Creating a 2011-2012 Program of Work

Contributed by Nicole Ruge, National Consultant Team, Georgia

As this time of each school year, we hold our end of the year banquets and elect officers for next school term- this is also the time we need to start thinking about our Program of Work. The Program of Work is not something that should be a burden for you as the adviser; one way of ensuring this is to sit down with your newly elected officers and come up with an outline or plan for the direction the students would like to see the chapter go next year. If they are having a hard time doing this, you may consider taking a poll of all members to learn about their needs and passions.

Your students, especially those leaders in high school, are very capable of setting up their own outline for what they want to accomplish in the next year. You may want to break it down with a few guidelines to help make the process easier for them. Here is a list of how we work out our Program of Work:

1. I give my students an outline of the year with State and National Meetings and Deadlines. This way we don’t overscheduled the deadline times.

2. Add in any items you already know you will be required to do or activities you always do (examples: Valentine Dance or hosting dinners).

3. Come up with the school’s top concerns for the year. What National Programs help address these concerns? What time of year would it be best to address the concerns?

4. Add in any membership drive and membership retention activities.

This will be a great start to your program of work. Enjoy planning for next year.