It’s a lot starting at a new school…
The start of the school year is full of requests, and all the emails can be overwhelming. Almond Elementary is a free public school, and you are never required to give money to access the excellent education provided. However, the school district and associated organizations do rely on donations to provide the extra programming that takes us from just another public school to a California Distinguished School. These programs only exist because of the generosity of donors like you.
We recognize that not everyone may be in a place to donate the full amount requested at the beginning of the year, or at all during a given year, and that is okay. We also recognize that the donation of volunteer hours is just as valuable and are so thankful to all the parents and community members who give of their time to help run our amazing events and programs.
Here’s a general summary of who will be asking for donations and when:
| Who | What | How much | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almond PTA | Dues & Write-a-check campaign; Community events like Walkathon, Family Science Night, and Field Day; teacher expense reimbursement funds, staff appreciation and more | $50 dues + $325-575 per child | August |
| LAEF | Donation drive; Specialized staff such as librarians, PE teachers, music teachers | $1400 per child | August |
| Lead Room Parent (LRP) | Contribution to class fund; Class parties and teacher gifts | $40-60 per child | September |
| Homeroom teacher | Donations for field trips and school supplies; Field trip expenses and School supplies such as notebooks and pencils. No student is denied participation due to inability to pay, but field trips may be cancelled if insufficient funds are raised. | $50 for school supplies; field trip ask varies widely by grade level | Timing varies depending on when your child’s class is scheduled to go on field trips |
Are there any more asks?
PTA and LAEF accept donations on an ongoing basis. If you haven’t done your initial donation, you will probably get some reminders between the start of the school year and the December recess.
The PTA also organizes various events throughout the year to help fundraise while providing meaningful opportunities to come together as a school community:
Walkathon (October): free to participate; fundraising via pledges, silent auction, t-shirt and ticket sales
Gala & Live Auction (every other year): paid event; additional fundraising via live and silent auction
Community Parties: ticket sales
FAQs
Why is the room parent ask separate from the PTA ask?
Class funds are used for class parties as well as personal gifts for your homeroom teacher. This ask is separate because PTA funds cannot be used for personal gifts.
Can’t I just write one check and be done with it? Why so many different asks?
Leadership across PTAs, LAEF, and LASD are investigating how to make this a possibility, but it potentially would require significant restructuring.
Why do some of the same things appear on PTA and LAEF budgets?
LAEF doesn’t raise enough to cover the full cost of these programs, and receives additional support from PTA. Generally when something appears on PTA and LAEF budgets, LAEF is paying for the staff to run the program and PTA is paying for the consumable stuff such as watercolors and brushes. The amount PTA pays depends on the number of students enrolled that year.
Why do we need both PTA and LAEF?
LAEF supports all nine schools in LASD: seven elementary schools and two junior highs. They collect donations that pay for librarians, music teachers, PE teachers, and specialty teachers for junior high electives. Thanks to LAEF, every LASD student has equal access to these valuable resources.
PTA is tasked with community building at individual school sites. All 9 LASD schools have their own independent and autonomously operating PTA. We plan events to bring the community together as well as run programs that can enhance your child’s educational experience, such as the drama program, Eagle Flyers running program, and more.
PTA does need money to operate, but the monetary donations are far eclipsed by the value of volunteer hours we receive.