What Are The PTA Committees And How Do They Work?
First of all you're not alone if you're not in love with "committees". The thing is, the word 'committee' is just a name given to a group of parents looking for a way to help PS8 and figure out what needs doing, how, where, when and by whom. So don't be put off by a label. So think of the committees as just a group of parents gathering to figure stuff out and turn ideas into actions that impact the school and the children in positive ways. In fact, while we've spent much time talking above about the executive board, the majority of parents get involved with PS8 through the different PTA committees, and it's here that the bulk of the work gets done. At PS8 there are committees for:
1. Communications
As outlined at the beginning in the PTA mission statement, our community is better able to collaborate when families know one another and share a common sense of purpose that is well informed and equipped with the facts.
Many parents volunteer to help with communications by bringing the particular skills to the table. Our current team includes graphic designers, writers and editors, photographers, interactive/web specialists and others with skills in and a passion for helping improve the flow of information from the school and PTA to the community.
This team of parents, whose efforts are co-coordinated by parent volunteers Susan Sellers and Georgie Stouts, oversee things like the PS8PTA website, the production of Currents and the school handbook, enhancing email communication, plus a plethora of posters, flyers, invites and other materials needed to promote and support school events.
2. Fundraising
Our mission statement also clearly calls out the fact that without incremental support the school cannot achieve its mission, and no team feels the heat on this point quite like the parents who want to help with Fundraising.
Led by parent volunteer Todd Glass, so far this year about $120,000 has been raised to forward-fund vital school programs and investments in 2008/9. The parents on this team have helped take fund raising from events like Read-a-thon and the Spring Auction to record levels. But there remains much to be done -- we may need to raise as much as $290,000 (about $580 per student) to generate the funds needed to support the many things like Teacher Assistants and Enrichment Programs next year, which will be for the for a while with the double whammy of exhausted Magnet Grant funds and potential DoE budget cuts.
Find out more about fund raising HERE
3. Grant Writing
The Magnet Grant is an excellent example of the upside potential for our school of successfully applying for grants from various federal, state, academic and other institutions and businesses. Every dollar counts -- this team, led by parent volunteer Judith O'Driscoll, hunts for funding for specific needs in the form of grant. Help from parents interested in identifying more grant opportunities, lobbying successfully for them and securing the funds is always welcome.
4. Student Enrichment
Enrichment Programs are instrumental in helping the school meet its vision for the children's education. As the Magnet Grant is now exhausted increasingly the PTA will play a key role in both helping our community understand the nature of these programs and collaborate with the fundraising team to help finance them.
In recent weeks this team of volunteers, chaired by Amy Shire and Olivia Sohmer Rosenbaum, has produced snapshots of seven of the programs, now posted on our website, and we hope to cover the rest too.
The programs include:
- The Guggenheim Museum
- Studio in A School
- The Marquis Studios
- The Mark Morris Dance Group
- Bargemusic
- The Rotunda Gallery
- The Brooklyn Center For The Urban Environment
- Chess for Children
5. Hospitality
Parent volunteer Rebecca Smart is the one to thank for making sure that so many of our events are amply supplied with food and beverage for parents and children alike, be that big-production community events or some pizzas for the kids while their parents attend General Meetings.
This is a significant and often taken-for-granted undertaking and we need many more parents to join the crew that caters these events.
6. Class Parents
Parent volunteers Lisa Kopel and Diane Miller help coordinate the efforts of the many Class Parents who volunteer to help the parents of each class stay connected to the news, views, events and developments unique to their child's class.
7. Future Of PS8
The Future of PS Committee, one of the newer groups, was started this school year when the co-presidents of the PTA brought forth to the membership the concept of a committee to give the PTA the opportunity to be proactive in discussing the needs of a rapidly growing school. The membership voted to accept this new committee, and its focus this year has been the space needs of PS 8 in its current configuration as a PK through 5th grade elementary school.
The expertise of current membership is in the area of space planning and in some cases, like team leader Rolf Karl's, in the field of architecture. Additional expertise is needed in areas of public policy and strategic planning. Sometimes this group gets together with members of other important local institutions, like the leaders of the Brooklyn Heights Association, for example, to help look at the outlook for the school in terms of population growth and liaison with local authorities.
8. PS8 Alumni
Parent volunteer Phil Wilentz works with a number of parent volunteers to stay in touch with ex-students of PS8, many of whom continue to like to know what's going on at the school and even help contribute today. There's well over a hundred alumni on the team's database of one time PS8ers and many of them got together last year to mark the school's centennial.
9. Library
Librarian Amanda Green collaborates with parent volunteers to help make the library a successful cornerstone of the children's educational experience at PS8. Parents often do volunteer work in the library itself. The PTA has also helped Amanda by purchasing books and equipment with PTA funds in addition to helping Amanda alert parents to the specific books she needs so that parents can buy them from a wish-list that has been set up on Amazon (go to "
library news" on the website to find out more).
10. Middle School
After PS8 the children go to Middle School. It is the role of the Middle School Committee to research and communicate with parents about the middle school application process. This year the committee is led by Agnes Ceron and Estrella Jimenez. In addition, some parents and community members are working to figure out how they can help PS8 parents by making sure that we have a voice in any organizations or movements related to the DoE's long term Middle School plans for our district. Obviously this is something that affects parents in all primary schools in district 13 and so invariably these parents do a lot of outreach to other institutions, politicians and organizations. Anyone wanting to know more about this should look out for a team meeting and attend one to meet the parents involved.
11. Procedural
At the moment, this isn't so much a committee as it is a parent, Victor Goldblum, who has kindly volunteered to take on the less than glamorous task of making sure that the PTA approach and activities are articulated in the form of bylaws that are coherent and consistent with NYC DoE regulations. Of course, this is a committee that others are welcome to join. Copies of the bylaws are available in the parent's room and at the PTA website.
So, Does The Executive Board Tell The Committees What To Do?
No. The parents who gather in these various committees determine their own agenda, but there needs to be good dialogue between the committees and the executive board to help coordinate everything and keep things aligned with the overall school agenda. Often the committees will need to the board to discuss what is / is not doable / possible and get aligned with the principal too on new ideas and key projects.
The committee spokes-persons, or chairs, regularly come along to the board meetings and general meetings to report on what's going on with their teams and what help they might need. Additionally each of the board members takes on the role of liaison between the board and one or two committees.
What's The School Leadership Team Then?
The SLT is not a PTA committee. It is a governance committee of the school made up of equal numbers of parents and staff (including the principal and teachers). One of the PTA Co-Presidents automatically sits on this committee. Aside from the principal and PTA Co-President, all other members of this committee are elected to the committee by their constituents. Parents elect their SLT members directly following the PTA election at the May General Meeting. The PTA Nominating Committee runs this election as well.
How Do I Get Involved?
Easy.
Just show up at any committee meeting uttering the magic words, "how can I help?"
And / or, respond to one-off requests for volunteers for one-off projects.
Or if you want to know any more about any of this, reach out to the board members (our contact details are on the website) or email ps8pta@gmail.com.
