Cleveland Public School: Keeping the Walk When the PTO Was Gone

On the Friday after the 2026 walkathon in Cleveland, Minnesota, teachers in inflatable costumes raced around the school's new gym. The students had earned it, and the way they earned it changed because the school's PTO no longer existed.

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A tradition that outlived its organizer

Cleveland Public School, in Independent School District 391, has held a walkathon for eight years. It began as an event sponsored by the elementary PTO. Then, as the district put it, "after the PTO dissolved, the school took over the Walkathon." In September 2026 the district reported that the walk, now run by the school, "raised over $12,000," surpassing its goal.1

Losing its organizer could have ended the event. The school kept it, and the district's article is candid about what changed when it stepped in.

Money held by a district comes with rules

"With the transition of our funds from the PTO to the school, there are some limitations on how the money can be spent," a staff member explained.1 A parent group can usually decide for itself what to buy. Funds held by a public school district follow district purchasing and spending rules. Even so, the list of uses is long: outdoor play equipment, student assemblies, book fairs, elementary technology, field trips and more. Midway through the year, the school plans to restock the recess ball carts, because recess equipment wears out.

From individual prizes to a goal everyone shares

The handover "also led to a shift in focus from individual prizes to incentive levels": school-wide milestones where, when one is reached, "every single student enjoys the reward." The top level was tied to the $12,000 target itself and unlocked the teacher race.1 So the goal and the best reward arrived at the same moment, and the whole school knew exactly what it was working toward.

The article doesn't list the lower levels. A school building its own ladder can borrow the shape: put the top rung at the goal, space three or four rungs below it (at $3,000, $6,000 and $9,000 on a $12,000 goal, for example; those are our numbers), and pick rewards that cost time rather than money, such as extra recess, a pajama day or a principal's dare. Announce each rung as it falls, so the campaign has good news along the way instead of only at the end. Rewards like these suit a school that can't easily buy individual prizes: everyone gets to watch, nobody is ranked by what their family gave, and the cost is a few costumes. Our prize ideas page has more shared incentives.

One staff member carrying it

Without a PTO, someone on staff has to own the walk. The district's article credits its assessment coordinator as "the heart behind the Walkathon."1 That's the quiet lesson of Cleveland's story: an event survives a handover when one named person takes responsibility for it. If your school takes over a parent group's walk, decide who that person is before the first planning meeting, and give them the old group's files, sponsor contacts and supply lists, not just the date.

Designing an hour on town streets

Students walked laps "for an hour around the streets near the school" on a Thursday, on a route planned for walkers from preschool through sixth grade while local construction was underway. The district described the details: volunteer crossing guards lined the streets, shortcut options alongside the streets gave tired younger walkers an easier way round, and older students started first, with younger classes joining after. Students in grades 3 through 6 "were given the freedom to run or walk at their own pace," while younger classes stayed together with their teachers. High school students took part too, warming up before the event.1

Staggered starts and built-in shortcuts are a practical answer to the problem every street walk faces: a mix of six-year-olds and twelve-year-olds on the same loop. The safety checklist covers crossings and supervision.

If your parent group is winding down

Cleveland's experience points to the questions to settle before a school takes over a parent group's walk:

  • Who will hold the money, and what the district's rules allow it to buy. Ask the business office before setting the goal.
  • Who will issue donor acknowledgments. A district's process differs from a parent nonprofit's; see receipts and taxes.
  • Which incentives are still possible. If individual prizes are harder to buy, shared goals carry the motivation.
  • Who can restart the parent group later, and what they'll need to take the walk back. The PTA and PTO guide covers handoffs.

Sources

  1. Cleveland Public School (ISD 391), Walkathon raises over $12K for elementary programs (September 22, 2026; accessed October 19, 2026).