Parent Teacher Organizations/Associations (PTO or PTA) are groups of parents, and often school staff, who meet regularly to support school goals and the interests of students, teachers, and parents. The Dorothy Height Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (DHES PTO) meets monthly and welcomes involvement from all staff and parents. There are no member fees to participate. To join the PTO, fill out this member form. Together the PTO strives to create a community for each of you, your children, their teachers and our school administrators.
What does the PTO do?
- Gives parents, teachers, and staff the opportunity to work together to supplement and enrich the educational experience
- Supports and shows appreciation for the teachers and staff of Dorothy Height ES
- Supports classroom needs of teachers (field trips, supplies, etc)
- Supports the purchase of club supplies (chess club, soccer, gardening club, etc)
- Supports school events like Back to School night, book fairs, field day, musicals, etc
- Runs the finances for the Before Care program
- Runs the uniform swap to keep over 300 uniform pieces equal to about 450lbs diverted from landfills, and thousands of dollars saved by DHES parents.
2024-2025 PTO Board
- Co-Presidents: Stephen Arnold (K Parent) and Alvina Yeh (K Parent)
- Vice President: Darren Whetstone (3rd and 4th Grade Parent)
- Secretary: Rebecca Harrington (1st Grade Parent)
- Volunteer/Outreach Lead: Nkinzi Kalemera (Pre-K4 Parent)
- Treasurer: Open
- At-Large Board Member: Emily Naden (3rd Grade Parent)
Information for new families - the PTO has compiled a FAQ with important information and links.
For questions about the PTO email, [email protected].
The PTO needs you! There are many ways to volunteer with the PTO but we especially need help with:
- Treasurer - reviews and presents a report of expenses/income to the board, supports processing of reimbursements, acceptance of funds, and annual compliance needs.
- Member communications - create ClassDojo, WhatsApp posts, and create/send monthly newsletters. Experience with Canva and email CRMs are helpful but not necessary
- Family Outreach - Outreach and engage with families, especially Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other people of color families
- Translation/Interpretation - Support translation and/or interpretation for languages especially Spanish and Amharic