PTO Today: Parent Group of the Year Contest
PTO Today's Parent Group of the Year Contest is an excellent opportunity to showcase your hard work while giving your school the chance to win cash and prizes. Maximum award: $3,000, plus a free DIRECTV system for the school, installed in up to eight rooms (valued at $3,500). Eligibility: all parent groups -- PTO, PTA, HSA, PTC, etc.; public and private schools; rural, suburban, and urban schools. Deadline: May 31, 2012.

EPA: Sense of Wonder Contest
To honor the late preservationist and ecologist Rachel Carson, the EPA, Generations United, and the Rachel Carson Council, Inc., are holding a photo, essay, and poetry contest "that best expresses the Sense of Wonder that you feel for the sea, the night sky, forests, birds, wildlife, and all that is beautiful to your eyes." In her book The Sense of Wonder (written in the 1950s and published in a magazine in 1956), Carson used lyrical passages about the beauty of nature and the joys of helping children develop a sense of wonder and love of nature. Maximum award: publication on the websites of EPA Aging Initiative, Generations United, and Rachel Carson Council, Inc. Eligibility: entries must be joint projects involving a person under age 18 and a person age 50 or older. Deadline: June 1, 2012.

Free Parents' Guide from the U.S. Department of Education
The U. S. Department of Education has developed a publication, "Empowering Parents School Box: A Tool To Equip Parents For the School Year," that it is distributing free of charge. The school box contains three booklets: What Parents Need to Know, Taking a Closer Look, and Learning Checklists; a brochure: Examples of Resources; a poster: Empowered Parents Stay Involved With School; a bookmark; and a door hanger. The school box provides tips on working with children from birth to high school; guidelines for taking advantage of free tutoring opportunities; steps for selecting a high-quality school; ways to get involved in children's schools; information about financial aid and scholarships; and resources for improving learning. It also includes success stories of schools where parent involvement made a difference.

www.parents4publicschools.com
www.mississippipta.org
www.familyeducation.com