Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Dear Greene Families,
Thank you for your support during these unprecedented times, first with Covid-19 and the Shelter-In-Place order, and now with the nationwide awareness of racial inequality. This is a uniquely challenging year. We are learning to adapt to this new world. Thank you for meeting all of these challenges with open minds and optimism.
Here is short recap of our PTA contributions during 2019-2020:
Volunteer Hours: For this truncated school year, our parents put in 1262.9 hours to support our school’s community! And, we know this number is on the low side because many of you just show up to lend a helping hand for our school and PTA – THANK YOU!
Donations: In 2019-2020, the Greene PTA received ~$179K in donations. THANK YOU!!
Almost 70% of your donations went to support students at Greene.
Top 3 categories:
~$46,000 for Technology, e.g. desktops, iPads, Chromebooks + charging carts, printers, smart boards, etc. Your donations to the PTA helped pay for the replacement of 32 desktop computers in room E6, 30 iPads, and 270 Chromebooks. Equipment replacements are metered to smooth out turnover.
~$33,000 for Teacher Supplies. Each of our 120+ Greene staff members is eligible for a PTA grant of $500 max to spend on classroom needs. Teachers used this fund to purchase equipment and supplies to directly benefit your children’s education. Items purchased by teachers included headphones for chromebooks, microphones, magazine subscriptions, classroom books, supplemental supplies for classroom instruction, etc.
~$28,000 for Arts and Enrichment. The biggest chunk of this category goes to the deep cleaning and refurbishment of school instruments, which occurs over the summer when instruments are returned. Your donations also funded materials and tools for Industrial Tech, clay, paint, and paper for Art, and the food for the Cooking classes, etc.
Another 5% went to Staff Appreciation This year, we hosted 2 Luncheons for the entire staff: Back to School and Valentine’s Day. Also every month until March, we treated Greene staffers to a Latte Cart and bagels from Izzy’s.
PTA Community/ Events came in ~20% of our spending, for all of our PTA programs and events: Back To School Social, Cotillion Dance, Parent Education seminars, Parent Network meetings, Just Parties Kick-Off Party, Ice Skating Parties, International Potluck, including the revamped Promotion Party which became Promotion Gifts. Due to the school closure, your donations to the Greene PTA contributed $50 per 8th grade student for a package of promotion gifts, including a contribution of $5000 to Palo Alto Community Fund‘s Covid-19 fund as their promotion gift back to the community.
The last 5% went to “Admin” which is mainly a split between the bank/credit card fees (a.k.a. PayPal) when purchases are made through our webstore and for school printing/postage fees.
With so much uncertainty in the next few months, the incoming Executive Board of the Greene PTA is still brainstorming and planning for the next school year, examining PTA programs, events, and budget for alignment with our community’s needs. We believe community-building and supporting mental health will be prevalent themes in our offerings.
Lastly, we hope that you continue to care for yourself and your family over the summer. Thank you for being a part of this wonderful school community and child advocacy group. We wish you a restful and splendid summer with your loved ones.
With the Warmest Regards,
Greene PTA Executive Board 2019-2020
- Ann Balva, President
- Valerie Rainey, EVP
- Jason Oliger, Secretary
- Nidia Lin and Brigid Farrell, Treasurers
- Karl Garcia, VP Communications
- Michelle Zhang, VP Parent Ed/Network
- Carine Schultz, VP Fundraising
- Johanna Ehrlich, VP Events and Appreciation
- Rebecca Eisenberg, Parliamentarian
06/09/2020 editor’s note: Post was edited to correct several errors in grammar and one to accuracy.
