Clear Lake Community School District has a new Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) and Board President Talitha Allen is excited to bring new ideas and plans to the district.
“We actually started several years ago, and it was me and another mom who wanted to do fun things for the teachers…then life happened, COVID happened, and everything kind of slowed down,” Allen explained. “Then last year, [Clear Creek Elementary principal] Mr. Borseth sent me the name of a mom who was like, ‘Hey, do you have a PTO,’ and we started talking.”
The PTO organized this past June and became a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization in July with three board members: President Talitha Allen, Vice President Lindsay Broadbent and Treasurer Miquela Snow.
Allen told the members of the school board that the PTO is made up of parents, grandparents, community members and teachers. “Our goal is to support and enrich the school experience for both students and staff,” she said, adding that they are currently only focused on Clear Creek because the parents joining all have elementary school-aged children. She said they also noticed that the Clear Lake Booster Club was already doing so much for the middle and high schools, “… which is fantastic, but we really wanted to get parents involved at a younger level because we felt like that’s going to really help bring in more of that support.”
The Clear Creek PTO coordinated volunteers to spruce up the elementary school playground by pulling weeds and spreading mulch before school started. They also lined up picture day volunteers. “Those are always fun days trying to get the little kids through the line,” Allen said. Their next focus was on teacher and staff care.
“We were able to provide a back-to-school gift to all staff at the elementary school. There was a $5 gift card to Scooters, thanks to a generous donation from the community,” Allen said. They are also setting up a monthly “Whoop,Whoop Wagon,” a cart full of random items, such as glue sticks, Clorox wipes, or candy, that teachers can pick from for their classroom. They also plan to continue the school conference dinners.
“And then, of course, the last thing that we really are focused on is the students,” Allen said. So far The PTO donated over 700 freezy pops so all the kids could cool off during those very warm first days of school. They coordinated a snack drive and appointed the Clear Creek school secretaries, Jane Lobdell and Denise Ouverson, to be the snack keepers.
In addition to the T-shirts the school provided to its staff members, the PTO held its own T-shirt sale to give students, family members and the community a chance to purchase one of their own. Allen said the proceeds got rolled back into the PTO, which is then used for students, teachers, and staff.
Allen said that upcoming events include a family movie night and a family dance. She said, “The goal would be to get people in the building having a good time, getting parents involved, and hopefully we can encourage staff members to come to that too so kids can see their teachers having a good time and principals having a good time, maybe even their board members.”
The PTO meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Clear Creek Library. People can get involved in various ways: by attending meetings, volunteering at PTO-sponsored activities, participating in fundraising activities, donating money, or donating items upon request.
Check out the Clear Creek Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) on Facebook or email: cclionspto@gmail.com.
Clear Lake Community School District has a new Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) and Board President Talitha Allen is excited to bring new ideas and plans to the district.
“We actually started several years ago, and it was me and another mom who wanted to do fun things for the teachers…then life happened, COVID happened, and everything kind of slowed down,” Allen explained. “Then last year, [Clear Creek Elementary principal] Mr. Borseth sent me the name of a mom who was like, ‘Hey, do you have a PTO,’ and we started talking.”
The PTO organized this past June and became a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization in July with three board members: President Talitha Allen, Vice President Lindsay Broadbent and Treasurer Miquela Snow.
Allen told the members of the school board that the PTO is made up of parents, grandparents, community members and teachers. “Our goal is to support and enrich the school experience for both students and staff,” she said, adding that they are currently only focused on Clear Creek because the parents joining all have elementary school-aged children. She said they also noticed that the Clear Lake Booster Club was already doing so much for the middle and high schools, “… which is fantastic, but we really wanted to get parents involved at a younger level because we felt like that’s going to really help bring in more of that support.”
The Clear Creek PTO coordinated volunteers to spruce up the elementary school playground by pulling weeds and spreading mulch before school started. They also lined up picture day volunteers. “Those are always fun days trying to get the little kids through the line,” Allen said. Their next focus was on teacher and staff care.
“We were able to provide a back-to-school gift to all staff at the elementary school. There was a $5 gift card to Scooters, thanks to a generous donation from the community,” Allen said. They are also setting up a monthly “Whoop,Whoop Wagon,” a cart full of random items, such as glue sticks, Clorox wipes, or candy, that teachers can pick from for their classroom. They also plan to continue the school conference dinners.
“And then, of course, the last thing that we really are focused on is the students,” Allen said. So far The PTO donated over 700 freezy pops so all the kids could cool off during those very warm first days of school. They coordinated a snack drive and appointed the Clear Creek school secretaries, Jane Lobdell and Denise Ouverson, to be the snack keepers.
In addition to the T-shirts the school provided to its staff members, the PTO held its own T-shirt sale to give students, family members and the community a chance to purchase one of their own. Allen said the proceeds got rolled back into the PTO, which is then used for students, teachers, and staff.
Allen said that upcoming events include a family movie night and a family dance. She said, “The goal would be to get people in the building having a good time, getting parents involved, and hopefully we can encourage staff members to come to that too so kids can see their teachers having a good time and principals having a good time, maybe even their board members.”
The PTO meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Clear Creek Library. People can get involved in various ways: by attending meetings, volunteering at PTO-sponsored activities, participating in fundraising activities, donating money, or donating items upon request.
Check out the Clear Creek Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) on Facebook or email: cclionspto@gmail.com.
