April 2022 Meetings Updates

After a restful Spring Break, we came back and hit the ground running! Your PTSA Board has been busy at work, and we have several updates for you.

1. Thank you to everyone who attended our third and last General Membership meeting of this year. You can find the meeting minutes in the next eNews edition.

• We received updates from our Advocacy Director regarding bills that were recently passed, and some that did not make it. Our Dual Language Immersion Director reported that we are hard at work with schools across the District to ensure our language programs and their pathways are strong.
• We reviewed and voted to approve the PTSA 2022 operating budget (which is completely separate from the Students First Campaign funds). You can find it under the PTSA Home tab on our website. It reflects the fact that in 2 years with Covid we didn’t spend much because we could not have community events. For next year we expect to fund many beloved events that can finally come back. This budget was not created lightly. We discussed it at several prior meetings and concluded that this is the best way to move forward into next year.
• Nominees for the 2022-23 Executive Board were voted on. Congratulations and welcome to Sam Gutierrez as VP, James Eckert as Treasurer, and Tal Lev as Assistant Treasurer!
• We are thrilled to welcome several parents to other valuable roles in the PTSA: Ali Friedman as Fundraising Director. Carol Cruz and Kiwon Seong as Directory Team. Lisa Bowie, Paola Mizrahi, Yuko Watanabe and Meredith as Intern Coordinators. THANK YOU for giving your time and talents for the enrichment of our children’s school experience.

2. Anyone who attended the virtual assembly organized by our Race & Equity Task Force can tell you what a stimulating and informative 90 minutes we had with Rosetta Lee. If you couldn’t make it, do not worry. Ms. Sarah and our eNews team will share the recording of the meeting along with other resources that Dr. Lee shared. A big shoutout to our R&E Task Force for putting together such a great event, and for their continuous work educating our school community on these critical challenges we face as parents.

3. There is always a lot going on with SPS, be it funding, Covid restrictions, transportation shortages, or new bell times. Your PTSA has been attending meetings with district representatives and SPS staff to stay informed and understand how our school might be affected. Some of what we hear will be very positive, some of it we might not like. But getting involved and using our collective voice is how we can make a difference. If you have been thinking about maybe joining us, now is the perfect time! Contact us, check out our volunteer opportunities, share your thoughts and ideas. We are stronger together!