Irvington PTA

WHAT IS PTA?

The Irvington Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a partnership between parents/guardians and educators who care about supporting the learning of all students. We meet once a month, online, to talk about what events are going on, how to spend funds raised to support students and teachers, and planning fun community events.

WHY DOES PTA MATTER?

Gentrification has changed our once diverse neighborhood. What sets Irvington PTA apart is the willingness to keep racial equity, non-binary and neurodiverse perspectives at the forefront when making decisions, but we don’t always get that right. We remain curious about the needs of EVERY student, but without representation, we cannot be certain our intentions are truly equitable.

Post-Covid, we have many volunteer positions available for activities and community engagement events we put on yearly. Some of these events will not be possible this year; some will take on a different approach. Our biggest fundraiser is our Auction. Held in the spring, it is the main source of fundraising for our yearly budget. The auction pays for school supplies, reading supports, field trips, community engagement events, after school activity scholarships and has even allowed us to support staff positions. Last year, much of our budget supported the Westminster Learning Pod, in conjunction with the YMCA.

HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED?

A great way to stay involved is to stay connected. Our work is on a volunteer basis and if you want to help, opportunities will arise at the meetings. If not, ask how you can get involved. If you’re not sure how you want to be involved, talk to a board member. Everyone has a place here; we can help you plug into something that feels right for you. Contact ptapres@irvingtonschool.com for more information.

Join the PTA

PTA is a great way to connect with other families, make a difference in our school and build our community resilience. This year is unlike any we have experienced and we need your voice at the table. Our goal is to support students in learning and teachers in teaching. For all of our students to be successful, we need YOU!

The fee for membership is $12.50 if you join online and membership is good for one school year. If this is in any way a hardship for your family, please let us know. No family will be prevented from joining because of funds.

2021-2022 General Meeting Schedule

This year’s PTA meetings are on the following dates and are currently conducted via Zoom:

September 13, 6:00pm – 8:00pm, Zoom

October 11, 6:00pm – 8:00pm, Zoom

November 1, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, Zoom

December 6, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, Zoom

January 10, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, Zoom

February 9, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, Zoom

March 7, 7:00 – 8:00, Zoom

April 4, 6:00 – 8:00, Zoom

May 2, 6:00 – 8:00, Zoom

June 6, 7:00 – 8:00, Zoom

Meeting Minutes

Site Council

How do schools improve? One way is through the efforts of the Site Council. In 1991, the State Legislature created the 21st Century Schools Councils (also known as Site Councils) to ensure that various stakeholders were all involved in decisions relating to their school’s continuous improvement efforts. The Irvington Site Council consists of 7 teachers, 1 staff person, 3 parents/guardians, 1 member of the community at large, and the principal. The Council is responsible for developing and implementing ongoing school improvement initiatives and staff development plans, and monitoring the progress made under the plans. Parent/Guardian representatives are elected positions. Site Council meets once a month.

Current parent representatives are Chelle Casey-Stevenson (wrekless@mac.com), Shawn Helm (helm.shawn@gmail.com), and Thomas Coleman (twc9551@msn.com). Teacher/staff/administration members include: Jody Burkholder, Dick Cherry, Katharine Johnson, Lisa McCall, and Regina Sackrider.

To read the site council’s meeting minutes, visit Our PTA.

PTA Officers

We’re proud and lucky to serve this year as your PTA officers, committee chairs and event coordinators. If you’ve ever thought about a leadership role yourself, don’t hesitate to get in touch to find out more about what we do. PTA leadership is a great way to meet other parents and families, get to know our school’s amazing staff and teachers and become deeply involved in creating a community where all of our kids can thrive.

PTA Committees

Committee Descriptions

Extracurricular Activities Coordinator
Work with extracurricular programs to provide students a wide range of opportunities for enrichment. Organize that information and make it available to parents. Contact pta@irvingtonschool.com

Scholarship Committee
Irvington PTA maintains a scholarship fund to defray the expense of fee-based extracurricular activities that take place at the school (band, language and dance classes etc.) Scholarships are available for students who qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Volunteers are needed to promote the availability of scholarships and process scholarship applications. (Volunteers do not receive or review any financial information from applicants.) Contact: scholarship@irvingtonschool.com.

School Directory Editor
The parents of the PTA create the handy school directory you receive each fall. If you can help to put it together, contact pta@irvingtonschool.com

Tech Committee
Oversee the coordination of our school’s technology committee. Work with an already formed group of teachers, PTA parents + district staff. Contact: admin@irvingtonschool.com.

Volunteer Coordinator
Coordinate the database of parent volunteers. Contact volunteers as needed and work with committee coordinators to assist in volunteer recruitment. Contact: volunteer@irvingtonschool.com.

Website
In addition to the district’s official website, Irvington volunteers created this website as a resource for our school community. At specific times during the year, volunteers are needed to add content. To find out how you can get involved, contact admin@irvingtonschool.com.