Category: PFLASA

Last Friday was a busy day in the PFLASA Portable but the actual PFLASA meeting was very short. I believe we clocked in under ten minutes. We approved minutes from our last four in-person meetings! We had a quick treasurer’s report. We are calling for volunteers for the Bus Driver Appreciation Event (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4FADA62CA1F94-52156341-busdriver#/).

And we desperately need volunteers for our application mentoring team. Not every child has the benefit of support figure that can help them figure out how to apply to LASA. To increase our diversity including economic status, LASA sends volunteers to various Title 1 middle schools. LASA also provides a couple of days on Zoom when anyone can get help. But to volunteer you need to be trained. If this sounds like something you can help with please email me at president@pflasa.org and I will get you connected with the Mentoring Chair.

After our speedy meeting, it was PTSA’s turn. PTSA is still in need of members. Please pay the minimal fee and join as a family. The size of our PTSA factors into our advocacy efforts: https://www.lasaptsa.org/

Then we got down to business with an informational presentation on Prop A from two trustees: Ofelia Zapata (District 2) and Lynn Boswell (District 5). AISD’s Prop A is a measure to increase the school system’s share of property taxes to the maximum percentage allowed by state law: https://www.lasaptsa.org/prop-a

I’m not here to tell you how to vote but as a Texas-Ex Government Major and as a current lawyer/constitutional law geek I am begging you to vote! If you care about education in AISD which includes LASA, please educate yourself on Prop A. It’s also important to know that AISD’s Prop A will be at the bottom of the ballot AND just to make things extra confusing Travis County also has a “Prop A” on the ballot.

And speaking of voting, LASA will be hosting an AISD Trustee Forum this Sunday, October 20th at 3 pm in the LASA Library. This event is a fantastic opportunity to hear and see (most) of the candidates. Again, I’m not advising anyone who to vote for but please come to the forum and then VOTE!! https://www.lasaptsa.org/trustee-forum

Next PFLASA Meeting 10/25 at 8:15am in the PFLASA Portable!

Regards,
Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President

Without a meeting to recap or a massive fundraiser to stress over (thank you everyone for meeting our goal and not making me stress out all year!), I’m at a bit of loss of what to discuss. I thought about not posting this week but then I thought about how rare it is to have the space to share something that’s personally meaningful to me.

Just a couple of years ago, with a freshman and no prior LASA experience, I knew I needed to meet other parents. I just had a kid graduate from Anderson and I saw how intense senior year was. And all the parents I knew at Anderson were either from back in day of elementary & middle school or were tied to my kid’s activities. But my LASA kid is not one to join things. And despite coming from Kealing, between the pandemic and the needs of the elder one, I didn’t really know other parents. So first I started going to PFLASA meetings where I met other parents but more importantly, I learned about LASA and its traditions. I was already familiar and supportive of Project Graduation, but I didn’t know about Senior Salute. And I didn’t know about the various ways PFLASA supports the community at LASA.

One of those traditions was the various parent coffees. Yes, we hosted one at the beginning of the year, but anyone can do this! We will help any parent “host” informal parent coffees. How do these work?

1. Decide what group you would like to invite (all of LASA, Freshman parents, etc)
2. Pick a date (typically a weekday or weekend morning)
3. Decide on location (we tend to do Central Market North)
4. Create a SignUpGenius to get an idea of headcount
5. Send it to us to publicize (it helps to have some lead time here)
6. Show up (LASA gear makes it easier to find you) and meet parents

That’s it. You don’t have to pay for anything or anyone.

But my favorite LASA tradition that builds community are the “Great Gatherings” formerly known as “Happy Hours.” With the help of an experienced LASA parent, who answered my many questions (no, you don’t need a meal or a bartender), I got on the calendar for a Fall night ready to meet other freshman parents. Then of course the nerves hit. What if no one comes? But my class was excited to party, and we quickly sold out! Then I hosted a party where I only knew my husband and my co-host. Was it nerve racking (a little) but it was also so much fun! In fact, it was so much fun that at sophomore BTS night multiple people asked if I was going to do it again. So, I did.

Hosting a party for strangers is a leap of faith. But in my experience, it is a well-worth it. Trust me when I say I don’t have the biggest most glamorous house. But we had yummy cocktails, wine, beer, and assortment of bites. More importantly, we had that desire to meet and welcome people. That energy goes a long way and attracts the same. If you are on the fence, get off and go for it. Not up to hosting alone then find a co-host. These events are completely customizable. Check out the info here.

Regards,
Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President

PFLASA is preparing for the annual launch of the LASA Online Family Directory – a mobile, private, and secure password-protected directory platform, sponsored by PFLASA. The LASA Family Directory, accessible from a computer or smartphone, contains parent names, home phone, home address, parent email addresses and student names, grade levels, as well as school staff contact information.

To ensure that your family’s data is correct, please opt-In to the LASA Directory here.

The Opt-In form will be open until October 3rd. After all data is collected and uploaded to the directory, families will be informed by email in mid October when the directory is available for use.

PFLASA is not meeting this week although we try to meet the first and third Fridays of the month. I’m sure many of you are instead looking forward to the upcoming four-day weekend. But what many people do not know is that this long weekend is the result of AISD’s calendar that accounts for numerous non-Christian holidays. Personally I find this inclusivity delightful and I think people should understand it. By my count, AISD has made five days student holidays for various religious/cultural holidays. You can view the calendar here. (Get’s off soapbox)

PFLASA and PTSA will hold a joint meeting Friday, October 11th with a special guest speaker Trustee Zapata. I highly encourage anyone who can to attend this special meeting about Prop A.

“L’shana Tovah” to anyone observing this weekend and my wishes for relaxation and enjoyment to those of you that don’t.

Ellen Stewart-Klein, PFLASA President

PFLASA’s Raising Healthy Raptors Committee would like to organize some small, topic-specific, support groups for adult parents and caregivers in the LASA community. Please take this quick survey so we can gauge interest in both topics and formats. These will be groups of parents who gather to form connections, provide collective support, and share hard-earned wisdom around the main topic. These will NOT be led by professional counselors.

Note: This form will collect emails so we can know how to contact you based on your interests.

Feel free to reach out to RHR at wellness@pflasa.org.

Thank you so much for supporting LASA and PFLASA by showing up for our No Hassle Fundraiser (NHF). Hopefully by now you are starting to understand all the programming that PFLASA offers and how much we do to support your Raptor’s education. I’m filled with gratitude (and relief) that we have the necessary funds to continue.

I also want to give a shout out to our hardworking treasurers and our web & Newsletter team, Nancy Lemmon and Caroline Moon, as well as to our NHF Chair, Kristin Davis. I also want to thank our past President, Nicole Truelock, and our VP, Anna Land, who really stepped up last week to help when I needed it.

Now for a quick peek behind the “curtain” where I will attempt to answer questions you may have. 1) We don’t announce how much we’ve collected because we don’t actually know. Employer matching funds often come in later and pledged donations are often still coming in. And the campaign page only reflects actual donations through Paypal. 2) You can always donate money to PFLASA but we have a campaign every fall because we need to know if we can support the programming all year long. If you forgot to donate-we will still take your money! 3) You want to support teacher events and would like to Venmo money for that. We can’t accept Venmo. Our Treasurer keeps our books in amazing shape, and this kind of person-to-person donation is impossible to track. Also, ear-marked funds make our lives so much harder! We already earmark some very large donations and the Project Graduation and Senior Events money. Remember, this is an entirely volunteer board, and we are all always trying our absolute best. 4) Big donations with several zeros can fund a specific program. We aren’t crazy. If you want to fund our tutoring program, sponsor the senior class, or whatever else you dream up – we can work with that!

Ellen Stewart-Klein,
PFLASA President

This was another low-key meeting with a light agenda, giving people time to ask questions. And we received multiple updates from our principal afterward. Our Treasurer was on hand to collect checks for the NHF. We started with another update from grants that included the books for English mentioned in the PM. I’m so glad we are giving teachers necessary supplies. The Flash Auction started Monday, but it goes until Friday, so you still have time to bid on an assortment of tickets, including the opening night of our own “Hadestown.” The proceeds from the flash auction and the upcoming auction go to support Project Graduation. Project Graduation is an all-night drug and alcohol-free lock-in that high schools around the nation host to keep the community and seniors safe!

The Great Gatherings form is open and on the website. And scheduled events are being promoted. What is a Great Gathering? It is an event hosted by a parent or group of parents where tickets are sold to support the Senior class. In the past, these were mainly in the form of a grade-level Happy Hour. Freshman parents, this is a great way to meet other parents, talk Biology, and feel not so alone. But now we are open to other events: golf, hiking, a crafting project. There is no limitation on your imagination.

We closed with multiple announcements from PTSA. First, our numbers are really low. Have your whole family including your student join: lasaptsa.org. Yes, every year and yes, the dues mostly go the State and National Association. But they support the scholarship contest: Reflections. Second, the candidate forum for the AISD Board of Trustees is upcoming on October 20th. AND the next PFLASA meeting is a joint PFLASA/PTSA meeting where Trustee Zapata will come to speak about Prop A. If your child is in an AISD school you need to educate yourself on this ballot initiative. Hope to see lots of you on October 11th!

Regards,
Ellen Stewart-Klein, PFLASA President

When this year started, I was deeply worried for the future of PFLASA and LASA. And while I am still dismayed at the current state of public education funding, I am far more optimistic. As I write this we are almost two-thirds away from our goal with strong pledges of further support. A freshman parent, Anna Land, has stepped up to be VP this year and will continue leading this organization. PFLASA is currently funding multiple grant requests from teachers and staff. We successfully pulled off two teacher meals a week apart. Finally, PFLASA’s multiple meetings have been well attended and volunteers are stepping up to support our many efforts. I want to thank all our volunteers and contributors publicly.

But if you haven’t donated, now is the time. The funding PFLASA receives not only supports LASA’s teachers, staff, students, and programing, but our larger community. As a LASA parent wrote to us: “Financial contribution to PFLASA is super important to sustaining community; building events such as parent coffees, grade level parent gatherings, the petting zoo, and Coffee House to name just a few.” In my first appeal, I wrote about how LASA is a special school for unique kids. But part of what makes LASA special is its parent community. PFLASA works hard to connect that parent community for the good of the students but also for you. Because when you have questions, PFLASA has answers and support.

So why have you not donated yet? For some people they don’t know how much to give. Basic math tells us that if everyone gave $100 per student, we would more than meet our goal. But approximately 15% of LASA is economically disadvantaged and there is a cohort that is just above that line. The fact is that PFLASA relies upon donations big and small. So please donate today so that your child’s school and community can remain strong.

Regards,

Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President