Our PTSA
We are the families of RSAR. Our mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
Executive Board
Co-Presidents: Mitchell Almaguer-Bay & Kate Thibodeau president@rsarptsa.org
Secretary: Tracy Groves secretary@rsarptsa.org
Treasurer: Irina Fedorova treasurer@rsarptsa.org
Co-VP, Membership: Megan Selitrennikoff VPMembership@rsarptsa.org
Co-VP, Events: Sharon Mason VPEvents@rsarptsa.org
PTSA Forms
Why Support Renaissance School PTSA?
When the Renaissance School of Art and Reasoning needs help, it asks the Renaissance School PTSA.
For what? In past years, for example, we have contributed to funding camp, bringing traveling exhibits to the classroom, subsidizing performance costs, providing stipends to teachers handling extensive extra-curricular responsibilities, hosting BBQs and family events, funding field trips (both school-wide and by grade, variously dance or theater performances, museums, natural history or environmental education), and so on. This year, we have allocations to support those and other programs, including:
- Musical theater production in early May (show chosen by student vote).
- Writers in the Schools (WITS) program, in which working authors teach and mentor students through weekly, in-person sessions.
- Northwest Art Project, in which art from world-class artists (last year’s artwork included pieces by Dale Chihuly, Mark Tobey, Jacob Lawrence) is displayed in the classroom, with PTSA volunteer docents sharing artist biographies, providing context for the work, then leading students in art projects inspired by displayed pieces; plus
- Teacher materials, teacher trainings, art supplies, campus beautification, student assistance fund, and costs of storage for performing arts supplies (sets, costumes, equipment, props, etc.).
The RSPTSA, in turn, depends on you.
LWSD Choice middle schools were established with the understanding that they would need an especially engaged and supportive community of families to be successful. With this design in mind, all Choice schools ask for a commitment from families that includes both financial and service components. At Renaissance, these commitments take the form of a minimum $250 family contribution and a minimum 25 volunteer hours per year. By virtue of our PTSA being a 501(c)(3) organization, contributions are typically deductible. By directly asking for the $250 family contributions, the Renaissance School PTSA is able to avoid ongoing fundraising efforts throughout the year.
Now for the tough talk. Only 57% of families have paid their Family Contribution so far this year. Surprisingly, income from corporate matching, a “free money” benefit from many local employers, is at less than 10% of budget. At this level of funding, some of the promises we have made to support student learning, enrichment, and social development are at risk of going unfulfilled.
We certainly recognize that not every family, every year, has the means to meet this financial commitment, so our budget assumed only that most families would pay, and that community size would be fairly robust (approx. 89 families). As the school rebuilds after the pandemic and subsequent teacher turnover, enrollment has been reduced, limiting the pool of possible contributions. This makes every dollar donated to the PTSA important.
If you can, and haven’t yet, please consider making your Family Contribution of $250 here: https://rsarptsa.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/42. If your family lacks the resources to fulfill the family contribution, we can waive that commitment, and you may contribute any amount within your budget. Please reach out to Mitchell or Kate at president@rsarptsa.org, Martha at mdaman@lwsd.org, or your student's guild teacher.
Although joining the PTSA isn’t a large source of fundraising, it is an indicator of commitment to your child’s education and to providing them with an enriched experience at Renaissance. By joining the PTSA, you have voice and vote in setting priorities and determining how resources are used to support students and Renaissance. There is no added expectation for volunteer service beyond the minimum 25 hours (or donation in lieu) that all families should meet. Unfortunately, only 48% of Renaissance families have joined the PTSA at some level of membership. Please consider joining the Renaissance School PTSA to have a voice at meetings and a vote on its decisions.
