by Cesse Ip

This school year has brought on a myriad of unexpected challenges to students, parents, teachers, staff and administrators. Additionally, parent/teacher organizations have also had to wade their way through new waters in our new virtual setting.

Here’s a guide for parent/teacher organization contact information, and some of our neighborhood school’s plans to move forward. I reached out to neighborhood DCPS schools, and local charters. This is not an all-inclusive list, so please email me if you’d like your school’s information added!

DC Public Schools

Barnard Elementary (BarnardBearsPTA@gmail.com)
www.BarnardPTA.com

The Barnard PTA board wants to help increase communication across the Barnard community and ensure students and teachers have the tools and information they need to thrive in a virtual environment. We're planning virtual events with leadership at Barnard and are brainstorming virtual fundraisers so we can raise money for the school! More parent involvement can make that fundraising goal a reality!

Brightwood Education Campus
Communicating with parents via text messages, recorded calls and emails in order to keep parents informed and assisting them with Virtual Learning. Each week teachers have a Parent Cafe where they brief parents of Virtual Learning and address any issues or concerns. Principal Chit Chats are held monthly. Parents may sign-up to the lister by emailing dcbrightwoodpta@gmail.com. Monthly PTA meeting will be hosted at the end of October.

Bruce Monroe Elementary (bmpv.ptu@gmail.com)
www.bmpvptu.org

Bruce Monroe’s Parent Teachers United meetings are having virtual meetings, and participation in meetings is a way to learn about volunteer opportunities. They will have their elections for their officers on September 25, 2020.

Dorothy Height Elementary (dhespto1300@gmail.com)

Dorothy Height PTO plans to communicate with families via email and eventually have a virtual meeting to get families involved.

Powell Elementary (powellpadres@gmail.com)
www.powellpadres.org

Powell Padres will hold virtual meetings this year and might align their monthly meetings with well attended school meetings such as the Principal Coffee. They plan to restart their monthly email newsletter for October 1st. Families are encouraged to sign up for their Google Group we encourage them to sign up since that has become very active with distance learning. It is a great way for all families to support each other.

Shepherd Elementary (info@shepherd-elementary.org)
www.shepherd-elementary.org/parents/parent-teacher-organization-pto/

Shepherd PTA will be having virtual meetings this year. They have solicited parents to get involved via their weekly PTA email, and have a shared Signup genius link with various opportunities. The next PTA meeting will be Wednesday, October 21st at 6:30pm.

Truesdell Education Campus (TruesdellFTO@gmail.com)
www.truesdelltrojans.org

The Truesdell FTO plans on holding monthly virtual meetings. They are looking for ways to ensure that their most in need families have support during this time, so they will be leading some online fundraisers where the funds will directly support their families.

West Elementary (PSCO@WestSchool.org)
groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/WestParents/info

Whittier Education Campus (jgwhittierpta@gmail.com)
sites.google.com/view/whittier-education-campus-pta

PTA meetings are virtual on the third Thursday of each month at 5pm. Focusing efforts this year on safe social engagement for students and families with outdoor movie nights, a Halloween costume parade, bike rides and yoga classes, and building a new outdoor classroom space for their youngest scholars.

McFarland Middle School
McFarland has a Family Engagement Committee and is working on getting their PTO off the ground this year.

Roosevelt High School (Shemia.Anderson@k12.dc.gov)
Friends of Roosevelt was founded in 2019 to support the educational experience for students at Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC. They work to support Theodore Roosevelt High School - a Global Studies Campus - to provide students with a full and rich educational experience.

Public Charter Schools

Latin American Montessori Bilingual (pto@lambpcs.org)

Creative Minds (cmifamilies@gmail.com)
sites.google.com/site/cmicfa

The Creative Families Association has a couple of open positions and are looking for parents to join the board. They have virtual meetings, and parents can become involved by becoming grade parents, volunteering to lead or volunteer at events, show up to events, donate, participate in activities, vote on funding priorities, or help in teacher appreciate projects.

EL Haynes (elhaynesfamilies@gmail.com)

EL Hayne’s ROAR (Resources, Opportunities, and Relationships) is planning on having virtual meetings. They have already had one virtual event called “Coffee and Conversation”, which they are hoping will somewhat replicate a monthly gathering in their school lobby at drop-off called Café ROAR, where parents could come, mingle, and have some coffee or tea.

(On a closing note, one of the things that I learned while writing this article was that there are nearly a dozen different names for a parent/teacher organization.)