"I know I should be involved in the school, but how can I possibly squeeze in the time to make one more batch of brownies or give two more hours of my time to help out at a school activity?" 

1.      Research shows that students with parents or guardians who are involved in their child's education will do better.

2.      We put on many programs to benefit the kids and make the high school experience better that require adult assistance.

3.      We can match volunteer activities to your preferences and time schedule.

4.      We engage in fundraising to provide resources to teachers for important programs and supplemental initiatives through our grants program that may otherwise go unfunded.  Click here to see the list of grants approved in 2010-2011, and see the January 2012 PTA meeting minutes for grants approved already in 2011-2012, with more to be approved during the second half of the year.

You know it's important to engage with your child's school and the PTA.  It's easy.  Here are ways you can get involved:

2. Support our "No Sweat Fundraiser" or our Senior Class Supplemental Fundraiser. Much of the PTA dues go to the national & state PTA, but these funds stay at W-L and are used by the PTA to provide programs throughout the year. You can make a real difference for the W-L students by writing a check.  Contact Donna Crawford, PTA President, at WLPTA@hotmail.com.

3. Get connected by e-mail. Signup now to be on our main PTA List Serve and our PTA Grade Level List Serves.You'll receive timely information about PTA school events and activities twice a week in the PTA Newsletter. The grade level list serves provide an opportunity to learn more about specific issues related to your student's grade level. Send an email to the corresponding email below. You will need to respond to the Yahoo message that comes back to you within 7 days confirming that you want to join the list serve.

Join the PTA list serve by sending an e-mail to washingtonleepta-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.The PTA List Serve Coordinator/Newsletter Editor is John Naland: wlptaeditor@yahoo.com.  You can see past newsletters at the W-L PTA  yahoogroup homepage.

Grade 12: washingtonleeclassof2013parents-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Kelly Heinzman: kelly@heinzman.org

4. Volunteer to help this year in an activity that looks interesting to you. We've got something for everyone.  Go to the Volunteer Opportunities tab for information on many different ways you can volunteer your time and talents to make a difference and the weblink to volunteer online. Our Volunteer Coordinator, Kelly Heinzman at Kelly@Heinzman.org, will make sure that your information gets to the appropriate chair, who will contact you to provide you with more information on the project for which you are volunteering.

5. Register for e-scrip if you shop at Harris Teeter, Giant, Safeway or Target. Please help us by registering and selecting Washington-Lee as the designee school for the matching donation that these stores provide. Go to Quick FAQs and Dates tab to signup online. Contact Jill Flack at gsiegal@mindspring.com  for more information.

6. Attend PTA meetings.  Our meetings are usually held on the first Monday of the month in the Teacher's Lounge on the south end of the 4th floor concourse.  Elevators are available for those not interested in taking the stairs. Parking is easy in the top level lot adjacent to the school.There is a meet & greet at 7:00pm and the business meeting runs from 7:30pm until 9:00pm. If you can't attend the meeting, you can catch up on what you missed by reading the minutes on the PTA website.

Next PTA Meeting is in September, 2013