Oxford Elementary's Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
Oxford PTA Goals
Our goal is to get our Oxford families and community involved in the school in a way that benefits our families, our students and our school. We focus on two-way communications between home and school, providing a forum for ideas and feedback in both directions, and we look for ways that parents and guardians can get involved with the school.
Our Role
Our PTA has traditionally played an important part at Oxford. We put on several fundraisers during the year to pay for school programs and supplies, such as art classes for all classrooms, Kindergarten music classes, field trips and teacher supplies, and RIF book give-aways. You can always find out how we raise and spend our PTA funds by looking over our budget, which is updated and distributed or posted every month.
However, fundraising is only one small part of the PTA. For every fundraising activity, our goal is to provide three times as many community-building events and opportunities - fun events, meetings, communications, and service projects that bring our Oxford Community together to make a difference and get to know one another.
PTA Meetings
We have PTA meetings once a month on a Tuesday evening. The meeting is from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, and we provide a pizza dinner and babysitting so that it's easy for our families to join us. After a some brief PTA business, we have speakers and topics each month on a variety of academic, family and school subjects that we hope are interesting and useful to you. And finally, we hope that these meetings provide a forum for discussion and information exchange between our Oxford families and staff. Before each meeting, a flyer will be sent home and an email will be sent to the e-Tree as a reminder of the meeting and topic.
Last year, the Berkeley Fire Department came to talk about Emergency Preparedness for families, and a Perceptual Motor Specialist spoke about the impact of perceptual motor deficiencies on academic performance. In addition, we often have presentations and discussions about Oxford School business.
This year we need to hear from our families about what they would like presented at the PTA meetings. We are planning to have several Oxford School meetings (State of the School, Oxford By The Numbers about the school in general and it's funding, and a meeting about School Testing), a middle school information night with representatives from each of the BUSD middle schools, and some films with facilitated discussions on important parenting topics. If you have ideas (or speakers!) for a PTA meeting this year, please LET US KNOW! We hold these meetings for our Oxford Community, so help us to make them as valuable as possible!
Community Building Events
Other events are focused on having fun together, such as our Harvest Faire in October, Spring Dance in March, and our end-of-the-year Multicultural Potluck in June. There are many more ideas and opportunities for our Oxford Community to come together for a fun or for a project - the key to success any of these events has always been the interest, enthusiasm and leadership of our volunteers. So please don't hesitate to get involved - there are so many ways to make a difference!
Our Community is Important
The bottom line is that family support and community presence help our children to grow up healthy, smart and strong, so the collaboration of parents and guardians with our school takes on critical importance. Parent and guardian contributions of time and talent through the PTA enrich and strengthen our school community, and our childrens' experience. PTA volunteers serve as room parents, library workers, tutors, office volunteers, landscapers, builders, shoppers, celebrators, and of course, event coordinators. Whenever there is a need for help, we ask our parents and guardians to pitch in on behalf of what is best for our children and our school community.
Our Diversity - A Challenge and a Treasure
Our school serves families citywide. Our zone, the Central Zone, stretches from Grizzly Peak to the Oakland border, cutting a wide band through the middle of Berkeley. Think of the enormous diversity we encompass! What a gift to share with our children, and what a challenge to ensure that everyone is an equal part of our community. Please do whatever you can to come to our Oxford events and help bring our community together. There will be many opportunities to join in, including class events, meetings (PTA, FOCUS, SITE Council), and our school-wide events such as the Harvest Faire, Winter Faire, Spring Dance, the Talent Show, and the Multicultural Potluck.
The PTA Calendar for meetings is now on Goggle Calendar
The Oxford School Google Calendar shows dates and times for school-wide events and meetings. It is updated and sent home with all students monthly, and is posted on the PTA bulletin board outside the office.
Join the PTA
At Oxford, ALL PARENTS ARE WELCOME AT ALL PTA EVENTS , regardless of membership. However, each year we ask our parents and guardians who can to renew their annual membership to the PTA. Most of the dues go directly to the PTA budget, and a smaller portion goes to the local and national PTA organizations to pay for our insurance and to support their work on behalf of children. We appreciate your membership, and since we are a member of the National PTA, it helps to keep us in good standing. PTA membership has some benefits, including the right to vote on PTA motions.
In order to become a member, you will need to submit the following to the Office:
- A check for $10 per member, made out to "Oxford PTA"
- Name(s) of members(s) (the parent, guardian or other family member)
- Address
- Phone number
- email address
- Name(s) of Oxford Student(s)
You will receive a membership card and thank you letter. The PTA membership year is October 1 through September 31.
Monetary Donations to the Oxford Enrichment Fund
The PTA raises funds for it's budget through fundraising and membership dues. However, monetary donations are managed through the Oxford Enrichment Fund. The PTA and the Enrichment Fund work together to ensure that all the critical Oxford Programs will be fully funded each year.
The Berkeley Public Education Foundation helps us to manage the Enrichment Fund. The Enrichment Fund is critical because it supports several important Oxford programs, such as the school counseling program and the Gardening program. Since the PTA is prohibited from hiring employees, the Enrichment Fund plays a critical role in providing these important services.
We have a 100% participation goal for the Enrichment Fund - that every Oxford family make whatever donation they can, whether it is $20 or $100 or more, whether it is a one-time donation, or a monthly donation. The Berkeley Public Education Foundation has made it possible for donors to use a credit or debit card, and also to arrange for automatic monthly transfers to the Enrichment Fund. To find out more about how to donate, please click here or click on "DONATE" to the left.
PTA Donations
Of course, if you would like to make a donation to the Oxford PTA, either for general use or for a specific purpose, we are always happy to accept your generous donation. To make a donation to the Oxford PTA, please make your check payable to "Oxford PTA," and drop it off at the office. If it is for a specific purpose (for example, for a specific classroom, or the Kindergarten music program), please note that on the check and so we can allocate it properly. Your donation is tax deductible, and the Federal Tax ID number for the Oxford PTA is 94-6183804.
If you would like to make a donation of money or goods to Oxford School, such as a prize donation for the Raffle, the Federal Tax ID number for Oxford Elementary School is 94-6002113.
Get involved!
As with any community group, the PTA is only as good as the members and their contributions. Your thoughts and participation are needed. If you have questions or suggestions, you can drop a note for the PTA at the office or contact one of the following parents:
- John Eknoian, President
- Amber Crowley, Vice President
- Kristen Takakuwa, Treasurer
- Kae Williams, Secretary
- Sandy Harris, Auditor
- Lynn Garnica & John Swerdan, Webmasters