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2012 – 13 Executive Board
Co-Presidents:
- Nick Gottlieb, ptapresident@ps3nyc.org
- Susan Stover, ptapresident@ps3nyc.org
Vice Presidents:
- Claudia Bellini - claudia_bellini@hotmail.com
- Yin Ho – yin.ho@contextmattersinc.com
Co-Treasurers:
- Liz Craig – liz.craig@yahoo.com
- Anna Rice-Yaffe – annaluna@rcn.com
Co-Secretaries:
- Kate Brady – kate.brady@mac.com
- Samantha Rifkin – Samantha@asimpleinternet.com
Members at Large:
- Nancy Fey – nancyfey@gmail.com
- Denise Pizzini – denisepizzini@gmail.com
- Marion Rosenfeld – marionrose@earthlink.net
- Sue Unkenholz – SueUnkenholz@gmail.com
- Kirk Arrowood – karrowoo@gmail.com
- Mike Rovner – xxltaco@gmail.com
2012-2013 PTA Meeting Dates:
(Tuesdays at 6:15pm in Room 310, except as noted)
Childcare and pizza for school aged children!
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With dwindling budgets from the DOE, parent participation can be what makes a good school into a great school. At PS3, we have an active PTA which works to support and enrich the academic and social life of all the students.
Every public school is obliged by the DOE to have a Parent Association (PA) consisting at the very least of 3 members, a president, treasure and secretary. It is the organization through which parents are able to organized, voice their concerns, get and exchange information and work to support and enrich the academic and social life of all the students.
Membership
Every parent or legal guardian of a student at PS3 is automatically a member of the PTA and each parent is allowed one vote at meetings. Because we value the input of the entire PS3 community, parents at PS3 have chosen to extend membership to include teachers and staff as well, which is what makes our parent association (PA) into a parent teacher association (PTA).
PTA Officers/Executive Board
At the last general membership meeting of the PTA, officers are elected to serve on the Executive Board. At our school, this group consists of the mandatory members of President, Treasurer and Secretary (which can be shared two people making them Co-Presidents, Co-Treasurers or Co-Secretaries) as well as (2) Vice-Presidents and (2-6) Members-At-Large elected from the general membership. One Member-At-Large position is reserved for a parent new to PS3 to be elected at the October General Membership meeting the following year. The Executive Board has several functions.
- the administration of the PTA
- acts as a conduit for information between the PTA and our Principal (and through her, the DOE);
- helps facilitate communication and functioning of various PTA committees;
- creates the agenda for, and runs the PTA meetings
- schedules special membership meetings when needed
- facilitates the creative of committees
You can contact any member of the Executive board if you have an idea you want to propose, or an issue you want to bring up at a general membership PTA meeting. They will put your item on the agenda or direct you to the appropriate committee or help you set up a new committee to explore you idea or issue. The Executive Board does not have any authority to create policy or take actions beyond the basic organizational functioning of the PTA without the approval of the general membership.
Elections
In March, the PTA forms a Nominations Committee and begins the process of finding members to fill the officer positions of the PTA. Any interested parent can throw their hat into the ring by contacting the Nominating Committee (for more details, check out the Nominating Committee page of our website.). All nominees must submit their names by the May meeting and voting occurs at the June meeting. The term of the officers is from July 1 through June 30th. Parent members of the SLT (School Leadership Team) are also elected at the June meeting.
General Membership Meetings
General membership meetings are held once a month usually on the third Tuesday unless there is some greater scheduling conflict. Childcare is provided.
These meetings are meant primarily to provide a summary of PTA and Committee activities, to propose and vote on new business, and to give our principal Lisa an opportunity to update parents on recent developments around school and at the DOE. These meetings also provide a forum for parents to voice their ideas, concerns or questions about what’s happening at PS3. Keep in mind, however, that there is always a lot of business to take care of at these meetings and issues necessitating extensive debate are discussed by the appropriate committee or by creating a new committee where interested parents can site and work out issues which can be summarized and presented at the next PTA meeting.
Proposals to the PTA
Students, parents/guardians, and teachers, are all encouraged to exercise your right, under the bylaws, to submit proposals. Student proposals must have an adult sponsor.
Proposals can be submitted to our PTA co-presidents, Camille or Alison or any member of the Executive Board. They can also be left in the PTA mailbox in the office or they can be submitted to via email to ptapresident@ps3nyc.org. It’s always good to consider working through existing committees if possible and the Executive Board may help you get in touch with an appropriate one.
Here’s an outline of the information needed to get your proposal going. It’s always helpful to submit something in writing to be presented at the PTA meeting. If you don’t have a written document, be prepare to outline the following information to your fellow PTA members.
- Purpose: A clear description of the project including its proposed benefits to P.S. 3:
- Cost Breakdown: A detailed breakdown of the estimated costs: Project submissions will not be considered without this. If this is not easy for you, ask the Executive Board to see if help can be provided.
- Proposals must cover, at most, only one school year. All proposals are assumed to be for the current or next school year only, if multiple years are desired or necessary, this must be stated in the proposal to the PTA.
- Project Coordination: Please explain who will coordinate the project to completion. If any special expertise is involved, please provide qualifications.
- Ideas vs. Complete Proposals: If you have an idea, but do not know how to do all of the above steps, at the meeting you’ll be able to ask other parents or teachers for help.
Committees
Committees are where the nuts and bolts of PTA business takes place and summaries of their activities are presented at each PTA meeting. All committee meetings are open to all members of the PTA, which means any parent or teacher at the school may join. Meeting dates and locations are made available in advance. Many committees meet at regular times each month while others meet only when needed. Of course in today’s technological age, some of the business of the committees is done through email. If you’re interested in being more involved a specific committee, contact the committee head (contact information listed on the PS3 web site and on the bulletin board in the lobby), or just show up at one of the meetings.
School Leadership Team
The School Leadership Team is a collaborative group including parents, teachers and staff and the principal created to develop school-based educational policies. Functioning in a collaborative manner, the SLT assists in the evaluation and assessment of a school’s educational programs and their affect on student achievement. One of the SLT’s responsibilities is to develop an annual Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP) which is a document required by the DOE outlining the goals and objectives needed to meet the needs of students and PS3s educational program. It is through this group that parents can influence the academic goals and philosophy of PS3.
Parent members of the SLT are voted in during the June general membership meeting with nominations submitted at the May meeting. Only parents vote to elect parent members of the SLT. Teachers and staff hold their own elections to select their members.
Communication
At PS3, we have several methods of communication.
Website – We’re trying hard to make the website the go to place of all news at PS3. Here’s some of the information you’ll find on the site.
- PS3 calendar
- Committee meetings schedules and announcements are listed there
- Committee pages describing committees including activities and contact information
- Minutes from PTA meetings are posted on the PTA page.
- Forms to make a proposal
- Scientist/Artist in residence program proposal forms
- Sign up link to receive email reminders of PS3 News
Emails – Everyone wishing to receive email notifications of PS3 news should sign up on the website. The new format should hopefully be more streamline and easier to read.
Bulletin Board – The board in the lobby will have hard copies of information you find on the website including areas for committee news, ways to volunteer, contact information etc. Also on this board will be hard copies of the latest PTA minutes for people to peruse if they miss a meeting. (Past minutes are also available in the parent room (408).
Posters – Posters for committee meetings and special events will be put up around the school.
Backpack Mail – Important information from the PTA as well as from teachers and school administration goes home in your child’s back pack.
Download PTA Meeting Minutes:
2012/2013
September 24, 2012 Minutes
October 16, 2012 Minutes
November 16, 2012 Minutes
December 11, 2012 Minutes
January 15, 2013 Minutes
February 12, 2013 Minutes
March 12, 2013 Minutes
April 16, 2013 Minutes
May 14, 2013 Minutes
2011/2012
Sept. 20, 2011 Minutes
2010/2011
March 2011 (to come)
2009/2010
January 2010 (to come)
Though the PTA is autonomous and self-governing, the Department of Education sets forth a basic governance structure to ensure that the rights of parents, students and staff are clearly established known as the Chancellor’s Regulations. PTAs then create a document outlining the specific way it’s members wish this organization to operate known as the by-laws. These must adhere to the guide lines in the Chancellor’s Regulations but may include more detailed information to clarify operating procedures of the PTA throughout the year. By-laws are reviewed periodically an are amended as needed, either to improve the functioning of the PTA or to adhere to the Chancellor’s Regulations.
Download the Regulations of the Chancellor for Parent Associations