September 2025 Monthly PTA Meeting Minutes

9/4/2025 4:21 pm

Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES)

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, September 2, 2025: 8 - 9pm

Spanish Translator: Isadora Quintana

Amharic Translator: Tewobsta G* - technical issues prevented Amharic Translation from happening live.

Meeting was recorded

TPES Introduction

Delianny Brammer, TPES PTA President, provided an introduction to the TPES PTA

TPES holds PTA meetings jointly with PBES. This is due to the fact that the two schools work closely together and want to stay connected. It also supports those parents that have children in both schools.
TPES PTA Executive Team consists of:
- Delianna Brammer, President
- Naomi Gohn, Executive Vice President
- Germaine Dunn, Treasurer
- Kenn Scudder, VP of Communications
- Kate Sullivan Frades, Membership Secretary
- Erin Nichols, Vice President Membership
- Joseph Herschhorn Howard, Vice President Fundraising
- Christina Davis, Executive Secretary

PBES Introduction

Mari Quenemoen, PBES PTA President,and Cara Tallo, EVP, provided an introduction to the PBES PTA

Looking at all channels to make sure all families can be involved with translation, etc.
PBES PTA Board consists of:
- Mari Quenemoen, President
- Cara Tallo, Executive Vice President
- Dan Proudfoot, Treasurer
- Christine Smith, Secretary
- Lesley Perry, VP of Membership
- April Cockerham and Ingrid Gardiner, Co-VPs of Fundraising
- Charlotte Noss, VP of Communications
- Erin Mohan, VP of Equity
- Paul Donowitz and Kuna Tavalin, Advocacy Representative (MCCPTA)

What is the PTA?

A volunteer-led organization that connects parents, teachers, and the school community

What does the PTA do…?

Work and raise funds in order to:
- Meet needs beyond school capacity
- Create connection for students and parents
- Build a strong, inclusive family
For students (this looks different for each school, but in general):
- Fund recess equipment, library updates, and school spirit items like field trip shirts
- Provide classroom supplies, books, and technology to enhance learning
- Organize school-wide events like book fairs, cultural heritage nights, and family nights
- Offer scholarships and vouchers for activities
For schools and teachers:
- Schedule and coordinate all afterschool activities
  - Scholarship activities to make sure all can participate
- Coordinate annual book fair to raise money for the Media Center (school library)
- Fulfill teacher wish lists for classroom supplies
- Host appreciation events to recognize teachers and staff
For families:
- Deploy donation dollars to ensure opportunities for all students, by:
  - Afterschool scholarships
  - Book fair vouchers for families in need
  - Language translation for events
- Curate parent resources through PTA newsletters and specialized guest speakers
- Offer a variety of donation and volunteer opportunities

Get involved in your PTA:

TPES - https://tpespta.net/join/
PBES - https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com/open_forms
- PBES Volunteer interest form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScaIb4y4JVv1cIKtwK-rTRMz4oBgIny6vcj1r-5L49E7auIGA/viewform
Join PTA Meetings
- First Tuesday of the month
- Two in-person meetings at TPES from 6-8 pm
  - October 7th, 2025
- Provide feedback on future meetings:
  - Themes to engage, guest speakers, specific questions or areas to address, etc.
  - What kind of information/training/presentation would you like to see this year?
  - From both PTA leadership and school leadership on these calls, or outside experts we can bring on?
  - The idea behind all of these efforts are to build community

TPES Announcements

Ken Scudder, TPES PTA VP of Communications

https://groups.io/g/tpespta - TPES Listserv Signup

Back to School Picnic – Wednesday, Sept 3
- 5:30–7:30 PM on the playground. Bring dinner, enjoy PTA treats, and connect with families. Bring a blanket to sit on.
Family Meet & Greet – Monday, Sept 15 @ People’s Book
- 5:00–7:00 PM. Free pizza, fun, and community. Optional: buy a book for classrooms/media center. Please RSVP so they can be prepared. https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/tpes_pizza_night/
Fall Picture Days – Sept 16 & 17
- Dress up, smile big! Photo days by homeroom - more details will be shared closer to the date.
PTA Google Calendar – Ongoing
- Add our events directly: https://bit.ly/TPESPTACALENDAR2025 (Desktop only link)
Bus Routes – Ongoing
- Check 2025–26 routes by scanning this QR code on screen
Class WhatsApp Groups – Ongoing
- Join your class directory & group: https://tinyurl.com/TPESdirectory2025

Upcoming School Closures

September
- Tuesday, Sept 23 – Non-Instructional Day (No school for students and teachers)
- Friday, Sept 26 – Early Release Day for students
October
- Thursday, Oct 2 – Non-Instructional Day (No school for students and teachers)
- Friday, Oct 17 – Professional Development Day (No school for students)

TPES Communication Channels

Delianny Brammer, TPES President

PTA Channels
- WhatsApp Classroom Chats
- Listserv: https://groups.io/g/tpespta for Monday Dolphin Digest
- Website https://tpespta.net/
School Channels
- Remind (will sunset in December)
- ParentSquare (new official platform). If you can not find your invitation from August, reach out to the school office for assistance.
MCPS Channels

PBES Announcements and Upcoming Closures

Charlotte Noss, PBES VP Communications

Ways to get involved:
- (1) Join PTA as an official member
  - https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com/why-join-pta
    - Send an email to main+subscribe@pbespta.groups.io or email pta.members@gmail.com
  - (2) Donate if you are able to
  - (3) Subscribe to the PTA listserv pta.members@gmail.com
- Other Announcements:
  - Working to get WhatsApp group for Spanish and Amharic. Currently still need Amharic support.
  - Communications from school and MCPS will also be taken over by ParentSquare
- September events:
  - Wednesday, Sept. 17 – Back to School Night (free childcare provided by Kids Adventures courtesy of Finn Family Group Real Estate)
    - 6:30 - 7:00 – Instrumental Music (for those interested in learning about Instrumental Music for 4th and 5th graders)
    - 7:00 - 7:30 – Session I
    - 7:35 - 8:00 – Session II
    - 8:00 – 8:20 – Building Browse
  - October events:
    - Tuesday, Oct. 7 – PTA meeting, in person at TPES 6-8pm
    - Monday, Oct. 13 – Open House
      - Two sessions - usually one in the morning, one in the afternoon
    - Call for PBES PTA Volunteers
      - Volunteer at PBES: https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer
      - NAACP Representative
      - Hispanic Heritage Night Planning Team (October)
      - Book Fair Planning Team (Fall)
      - Read-a-thon Planning Team (January/February/March)
      - GeoBowl Planning Team (January/February/March)
      - Black History Night Planning Team (February)
    - Call for Room Adults

The numbers below indicate the number of room parents still needed for that teacher:

Davidson- 2
Dunlap-Roberts- 2
Gazda- 1
Giles- 2
Kandeh- 2
Berardi-1
Casey-1
Eskow- 2
Kenny- 2
Li- 1
Brooking- 1
Griffin- 2
Kenny-2
Patrick- 1
Pinnock- 2
Tolson-2

PTA Business

Treasurer’s Reports and Updates

○ TPES: Budget document, Germaine Dunn, Treasurer

TPES has a healthy budget for FY26 school year
Expenditures have been mainly been used for assemblies, teacher lunches, and other activities planned
24 families have provided dues or donations to the PTA
More details coming in the next meeting

○ PBES: Budget document , Dan Proudfoot, Treasurer

Overall budget is about $30,820
- On income side, boosters and donations is estimated at $4500
- Fundraising side, $23,800 (bake sales, readathon, etc)
- Grants

TPES and PBES Leadership

Ms. Hayden, TPES Assistant Principal

Dr. Gadsden, Principal, and Ms. Diana Hayden, Assistant Principal, Takoma Park ES

Gadsden shared that TPES is not fully staffed, there is still need for para-educators and special educators
Covid is making the rounds at TPES, with lots of kids and staff having tested positive. Teachers and administrators are masking.

Mr. Weertz, Acting Principal, Piney Branch ES

Richard Weertz is Acting Principal at PBES; Ms. Oberdorf will be here later in the year. Ms. Java Robinson is acting Assistant Principal

Safety at our School

Hayden:
- Resource: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/security/
- During the October PTA meeting, we’ll take a deeper dive into school security and share additional information.
- Hayden Shared new standard response protocol with Montgomery County, streamlining communication and response calls.
  - Staff were trained on new protocols
  - Students were trained and practiced emergency responses first day of school
  - An evacuation drill was held during the first week of school
  - Safety drills are scheduled throughout the year to ensure staff and students stay aware of protocols
- What is most important for parents to know in the event of a school emergency
  - Stay calm and wait for updates from the school
  - Do not come to the school unless instructed
  - Updates will come from the school or central office ASAP.
    - Keep communication lines open.
  - Family resources:
    - Standard response protocol
    - SRP Video
- Weertz:
  - PBES following same process and protocols. Next week is safety week at PBES, with added emphasis, including more communication with the students and drills planned.

Next Meeting:

Discuss concerns about your child getting safely to and from school (in the meantime, you can reach out to the PTA for support - pbes.pta@gmail.com; president@tpespta.net
Security measures
In person - October 8th