BUDDY NAME (Role)___

      Their birthday is ___BUDDY BIRTHDATE__

       Their Favorite Things __LINK to Specific Staff Favorite Things_

All AES Staff Favorite Things Lists are available as well if you have a special teacher/staff in mind. Feel free to reference these for holidays, special events, or just to let them know they are valued at different points throughout the year!

2) Support with any classroom needs or materials 

___LINK TO TEACHER AMAZON WISH LIST___

Feel free to help purchase classroom items needed for our students. 

3) Volunteer Opportunities 

We’ll create sign up sheets to help Mrs. Mehl plan or get support for various classroom activities. With Mrs. Mehl’s permission we will ask for parent volunteers for celebrations or special events.  If you are interested in volunteering, please make sure you register with Wake County Public School System (requires annual renewal). 

4) Take class pictures for the yearbook 

AES does not have a "yearbook club" or editor, so room parents are relied upon to submit photos of the class for the yearbook. Please let us know if you would prefer that your child's picture NOT be shared among the classroom parents or in the yearbook. (In which case we will take pictures of all students during group activities/celebrations, but can add a “photo sticker” over your student’s face for privacy prior to submitting to PTA/Yearbook.)  You can also upload your own photos to the PTA Yearbook page. 

5) Disseminate PTA News 

Be on the lookout for us to encourage your participation in PTA school-wide activities. The PTA website has amazing information and we highly encourage you to sign up for the AES PTA Friday Bulletin if you haven't already.  

6) Encourage parent involvement, student bonding, and a safe space for all. 

We have ___#students__ in our class. Please let me know how I can be helpful to you or your student. We have class allergies to ____list known allergies___. Please let us know of any additional food allergies or dietary needs.