Raptor Report

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