The PTA's Web Site

Please read Elizabeth Reichelt’s update on the Rally in Annapolis. Right now. And Write.

March 1, 2010 in Annapolis

Reserve Your Seat on the Bus!!

Volunteer for RPEMS Advocacy

The Baltimore Education Coalition is holding a rally on Lawyer’s Mall in Annapolis on Monday, March 1, 2010 from 6-8 pm. The purpose of the rally is to send a strong message to the State Senators and Delegates that we will not accept cuts to education funding. Our goal is for 100 members of the RPEMS community to attend. Governor O’Malley’s proposed budget includes an additional $30 million for Baltimore City Schools. However, it is up to the State Senate and House of Delegates to approve the budget. Senate President Mike Miller has stated that he intends to cut the proposed budget. It is up to us to ensure that these cuts do not occur. We cannot afford to lose $30 million in additional revenue for Baltimore City Schools.

Register Today for the School Pep Rally and Bus Ride to Annapolis: Sign up online at the RPEMS PTA website: http://pta.rolandparkpublic.org/school-advocacy/.

Maybe I’m the only one fascinated by this stuff, but… After the November School Family Council meeting, I heard lots of parent discussion about the one-year moratorium on new entrants into the RPEMS first grade, and I was curious about how the process works. I realize this issue doesn’t affect those of us already “in” at RPEMS, but as one of my personal panic points about public school is the specter of massive classes, I was very interested to know about the systems in place to keep class size manageable. So,I hunted down some facts on the issue and thought I’d share.

• Each of our four first grade classes currently has between 25 and 27 students per teacher – a significant increase from what was a modest-sized kindergarten class in 08-09, with growth mainly coming from within district.

• The moratorium (for which our school had to apply) covers both in- and out-of-district students, so even a child moving into the district this winter would be assigned to a school other than RPEMS.

• According to the Baltimore City Schools Office of Student Placement, because of the district placement system, there has never been a hard cap on class size in non-charter schools in the City. (Charter schools set a cap during the charter application process – which appears to average 20-22 kids in K-5.)

• At one time, there were size ‘guidelines’ that triggered when North Avenue would approve an additional teacher for a school to relieve overcrowding. With principals more autonomous now under Dr. Alonso, they set their own budgets and hire their own teachers, using both the budget and moratorium application processes to manage overcrowding.

• School administrators review a number of factors in making the decision to apply for a moratorium, including the young age of the students. (Last year’s robust fourth grade, with some classrooms exceeding 30 students, was also evidently closed to new students for much of the year.)

-Katy Couch (mom of Carrie and Lily, Kx2)

I am attaching the PTA survey form we gave out at our October PTA General Membership meeting. I was asked if others who weren’t able to make the meeting have an opportunity to fill it out. Please feel free!
PTAparentsurvey

All family contributions to our school are valued and make a difference. The PTA’s Three for Me program welcomes all families into our school as partners in creating the best learning environment for our children.

The Three for Me promise means dedicating at least three hours of your time to the school over the course of the school year, so that YOU can help strengthen the partnership between home and school for your child.

Please review the following opportunities and consider how you can best use your talents, interests and time. Then, complete the volunteer interest form below and it will be e-mailed automatically to our volunteer coordinator.

If there is something you are interested in doing that is not on this list, please write it down in the space provided with your contact information.

For more information about our involvement opportunities, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Christine Fischel at volunteercoordinator@rolandparkpublic.org. We look forward to working with all of you this year. Thank you for volunteering!

Dear RPEMS Families,

I would like to welcome you to Roland Park Elementary Middle School. As many of you have heard and know, the PTA at RPEMS is a strong body that has historically accomplished a lot for all of the students at Roland Park. This year will only be different in that we are going to hit the ground running early and make this year another historic year. With new faculty members and new parents along with our seasoned ones, we are confident each of you will help make this happen!

In an effort to help with the communication between school and parents, your PTA has provided these folders to each student at RPEMS. One of the PTA’s goals this year is to improve communication within our school community. Our children are better served with enriching programs and services when teachers, administrators and parents have clear, open channels for receiving information. There are great things that go on at RPEMS and we want to make sure everyone is informed.

Another area we are also focusing on this year is enhancing the middle school programming. As you know, we have three different programs in our middle school in which all deserve the same opportunities. To make these initiatives successful we need your support! I would encourage everyone to become a part of the RPEMS PTA. It is open to each and every member of our community.

This year, our PTA Board is made up of the following people who are here to serve our school community by welcoming your input and talents.

Executive President – Susan Engilsh, executivepresident@rolandparkpublic.org
Serves as a liason between parents, teachers, the Principals, her administration and the National PTA. Oversees concerns brought by Elementary and Middle School Presidents, as well as other board members. This will be Susan’s fourth year on the board and second as President.
Susan is Mom to Mather (4th) and Sam (2nd), as well as business owner of My Girl Friday, Baltimore.

Executive Vice President – Karen Saar, executivevp@rolandparkpublic.org
Assists the Executive President in the duties of school liaison. This is Karen’s second year on the board.
Karen is Mom to Elena (5th) and Maddie (2nd), as well as RPEMS faculty member for 18 years teaching both French and Theatre and directing both the Elementary and Middle School after school productions.

Elementary President – Heather Franklin, ElementarySchoolPresident@rolandparkpublic.org
Primary contact for elementary school concerns and responsible for communication with elementary Vice Principal and addressing teacher PTA support requests. This is Heather’s first year on the board.
Heather is Mom to Emily (5th), Robbie (2nd), and Molly (1st), as well as an elementary short term substitute at RPEMS.

Middle School President – Dan Hallerbach, MiddleSchoolPresident@rolandparkpublic.org
Primary contact for middle school concerns and responsible for communication with middle school Vice Principals and addressing teacher PTA support requests. This is Dan’s first year on the board.
Dan is father to Eva (6th) grade and two Roland Park alums Miki and Alonzo, as well as a RPEMS faculty member for 9 years.

Excutive Treasurer – Ann Quinn, ExecutiveTreasurer@rolandparkpublic.org
Oversees all financial transactions for PTA Buisness. This is Ann’s first year on the board.
Ann is Mom to Conor Angel, (3rd)and Griffin Angel (1st), as well as a Senior Vice President for SC&H Capital.

Corresponding Secretary – Miameesha Clapp, CorrespondingSecretary@rolandparkpublic.org
Manages PTA Membership and National PTA correspondence and is responsible for coordinating PTA communication with RPEMS. This is Mia’s second year on the board.
Mia is Mom to Cheyenne (7th) and Kenneth (2nd) as well as a business and marketing consultant.

Recording Secretary – Bobby Marinelli, RecordingSecretary@rolandparkpublic.org
Responsible for recording all PTA business minutes and distribution. This is Bobby’s second year on the board
Bobby is Father to Michael (5th) and Katrina (2nd), as well as Department Head of Science and Engineering at Baltimore Poly Technical High School.

Volunteer Coordinator – Christine Fischel, volunteercoordinator@rolandparkpublic.org
Manages PTA volunteers for school and PTA sponsored events. This is Chirstine’s first year as PTA volunteer coordinator, but she just completed the May Mart volunteer position in the spring.
Mother to Jack (4th), Maisie (2nd) and Tommy (K).

These parents and faculty have volunteered their time to help our students succeed. But they cannot do it alone. That is why we need 100% participation in our PTA from parents, teachers, and alumni! By becoming at member, your support will help continue arts enrichment programming, improve school facilities, and increase resources available for students, staff and parents.

We have made being a part of the PTA even easier this year. We have launched a new website for PTA information http://pta.rolandparkpublic.org. You can go on line to join the PTA, volunteer at school, make a donation and access updated PTA information. Just one more way we are making communication easier this year at RPEMS.

I look forward to working with all of you throughout the school year.

Sincerely
Susan English
PTA Executive President