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07/28/2020 12:00 AMThe Clinton PTA has elected the new leadership team that will be in charge of the organization for at least the next two years.
At a virtual meeting on June 24, the PTA elected Heather Moore as president and Abby Roccapriore as vice president. Outgoing president Valerie Nye will serve as treasurer and Kathy Tessman as secretary.
Additional board members elected include Maria Moran as teacher liaison; Laura Colebank, who will handle business sponsors; Liese Zitzkat, who will handle communications; and Emma Alvarez and Karin Gosselink as at-large members. Abby Eydman, Clara Franzoni, and Aurora Smith will be student representatives.
Moore said she has been a board member of the PTA for the last four years and was interested in becoming president when the position opened up due to Nye stepping down.
“I love that the PTA reaches all schools, teachers, and administrators. A lot gets done and a lot gets brought up because of the PTA,” said Moore.
Moore said that the PTA has several areas on which it wants to focus its energy. One area is the mental health effects from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to know how being isolated affected kids as well as parents,” said Moore.
Another area of focus will be debating what changes to the curriculum—if any—the PTA should recommend that the school should make.
“We’re looking at discussions at what’s going on with the Black Lives Matter campaign,” said Moore.
Moore said that the PTA will discuss how the schools can be more inclusive of cultural histories and if any changes are should be made to the school’s curriculum.
“It’s about getting a feeling from students and parents about what they think,” said Moore.
Moore noted that the PTA does not have the power or authority to make changes to the curriculum, but offered that the organization does have the ability to engage with faculty on conversations. Moore said the PTA is in a unique position in that the organization is able to hear concerns and thoughts from parents, and then relay those concerns to people in the school.
“What I’ve always seen is that it’s been a great relationship,” said Moore.
When most people think of the PTA, they likely think of fundraisers and stereotypical bake sales, though that’s not what the Clinton PTA is about, according to Moore. Instead, she said the organization works to support the mission of providing the best education possible for the students in the schools.
“People think that being a PTA member means we’re going to for a bake sale or need to be super involved. We’re just a collective group of parents working with people in the schools,” said Moore.
While the PTA works to further the educational and social goals of the schools, it does not fundraise. Fundraising is done by other groups in the district.
According to a PTA press release, “Additional positions on the board and currently open include membership, and programming. Participation at any level is welcome and encouraged.”
The Clinton PTA formed in 2008 and is now about 200 members strong according to Moore. Like most organizations, the PTA has been conducting its business via Zoom meetings and finding new ways to recreate itself. More information and updates can be found on its website, clintonpta.org.