07-304 Geneseo Central PTSA, Genesee Valley Region
As any PTA leader knows, it takes a combination of multiple factors for a unit to be successful, but perhaps most important is having a strong group of dedicated individuals willing to work as a team for all children. For the Geneseo Central PTSA, this past year has shown that effective leadership coupled with enthusiastic volunteerism and community input can mean all the difference. While activities such as the Teacher Appreciation Week luncheon and Science Fair received great support, the elementary school Holiday Shop turned out to be an overwhelmingly positive experience based on feedback from teachers, volunteers and students.
When teacher liaison Kathleen Shoup attended Geneseo Central’s August meeting, she introduced two new events to the calendar and offered to lead them. The Holiday Shop, which was the biggest success of the past year, and the Hero Dance that had 160 RSVPs. When planning for the shop, the PTA proactively decided to fix some of the issues they experienced during previous events, including cost, number of volunteers, and setup. They utilized SignUpGenius for parent volunteers, which provided flexibility by allowing them to choose one-hour slots, and middle and high school representative Meghan Curley coordinated a schedule for high school students to come assist. While some students in younger grades browsed items with the help of volunteers, others were able to shop and purchase gifts on their own, providing a smooth transition for classes. One of the most significant aspects of the event was its inclusivity. True to the PTSA’s mission of supporting every child regardless of their financial status, every student was able to partake, including about 30 of whom whose purchases were made possible by donations. According to president Matthew Kratts, “It’s hard to explain the excitement when students were surprised with the opportunity to purchase gifts for their family.”
As a huge advocate of marketing, Mr. Kratts has been integral in promoting all that the Geneseo Central PTSA does and the results of their events. After every event, he pushes out multiple forms of communication through Givebacks, email and social media, including how much was raised, where the money went to, and how it impacted the school. There are generally lots of photos to accompany the correspondence, ensuring that parents and the community get to see behind the curtain. Minutes are also shared after meetings, as well as a brief summary of the main points. While this method of transparency informs potential volunteers about what is required to plan and execute events, it has also been a great tool to increase teacher and parent engagement.
Beyond the success of the Holiday Shop, the Geneseo Central PTSA has been able to thrive as a unit this past year due to more frequent communication, heightened engagement and participation, and greater collaboration with staff at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Other plans for the future include coordinating with local businesses to create a district calendar magnet and tote bag fundraiser. They would also like to introduce a Raise Craze fundraiser, where students are sponsored to perform acts of kindness in school and throughout the community. In recognition of their efforts, this unit has received the following recognitions: Early Bird Award, Trailblazer Award, Savvy Award.
President: Mathew Kratts
Vice President: Kris Secor
Secretary: Meg Reitz
Treasurer: Jennifer Bennett – Treasurer
Teacher Liaison: Brianne Ramiza-Kratts
Website: https://www.geneseocsd.org/page/ptsa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeneseoPTSA/
Givebacks: https://geneseocs.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true
19-467 Buffalo Community PTA, Western Region
Chartered in May 2022, the Buffalo Community PTA is the first unit of its kind in the state of New York, providing support to parent groups at schools of all levels throughout the city of Buffalo. In the short time since its founding, the organization has been an invaluable resource to parent groups in the area, helping to spread PTA’s mission and increasing awareness of important issues affecting children of all ages. To allow for as many community members as possible to participate, they have committed to holding meetings at various dates and times, and in numerous locations. They have also found that communicating meeting times in advance and sharing spaces with groups whose missions are similar to their own has helped to spur their growth.
President Mae Bynum, who first served as the unit’s Membership Chair, has been integral in spreading the word about what PTA does, why parent involvement is important, and how the Buffalo Community PTA can help bridge the gap for families in the area. She is the organization’s “boots on the ground” and has helped to foster meaningful relationships that ultimately aim to improve student outcomes in the present and future. Their most recent event was a visit to speak with members of the Stop the Violence Coalition (STVC), which seeks to empower and redirect youth in the community by providing resources, service opportunities, and outlets for creative expression. By sharing PTA’s mission, they began a discussion about what the youth need and have begun working toward creating partnerships on various projects. In recognition of their efforts to serve as a powerful resource for all children by growing their membership, the Buffalo Community PTA has received the Trailblazer Award, Savvy Award, and Power of Membership Award from NYS PTA.
President: Mae Bynum
Treasurer: Jill Paterson
Secretary: Gloria Hunley
Membership Chair: Sheika Mack
Website: BuffaloCommunityPTA.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloCommunityPTA/
Givebacks: https://bcpta.givebacks.com/store
05-546 Samoset Middle School PTSA, Suffolk Region
The Samoset Middle School PTSA began their membership campaign over the summer of 2024. First, they participated in an event welcoming new families to the district. Then they set up tables at the 6th grade orientation, giving away free lawn signs to any students who joined. President Cindy Maley gave a speech to the parents in attendance, stressing how much their support was needed, and sent an email to all of their members from the previous year asking them to renew their membership. They hosted a welcome back breakfast for the staff and asked them to join either by scanning a QR code or using the membership forms provided.
In September they manned a table at Open School Night, serving a complimentary cup of coffee to parents and staff to entice them to approach the PTA table. They also hosted several raffles: one specifically for staff members, one just for student members, and one for families and community members. All along they posted on their social media accounts, sharing how close they were getting to their goal and how many more members were needed. Fortunately, they also had the support of their principal and school administration, who not only joined, but also used their weekly videos and newsletter to ask families, students, and staff to support the PTA by becoming members. By October they were close to our goal, but numbers started to plateau, and they needed a big push to get there!
They enlisted the help of a few staff members who agreed to be slimed by their students (who had to be members to participate) if/when they met their goal. They announced the initiative and watched their numbers start to climb again. The countdown was on, as they wanted to reach the finish line quickly and beat the oncoming cold weather to host the sure-to-be-messy event outdoors! Thankfully, they reached their goal in late October! After securing a date that was good for the school, the membership chair worked with the school’s assistant principal to randomly select student members from every lunch period. Then, the staff members who volunteered to be slimed each selected a different lunch period. It was organized in this way so that every student would be able to go outside and watch the sliming! It was such a fun experience, and an event students and staff will be sure to remember for a long time.
President: Cindy Maley
Vice President: Melissa Dolinski
Secretary: Stacey O’Neill
Treasurer: Aman Verma
Membership Chair: Christina Benenati
Website: https://www.sachem.edu/schools/samoset_pta_corner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samosetmiddleschoolptsa/
Givebacks: https://samoset.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true
05-364 Seneca MS PTA, Suffolk Region
Beginning in the summer leading up to this school year, the Seneca MS PTA was hard at work coming up with innovative ways to attract and retain members. These efforts included offering a free magnet for households that purchased two memberships and presenting special “T in PTA” tea bags to encourage teachers and other staff to join. By promoting heavily at orientation events and back-to-school nights, where they shared highlights from the previous year, this unit was able to earn the Early Bird Award.
In addition to communicating with parents via email and social media, Seneca MS PTA utilizes the Remind app to send weekly updates. They also receive a great deal of assistance with promotion from the principal, Mrs. Salvia, and Vice President Heather Stumpf. Membership chair Kelsey LaPort and President Kerry Dodge help keep members informed through Givebacks’ communications on a regular basis.
At the middle school level, creativity goes a long way in keeping students interested and engaged in the work PTA is doing. Some of Seneca’s events this year have included bringing an ice cream man to school, selling Philly Pretzels, and hosting a game show program. They also did heart glitter tattoos and . donned green hairspray to help raise funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which funds pediatric cancer research. Other fundraisers include a school store and the Spring pie sale, in addition to givebacks for all grades in the building each quarter.
President: Kerry Dodge
Vice President: Dena Smagala
Treasurer: Melissa Webster
Secretary: Gina Heyder
Membership Chair: Kelsey LaPort
Council Delegate: Charlotte Green
Website: https://www.sachem.edu/schools/seneca_pta
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/281768575635015/
Givebacks: https://seneca.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true
05-567 Deauville Gardens West PTA, Suffolk Region
The power of membership is in the power of community for the Deauville Gardens West Elementary School PTA in Copiague, NY. From engaging local business owners as sponsors of teacher-only events to offering summer programs that get students and their families excited for the upcoming year, this PTA has made great strides to increase membership and participation.
Starting early helped to get the job done, including having PTA members dress up as the school’s mascot and present gifts to incoming students while recruiting new families at kindergarten orientation. The unit was very intentional about acknowledging their wonderful teachers before school even started, gifting them tea bags affixed with a note stating “You Put the ’T’ in PTA.” They also helped them remain energized for a long day by providing breakfast and an early dinner on Meet the Teacher Night, which was coupled with the first PTA meeting of the year to encourage a greater turnout.
The school’s principal, Mrs. Kristina Biamonte, has been instrumental in supporting the work of the unit, urging teachers and students to join while promoting their events at every school event and via ParentSquare. Digital communication is one of their strongest forms of marketing, including an informative and engaging website created by 2nd Vice President Matthew Eckhoff and Facebook and Instagram pages that showcase partnerships with recognized businesses/donors. These partnerships help to fund PTA initiatives while keeping revenue circulating locally. Membership Chair Katie Ramirez has written grants to obtain funding for various programming efforts and takes photos to document events throughout the year, such as the Fall Festival, Pumpkin Patch, Teacher Appreciation Week, and PARP.
Being transparent has allowed the DGW PTA to garner support in large numbers, according to President Eliana Boyd. “I think people just appreciate where the hard work is being done when they can see it all laid out for them rather than doing it all ‘behind the scenes’ as we have done in the past.” In a primarily Hispanic community, this PTA maintains an inclusive environment where parents maintain open lines of communication in both English and Spanish. This includes a Q&A Thursday that acts as a safe space to address questions or concerns. In the coming months, they hope to obtain more funding through National PTA to continue providing enriching experiences for all students.
President: Eliana Boyd
Vice President: Stephanie Iacovazzo
Vice President: Matthew Eckhoff
Secretary: Cassandra Odom
Corresponding Secretary: Michelle Silveira
Treasurer: Matthew Spinelli
Bylaws Chair: Sheila Erickson
Membership Chair: Katie Ramirez
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/dgwpta/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DGWest/
Givebacks: https://tinyurl.com/dgwmember