Jefferson School PTA

Your PTA

Every child, one voice.

Jefferson has a very active PTA, and there are many ways you can get involved. Don’t hesitate! You can improve your child’s education by participating at Jefferson.

Monthly Meetings

Join us at the next PTA meeting, normally scheduled on the third Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00pm in the library. See calendar for specific dates.

Note: Child care is provided. Attending a PTA meeting is easy and your kids have a good time.

If you can’t attend a meeting, minutes are posted to the PTA Meeting Notes page.

Joining the PTA

Membership in the PTA is free. To join:

1. Download the membership forms here: Membership form English 2015-16 or Membership form Spanish 2015-16 .
2. Turn it in to the green box in the main office or your child’s teacher.

Questions? Contact the membership coordinators.

PTA Activities

Last year, parents and guardians contributed to the school community in many ways, including:

• Organizing over 10 community events, which are fun for the kids and adults too!
• Fund raising was record breaking and much of it was due to our parents’ and guardians’ initiative. These efforts allow us to fund important programs such as PE.
• Running after-school enrichment programs so our kids can take art, chess, Chinese, dance, science, and music lessons.
• Forming an African American and a Latino families group to improve our outreach and address the needs of these communities.
• Beautifying our school through the efforts of Project Color and the garden.
• Supporting our teachers through stipends, volunteering in the classroom, helping with field trips and special projects, and much, much more!!

We see the impact of our efforts when we see our children enjoying the Mayfair carnival, walking all ten laps in the walkathon, painting a mural, and just enjoying and learning from all the programs we are able to assist with. Without the PTA, our school would not be as strong and effective. We could not do any of this without you! There are many opportunities to help out this year, whether you have a few hours a month, a week, or over the course of the year.

PTA Events

The PTA puts on many popular community events throughout the year including Halloween Fun Night, Reading Night, Cultural Night Potluck, Family Art Night, Math Night, the Mayfair, Juneteenth, Kindergarten-First Grade Play Date, and Graduation.

See the calendar for information about upcoming events.

Supporting Our School

To learn about the budget and how money is raised and spent, attend a PTA meeting.

Raising Funds

To learn about the many ways we raise money at Jefferson, visit these pages:

• Fundraising without spending a dime page
• Donate Now page

Attend PTA meetings for detailed information.

Contacting the PTA

Email or Phone:

For general questions or information, contact the PTA co-chairs.

If you have a question or suggestion about a specific event, contact one of the committee or event chairs.

Mailing Address:

Jefferson School PTA

P.O. Box 9584

Berkeley, CA 94709

School Main Office Drop-Box:

If you have a suggestion, write it down and put it in the PTA box in the main office. Some of the best ideas have come to the PTA in this way.

In Person:

Come to a meeting!

PTA Suggestion Box

Your suggestions and inventiveness make this PTA a success. If you have ideas about how the Jefferson PTA could make our school an even better place to be, do one of the following:

• Contact the PTA co-chairs.
• Contact the person in charge of the event or group. See list of coordinators here.
• Write down a suggestion and drop it off in the PTA box in the main office.

Every event that the PTA does, every action that it takes, is the result of someone making the suggestion: “Why doesn’t the PTA do …” Our school is blessed with many individuals who give generously of their time. Your suggestion on how to strengthen our community can use those skills and abilities.

One hundred years ago national PTA founder Alice McLellan Birney said, “Let us have no more croaking as to what cannot be done; let us see what can be done, and above all see that it is done.” That brisk philosophy still drives the PTA today. While the methods may change to make us more responsive to the demands of an electronic era, the underlying principle does not – “every child, one voice.”

PTA Communications

The PTA sends out a monthly newsletter and regular announcements by email.

Also PTA meeting minutes are posted to the PTA Meeting Notes page.

See those pages for more information.

Request PTA Funding

To request PTA funding for your project, do the following:

1. Download the Request PTA Funding form.
2. On the form, provide a full project budget showing all revenue sources and expenses.
3. Email the form to the PTA Chairs and Treasurers at least 14 days before the next PTA meeting.
4. Forms will be reviewed as received and placed on the next PTA meeting agenda for a full membership vote.Note: Ten days notice to membership is required for a PTA budget vote.
5. Your request, along with Board review and notes/questions, will be emailed to membership 10 days prior to vote.
6. Questions? Contact the PTA Chairs or Treasurers.

April and May PTA Budget Meetings

Attend the May PTA meeting to vote for the PTA budget for the following school year. You must be a member and present to vote.

In preparation, the April PTA Meeting will focus on:

• Overall funding for the school
• The budget process
• The school site plan
• Details of existing and proposed programs at the school

To ensure everyone’s questions are answered before the voting in May, PTA members are encouraged to submit questions or discussion topics by the morning of the April meeting.

When the PTA Board gets these questions, they will

• Remove names of submitters
• Assemble a list of questions and topics for discussion at the PTA meeting
  Note: The PTA Board may combine questions or edit the list to facilitate the discussion.

To submit your budget question:

1. Compose your question or describe the topic.
   Please strive to make your question clear and, if you have multiple topics, separate each topic.
2. Email your question to the PTA Chairs
   OR
   Print it out and drop it in the PTA Box in the school office by the morning of the April PTA Meeting.