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Elementary PTA officers meet to pool their knowledge
By STEVEN A. SIMON
© St. Petersburg Times, LUTZ -- High school rivalries have been known to get pretty heated. Even at the middle school level, interschool competition can be intense. But if a meeting last week is any indication, the same does not hold true at elementary schools. Board members from six northwest Hillsborough County elementary school PTAs convened on Tuesday for a third annual event that has come to be known as "The Gathering." About 30 volunteers from Claywell, Essrig, Lowry, McKitrick, Northwest and Schwarzkopf openly shared fundraising ideas, copies of newsletters and other information. "It wasn't always like this," said Elizabeth Vasquez, PTA president at Northwest, which hosted the event in a cheerfully decorated portable classroom. "Presidents used to be off-limits, and cooperation between schools was very rare." Instead, camaraderie was evident throughout the two-hour meeting, as participants shared their "best" and "worst" ideas. They discussed more than a dozen topics, including organizational structure, public relations, Dad's Clubs, yearbooks and fifth-grade graduations. A common concern was how to attract volunteers and log volunteer hours. The latter is a greater problem. Schools receive grants and awards for donated hours, so knowing how much time volunteers serve is important. While area parents are extremely generous with their time, they are either too modest or too busy to always log in the hours. Teacher Appreciation Week also generated much discussion, as the volunteers discussed how to keep these events manageable without giving the impression that teachers are not greatly appreciated. With better planning, they concluded, these activities might even grow.
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