PTO leaders for 2020-21 school year announced

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An integral part of Vestavia Hills City Schools is the relationship between parents and teachers, helped along by each school’s PTO. Here are the leaders for each school’s PTO for the 2020-21 school year:

DARCY GLASGOW

Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I have always been one of those involved parents and love to manage special events, plus two of my friends/neighbors were members. When my friend asked me to not only join but take on a committee lead role, it was an easy yes.”

► What are your goals for this year? “Of course, I want to raise as much money as possible for our teachers to use for special requests, but another goal of mine personally is to bridge the gap between remote learners and traditional students. My twin boys will be remote learners this first semester, so I feel like I am in a special position to empathize with other remote parents and help everyone still feel part of the Cahaba Heights Elementary family. I look forward to utilizing Facebook and Membership Toolkit to provide info on school happenings, so that those at home stay informed. We will also be hosting our PTO monthly meetings via Zoom so that everyone can attend, no matter where they are, and will have volunteer opportunities that parents can do at home.”

LAURA BRANTLEY

Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I initially got involved in PTO simply to be helpful at my child’s school. Over the years, I have been able to see how much the PTO does for our schools and the important role it plays. With Dolly Ridge Elementary opening in 2019, I thought it would be a fun and exciting time to take on a larger role and have the opportunity to work more closely with our administration and teachers. Getting to be a small part of building community at our new school has been a huge blessing.”

► What are your goals for this year? “My goal as PTO president at Dolly Ridge this year is to build on what was started and created last year. The unique challenges Dolly Ridge faced as a new school opening gave our administration, teachers and parents the opportunity to build a strong community of supporting and being there for each other. Now in the face of COVID-19, that strong community will be more important than we ever realized.”

LAUREN HAYES

Vestavia Hills Elementary East

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I chose to serve on the PTO because I love everything about VHEE, and I wanted to return the investment that VHEE has made in my family over the past seven years. I have thoroughly enjoyed linking arms with many hard-working parent volunteers and dedicated VHEE staff members. Together we are expanding our strong community while also contributing to the educational goals established by our administration. This year will provide a unique opportunity for us to accomplish our goals in the midst of an ever-changing environment, which, to date, has been a challenging but very rewarding experience.”

► What are your goals for this year? “First and foremost, it is my desire to ensure that our school community feels the love and support from our parent leadership every step of this journey, as they nurture, teach and grow the precious children who we have entrusted to their care. We hope to implement several creative, minimal contact, out-of-the-box fundraising platforms this year that allow us to continue funding educational programs and projects at the same level that we have traditionally maintained. We will continue to improve upon the warm, friendly culture felt by all who enter our school, specifically those families and faculty that are new to the East team. Lastly, we will continue to support the wonderful Vestavia Hills community that has faithfully supported our school over the years, thus demonstrating our respect for our school’s motto, ‘Treat others the way you wish to be treated. – The Golden Rule.’”

JENNI KIME

Vestavia Hills Elementary West

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I decided to get involved with PTO because I did not grow up in Vestavia, and I wanted to get connected to the school system where my children attend school. I also knew that I wanted to be able to give back to teachers and staff who work tirelessly for our children by giving of my time and energy. Throughout my time as a member of the PTO, I have enjoyed working alongside some amazing parents and forming incredible friendships. I am very fortunate to see the impact that the volunteers and PTO have on our school system, and I am thankful to be just a small part of that.”

► What are your goals for this year? “The goals for this year for West PTO are to provide support for our school through fundraising and volunteerism. This year provides a unique experience as we navigate what fundraising and volunteerism looks like with COVID-19. We are excited about our annual gift wrap and cookie dough sale and adding an online purchasing option. As our school system has added the remote learning option, the PTO has the opportunity to reach parents who may not have been able to attend PTO meetings in the past due to scheduling conflicts. We are excited to have the opportunity to add a virtual option to our PTO meetings and hope that parents, students and teachers alike continue to feel the support of the West family.”

AMANDA PAIR

Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I began volunteering as a room parent in my oldest daughter’s kindergarten class and immediately saw the benefit of being involved at her school. My kids love seeing me in the halls, actively participating in the things they are doing, and I consider it an opportunity to serve willingly. This is such a brief time in their lives, and I want to enjoy being part of it while I can.”

► What are your goals for this year? “2020 has been a crazy year for all of us. In order to comply with new guidelines, we are having to rethink almost everything that PTO has done in the past. But we are trying to see it as an opportunity for growth and change for the better. Our goal as we move into the school year is to provide new and fun ways to make this year as normal as possible for our students and teachers.”

JAIME WILLIAMS

Liberty Park Middle School

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I first became involved in the Vestavia community when I was hired by Helen Holley to teach first grade at Liberty Park Elementary. I started teaching at VHELP in 2003. After several years of teaching first grade and kindergarten at VHELP, I decided to stay home with my three children. I quickly transitioned from being an employee of the Vestavia system to being a volunteer. I love working in a school both as an employee and a volunteer. I love building relationships with others, and I especially enjoy serving the staff and the students.”

► What are your goals for this year? “This year will be like none other because of COVID-19, but the PTO at Liberty Park Middle School will be there to encourage and support the LPMS faculty, staff and students. We are wrapping up our corporate sponsor campaign, and we have been amazed at the generosity of businesses and individuals. Because of the generosity of so many, we will be able to offer grants, hospitality events, teacher start-up money, enrichment day, etc., just as we have always done. My goal this year is to keep our families informed and involved, and to support the mission and vision of Liberty Park Middle School and the Vestavia school district.”

JENNIFER LYNCH

Pizitz Middle School

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I am a former teacher who knows how valuable parent volunteers are in the classroom, so I wanted to serve my girls’ schools this way. We were also newer to Vestavia when our older daughter started kindergarten, and I thought it would be a good way to meet people. I was right.”

► What are your goals for this year? “I would like to build on the excitement of starting the year at our new campus and, of course, continue to spoil our awesome faculty as much as we can.”

SUMMER ZULANAS

Vestavia Hills High School

► Why did you get involved with PTO? “I first got involved with the PTO when my oldest son was at East, and he is now a freshman at Auburn. It is a great way to give back, in some small fashion, to the amazing schools that do so much for our kids.”

► What are your goals for this year? “This year certainly looks a lot different than we had anticipated. There are a lot of challenges facing our administrators, faculty and staff this year. The VHHS PTO has been, and will be, working hard to provide whatever support we can to make this a great school year for faculty and students at the high school.”