Programs/Nonfundraising Events: 92% of parents either strongly agree or agree that they were satisfied with the programs/non-fundraising events put on by the PTA this year. Parents' top-5 were: (1) Spaghetti Feed; (2) Book Swap; (3) Carnival; (4) Craft Fair and (5) Parent Ed Nights. This feedback will be very helpful in planning for next year's events.
Fundraising: 97% of parents either strongly agree or agree that they were satisfied with the fundraising by the PTA. The most preferred fundraiser is the Auction, with Annual Giving second. Many commented that they appreciated Annual Giving's increased presence this year and asked the PTA to "step it up" even more next year. That is in the works!
Communication: 92% of parents either strongly agree or agree that they were satisfied with the communication to/from the PTA this year. There were some very interesting comments in response to this question. A couple of folks requested that the meeting minutes be published to the community and/or on the website. For some reason, the state PTA does not allow this. But I see no reason why a detailed summary can't be distributed in the bulletin. Down below, I'll start with a description of what happened at the final PTA meetings last week. The PTA will also do a better job of timely posting hard copies of minutes in the building. A parent also suggested that the bulletin could be a place where more official and policy communications could be distributed (state and OUSD issues). I think this is a great idea. We don't currently have a person whose job it is to troll for this info and present it. If you are interested in being that person, please let Marie-Claude Provencher, Nicole Radlow or me know.
Inclusion in the PTA: 83% of parents felt included and/or welcome in the PTA; 8% didn't know and 7.4% disagreed. The comments here too were interesting:
At least one person said he/she couldn't come to meetings because non-school aged children weren't allowed to come to the babysitting. That's a state PTA rule. But there is no rule that little ones can't come to the meetings themselves, with the bigger children going to AT. Please come with your little ones!
Someone suggested that parents in each class host a potluck at the beginning of the year to create community and talk briefly about PTA's role. I'd be happy to host a gathering next year. Let me know if you'd like to host one too.
A few people commented on the rigid agenda and lack of time to talk at length about issues at the meetings. I agree that's a tough one. If you have any suggestions on this, please tell me. How would you feel about a longer meeting?
One person said the PTA can have an insider feel. I worked hard on that issue this year, and I know there is more to do. Again, I welcome your thoughts. Another person, speaking about the school community generally, stated that we need to push to challenge ourselves to unclique again and again. I agree with that statement whole-heartedly.
Someone suggested that one PTA Board member be designated to receive people's comments/suggestions, as a way to get people involved. I see that as every board member's job, but in particular, the PTA president's job. So between now and June 30, please, please contact me; after that, contact Marie-Claude. She'll be more than interested in hearing from you!
Here's a summary of the last PTA meetings of this year, held on June 4, 2009. The meeting was very well attended-probably due to the food and wine. At the Board Meeting, the minutes of the May board meeting were approved and the Treasurer's Report from April was also approved.
We then talked about the Carnival. Valerie Brock then asked the group what it thought of switching the Carnival from Saturday a.m. to Saturday or Friday from 4-7ish. A major reason for doing this would be to include more people and solicit volunteers, since many families couldn't attend due to sports commitments. People strongly liked this idea, and preferred Saturday. People also talked about the possibility of 5th graders working booths as part of service work. We still need someone to run the Carnival for next year. To entice someone, Valerie has consolidated and updated the instruction binder.
Todd Marshburn gave a Tech Committee update. Rich Trevor has officially passed the tech baton to Todd and others. Thanks so much to Rich for his MANY years of technical service to Crocker. Todd and Jon Cecchettini are updating the Crocker website-look for something new before school starts. If you want to help, contact Todd or Jon. The Tech Committee is/will be also working with Beth and teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. Finally, the Committee is developing ways for school committees to better communicate with each other.
Then, Beth Rhine expressed how excited she is to be coming back to Crocker, and stated she wants to be available for all of the Crocker community. She'll be working a lot over the summer to get ready for the Fall.
One of the things she's doing now is prioritizing and scheduling enrichment programs. She mentioned that she wants P.E., music, computers and library to continue, and wants to increase help during lunch (in the cafeteria and on the yard) and increase intervention/differentiation help. She also would like to bring dance to K/1. She'll work with the PTA budget committee and Board over the summer so that the Association can approve a budget at the September PTA meeting.
Marie-Claude then welcomed next year's Board. The new members introduced themselves. There are a few open positions-if you are interested in getting on the Board, please let Marie-Claude know.
There was then a short Association meeting where the Association voted to approve partial funding of the PE enrichment program. At the earlier meeting Beth spoke about the importance of a separate P.E. program and how since we've had Coach B at the school, the children's PE skills have dramatically improved. The PTA needs to approve funding part of the program now so that it can begin when school starts (before the first PTA meeting). Beth will flesh out final details of P.E. program over the summer and the PTA will vote on funding of the rest of the program later next year. We also voted to approve up to an additional $1,000 for creation of more Crocker swag to be ready for sale at the beginning of the school year. Alex Silverman agreed to take the lead again!
Thanks to all for making this year's PTA president job rewarding and not as hard as I thought it might be. I can't overemphasize the support from members of the board and many, many other parents at the school. I am also so grateful for the dedication and hard work of Katie and Maureen. It was such a pleasure to work with them this year. In particular it was inspiring to see them work continuously for the school as a whole, including making some difficult changes that will help us grow, and to see the love and support they gave individual students and families over the year. We sure were lucky! Finally, I am most thankful to my husband Erik, who encouraged me to take the job and gave me time and support along the way.
Take care, and have a fabulous and restful summer.
Lisa Puntillo
502-5039
lisakp@pacbell.net 