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Parent Group Hall of Fame

New Group: PTO Starts Strong

After the school year ended in May 2005, Kent Primary School in Carmel, N.Y., lost its parent group.

The town had one school serving grades K-2 and another for grades 3-4, with a single parent group for both. But the district reorganized into two K-4 schools. The existing parent group elected to affiliate with the other school.

“I knew it was going to be a year of major changes, so I wanted to embrace that,” says Ellen Sorrento, president of the new PTO at 475-student Kent Primary. The entire PTO board turned out for kindergarten orientation. “We were seeking talent in the community,” Sorrento says. “We wanted to find those people who could help us breathe new life into our school.”

The group emphasized communications, including a strong website. An online photo gallery features photos of every activity, and communications are translated into Spanish.

During its first year, the group helped create a sense of school spirit, ran several family involvement events, raised $30,000, and applied to the IRS for tax-exempt status.

It also asked students to write letters to their favorite teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. At the same time, officers received a note from a parent: “Thanks for all you do for our kids....You make a difference in all of our lives.”

Says Jeff Davis, the group’s advertising coordinator, “I think we’ll try again [this] year to deserve another of those.”

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