Here are the presidents of the parent organizations at each Hoover school and what they said about their goals for the 2018-19 school year.
Alli Nations
► Bluff Park Elementary PTO
► bluffparkpto@gmail.com , 601-9034
► Goals: Continue with the PTO’s annual teacher tailgate event and teacher appreciation week; sell gift wrapping paper in the fall and put on the Panther Prowl color run fundraiser for kids in the spring; give back to parents with a movie night, Santa breakfast and outdoor fall social for the community. The PTO has always done a lot for grade-level teachers but this year wants to focus on supporting other parts of the school, such as the art program, library, counselor and S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) program, making sure they have the supplies and helpers they need.
Jill Hunter
► Deer Valley Elementary PTO
► jillandchad@mac.com
► Goals: Continue with a family-oriented fundraising weekend in March that includes a mother-son dodgeball tournament and father-daughter dance; also put on a coin drive fundraiser at the end of October; fund the PTO general budget and use whatever remains to enhance the school playground.
Ebony Graham
► Green Valley Elementary PTO
► ptogves@gmail.com
► Goals: Increase volunteerism within our school by improving communication and opening up the opportunity for more parents to participate in the success of the school; have one large fundraising event this year instead of several small ones. Hopefully, this will allow parents not to feel overwhelmed financially by school fundraising efforts.
Tabitha Frazier
► Greystone Elementary PTA
► fraziers@cableone.net, 915-7790
► Goals: Implement more community-type events to build family and neighborhood involvement. The back-to-school Bingo Night bash, a fall movie night on the school grounds, and the January Hot Chocolate Run are fun opportunities for students, families, and neighborhood members to support the PTA and school. The PTO also provides support to faculty and staff through volunteer-supported events such as book fairs, picture days, special luncheons and classroom grants. The main fundraiser, Leave A Legacy, will be in October this year. Some new and exciting things will roll out over the next few months that will serve to enhance school spirit and promote education at Greystone.
Sheli Phebus
► Gwin Elementary PTO
► shelip@hotmail.com
► Goals: Support the school with fundraising and volunteer work to help make sure the school is a great environment for students, faculty and staff. The school has a lot of new faces this year, including students and faculty, and the PTO wants to make everyone feel accepted. The PTO will organize a fun run at the end of September and always helps out with Red Ribbon (drug awareness) week, Veterans Day activities and a holiday shop and breakfast.
Lucas Dorion
► Riverchase Elementary PTO
► lucasdorion@icloud.com, 718-9443
► Goals: Build on the school’s goals identified in the effort that resulted in Riverchase Elementary being designated a Lighthouse Blue Ribbon School last year; strengthen the community feeling at the school with events and fundraisers that allow people to interact with one another, such as the community movie night, which is the biggest fundraiser in the fall; continue with efforts such as the holiday shop at mid-year and a coin drive in the spring; reinforce the school administration’s efforts.
Karen Padgham
► Rocky Ridge Elementary PTO
► Kpadgham1@gmail.com
► Goals: Strengthening support for teachers and staff; welcoming returning and new students, especially new transfers; involving Rocky Ridge parents and families so they can see for themselves about the incredible school their children attend. The fall fundraiser is a Boosterthon glow run in the gym on Oct. 11. Last year, the PTO raised money to install noise-dampening panels for the cafeteria ceiling and replace outdated furniture in the theater. This year, the focus will be on implementing new computer science standards. The PTO also has teacher appreciation lunches twice a year, a back-to-school breakfast and teacher appreciation week at the end of February. The PTO open house is in mid-October.
Rachel Shanlever
► Shades Mountain Elementary PTO
► smes.pto.president@gmail.com
► Goals: Wants to welcome the new principal, Melissa Hadder, and make her feel at home at Shades Mountain; plans to move the PTO’s annual fun run, which is the group’s largest fundraiser, from September to Nov. 2 to have cooler weather; wants to raise money to buy new furniture for the library and heart monitors for the physical education program.
Jobi Richard
► South Shades Crest Elementary PTO
► jobirichardpto@gmail.com or sscpto@gmail.com
► Goals: Working cooperatively with the PTO at Brock’s Gap Intermediate School since the two schools cover the same territory and have a lot of the same parents; make sure parents aren’t overwhelmed since the same parents are now having to support two schools instead of one; have a coin drive in October, breakfast and pictures with Santa in December and a new fairytale ball (since all the students are K-2 this year) in the spring. The PTO budget shrunk from the $50,000 range to the $30,000 range due to a smaller student population this year. Some of the money will go toward a big-ticket project identified by the principal as a need, and some of it will help fill gaps for things like copy paper and bandages for the nursing station.
Beth Wood Culpepper
► Trace Crossings Elementary PTO
► beth.wood.ext@boehringer-ingelheim.com
► Goals: Working alongside Principal Quincy Collins to strengthen the school, whether through fundraising, grants, classroom materials or recognizing teachers for their dedication. The PTO board and committee chairs bring numerous talents and skills to the organization.
Cameron Iversen
► Brock’s Gap Intermediate PTO
► bgipto@gmail.com or cameronpresley@hotmail.com
► Goals: Continue to strengthen Brock’s Gap and support positive changes for the kids, teachers and faculty, under the great leadership of Principal Scott Mitchell; continue with fundraising and show the teachers and faculty how important they are to parents and the children and make sure they feel loved and supported; try to lessen the burden on parents who are having to support both Brock’s Gap Intermediate and South Shades Crest Elementary; have one big fun event and some smaller ones; involve local businesses in fundraising with opportunities for sign placement at the carpool line.
Lesley Hughes
► Berry Middle PTO
► lesleyhughes@charter.net
► Goals: To celebrate and connect the Berry family by bringing everybody together at several events, including the Jag Tailgate on Sept. 20 and the Jag Jog in the spring. These events help foster relationships, stimulate new ideas and allow everyone to show their pride in Berry. The PTO is always amazed at the outstanding and innovative projects developed by teachers and this year wants to exceed the $17,000 in grants given to teachers last year.
Ashley Sutterlin
► Bumpus Middle PTO
► sutterlin4@gmail.com, 573-864-6230
► Goals: Welcoming the sixth grade back to Bumpus; updating the media center, which is the heart of a school, and making it more functional for 21st century learners.
Tracy True Dismukes
► Simmons Middle PTO
► tracy@shopcollage.com
► Goals: Welcoming the estimated 270 new students and more than 20 new teachers coming to Simmons this year because of rezoning and helping them feel more comfortable about coming to Simmons, even if they are leaving other friends behind; assisting administration as needed. The PTO will kick off its annual “Easy Button” fundraiser, which allows parents to write a check and be done with fundraising, on Aug. 20. The first 200 people that donate $100 or more will get swag bags full of gift cards, coupons and promotional items for more than 30 businesses that support Simmons. The fundraising goal this year is $22,000. The PTO hopes to raise enough money to fulfill all classroom grant requests from teachers.
Rhonda Cantelow
► Hoover High PTSO
► rcantelow@yahoo.com
► Goals: Hopes to give about $6,000 in grant money to teachers with money raised from membership fees and donations; to continue to support and welcome new teachers and administrators.
Amy Luther
► Spain Park High PTSO
► the5luthers@charter.net, 369-9753
► Goals: Increase parent engagement, work with the principal to uncover how to best support the faculty and staff throughout the year, and provide teachers with more than $10,000 in donations to enhance students’ classroom and learning experiences.
