Q: Our PTO is so focused on fundraising that it's turning parents off. As incoming president, my goal is simply to get parents involved in our school community, period. Any ideas?

A: While many schools depend on funds raised by PTOs to pay for supplies or learning experiences such as field trips, there comes a time -- usually late fall -- when parents decide they can't ask their co-workers to buy one more batch of wrapping paper or cookie dough. When fundraising fatigue sets in, PTO involvement can take a nosedive.

What draws parents to a PTO and makes it effective? It's not about the money raised or the hours volunteered, says Tim Sullivan, founder and publisher of PTO Today, an online resource for parents.

"It's establishing a culture where parents ask, 'How can we help make this school a great place for our kids to thrive?'" he explains.

Sullivan shares his list of "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Parents' Groups." The first will not surprise you.

1) Focus on building parental involvement, not fundraising. This means friendly, open communication among parents, faculty, students and the school board, which sends a message -- your group's goal is to support the success of the entire school, not just one program or class.

2) Create family events and long-term traditions that people look forward to.

"Some schools schedule an annual Family Day, Spring Fling or Movie Night and see high attendance because people can plan well in advance," says Sullivan.

3) Be truly welcoming to new parents. Avoid "mom cliques" that scare away newcomers. Make sure to reach out to parents who speak languages other than English.

"Brayton Elementary in Summit, New Jersey, has a Cafe Con Leche Committee. It holds meetings in Spanish that the principal and teachers attend," says Sullivan. "English translation is offered for non-Spanish speaking parents."

4) Let people get involved gradually -- at their own pace. Sullivan loves the Blue Moon Club, created by the PTA at the Thirteenth Avenue School in Newark, New Jersey.

"The name lets volunteers know that they can participate at their convenience, and their contributions are valued regardless of how often they are able to help."

5) Have fun! It's an important element in building involvement.

"Rather than muffins with mom and donuts with dad, the PTO at St. Margaret Mary School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, switched it up -- Zumba for mothers and an obstacle course for fathers," says Sullivan. "The group that plays together stays together!"

6) Put less emphasis on meetings and more on volunteerism. A defined mission and objectives make it easier for busy parents to help achieve them on their own schedule and within their own means. Many PTOs function effectively with a core group supported by members who pitch in when they can.

7) Trumpet your accomplishments; people are attracted to success.

Did your school-wide garage sale raise a record amount? Promote it on Twitter. Maybe your holiday toy drive exceeded projections? Invite the local TV station to tout it on the evening news.

"Make sure to acknowledge publicly all those whose efforts contributed to your success," says Sullivan. "A little thanks goes a long way in keeping people involved."

For more ideas, go to PTOToday.com.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My daughter, a freshman, wants to join her high school robotics club. She struggles with math, so I don't know if she'll find it too hard. What are the benefits of a club like that?

A: Listing all the benefits would exceed this column's word limit! Encourage her to go for it. Her math skills will improve just by being part of the team.

It's likely that your daughter's high school participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition, an international program that organizers call "sport for the mind" and "the hardest fun you'll ever have." Each year, student teams raise funds, design a "brand," hone teamwork skills and -- following precise rules and using limited time and resources -- build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks in a series of competitions.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by prolific inventor Dean Kamen.

"The nation's employers and policymakers were worried about the decline in the number of students taking rigorous science, technology, engineering and math courses," notes Laura London, who worked on the launch of FIRST's competition. "Dean Kamen decided to act. He created a fun, challenging and rewarding program that really draws students in. It's a spectacular success."

FIRST has also created programs for middle and elementary schools.

Most FIRST teams have about 25 students who work collaboratively to solve a design challenge that changes each year. Teams compete regionally, nationally and internationally.

"The competitions are a rollicking good time," says London. "Teams who have worked day and night on their robots are as psyched for the 'game.' Parents, teachers and coaches cheer themselves hoarse on the sidelines."

While building a winning robot is the goal, collaboration and teamwork are key parts of the experience.

"You compete like crazy, but help each other out," says physics teacher Patrick Freivald, the popular leader of Naples, New York, high school squad the Grapes of Wrath. "Once, a team we were about to play destroyed a transmission. They put out a request on the loudspeaker for a replacement. Within the next several minutes, we and at least four other teams showed up with spare transmissions."

Mentors with a range of skills advise the team, but don't take over the project, says Freivald.

"There's a lot of work and it's not all technical," he explains. "Teams not only build robots. They have to raise funds, write proposals, do publicity to engage the community and promote the events, and plan travel to the competitions. Your daughter will find plenty of opportunities to shine."

Are the educational benefits worth the tremendous effort? "Absolutely," insists Freivald. "Dollar for dollar, minute for minute, FIRST is a terrific educational experience.

"Not only do team members learn technical skills such as welding, CAD (computer-aided design) and assembly, they also stretch their minds to tackle a tough problem with not enough time, people or resources, and they do it magnificently. Along the way, they learn marketing, public relations, fundraising and entrepreneurship."

(The 2015-16 competition is now underway. For more information, go to usfirst.org.)

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: At Parent Night, our principal told parents to encourage our kids' curiosity and to welcome their questions. My 6-year-old son asks questions incessantly (and often annoyingly), but my 11-year-old couldn't be less curious. She's like, "whatever." Why the emphasis on curiosity?

A: Sorry to hear about your daughter. A sense of curiosity is not only a key to deeper learning; it also adds excitement and wonder to life. It's not too late to cure her of "whatever."

"Curiosity has a powerful emotional component. It works on our pleasure center," says Hank Pellissier, director of the Brighter Brains Institute. Yet, he notes, children start to lose curiosity between the ages of 5 and 12 because of the lack of listening support from adults. Common curiosity-killing responses are "look it up" or "you don't need to know."

Curious students often do well in school. "I'd argue that the best learners -- a term not necessarily synonymous with 'best students' -- have curiosity in abundance," writes Burlington, Vermont, educator Erik Shonstrom.

How does curiosity help? It makes your mind active instead of passive, and makes you open to and observant of new ideas, says Donald Latumahina of lifehack.org. "When you are curious about something, your mind expects and anticipates new ideas related to it. Without curiosity, you miss them, because your mind is not prepared to recognize them."

There are always new things to attract a curious person's attention, says Latumahina, and "always new 'toys' to play with.

"Curious people have an adventurous life," he added.

Latumahina suggests six easy strategies to help develop curiosity.

-- Keep an open mind. Be open to learning, unlearning and relearning.

-- Don't accept things at face value. Dig deep beneath the surface.

-- Don't label something as "boring." When you do, "you close a door of possibilities," says Latumahina. Curious people always see a subject "as a door to an exciting new world. Even if they don't yet have time to explore it, they will leave the door open to be visited another time."

-- See learning as fun, not a burden.

-- Read widely. Doing so "will introduce you to the possibilities and excitement of other worlds, which may spark your interest to explore them further," Latumahina suggests.

-- Ask questions. "What, why, when, who, where and how are the best friends of curious people," says Latumahina.

Sometimes kids need to get comfortable with the give-and-take of questions. Biophysicist Gregory Stock wrote "The Kids' Book of Questions" (Workman, 2015) to encourage thought-provoking, curiosity-inducing conversation within families.

Inquisitiveness is highly predictive of intelligence, says Pellissier. One 2002 study he cites followed highly curious 3-year-olds and found that at age 11, they had higher academic grades, superior reading ability, and IQ scores 12 points higher than their less-inquisitive peers.

Take it from Albert Einstein. He believed that "the important thing is not to stop questioning. Never lose a holy curiosity."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)