César Chávez PTO

Wildcats · Hyattsville

Category: Meeting recaps

Plain-language recaps of monthly PTO meetings: what was decided, what needs a volunteer, what is next.

  • September 2026 — A new officer, a big turnout, and every committee at once

    September 2026 — A new officer, a big turnout, and every committee at once

    About 40 adults came, plus a lot of kids. Families ate pizza and caught up while the kids played, and the meeting started after that. The board (Tomehka Ettinoffe, Sara Reza and Mirieth Valenciano) ran it. Principal Laura Guzmán and Community School Coordinator Emma Vivar attended for the school.

    Three takeaways

    1. The PTO has a new officer. Tomehka Ettinoffe proposed amending the bylaws to add a Parent Engagement Officer. The members present voted it in, so the role now joins the board.
    2. Where the money goes. PTO funds cover what PGCPS funding doesn’t: enrichment, author visits, field trips, staff appreciation and school beautification. Sara Reza reported recent spending on the mural, family support and Special Education supplies. Recent fundraising came from the Pizzeria Paradiso and Roaming Rooster nights, sticker sales and the PTO shop. The PTO is run by volunteers, so nearly every dollar goes back to the school.
    3. Every committee made its pitch. Advocacy (Alison Mendoza, Ingrid Rojas), Communications (Ian Fay, who introduced the Daily 40), Family Safety (Ilse Catalan), ¡Sí Se Puede! (Rachel Mulford), TAG (Sara Reza), Welcome (Meg Dominguez, Lindsay Cheyne), Wildcat Way (Rachel Mulford) and Grade Parents (Tomehka Ettinoffe). Family Safety works with school administration to support families in need, in strict confidence. See every committee.

    What needed a volunteer

    • Event photography and event planning
    • Grant writing and fundraising
    • The ¡Sí Se Puede! Festival committee and the silent auction
    • Volunteer coordination
    • Grade parents, and grade-level parents for Wildcat Way to host play dates and clean-up days
    • Mascot support
    • Gardening and landscaping
    • Media and Literacy: people in your network who could lead an enrichment activity for students

    Raise your hand on the volunteer page. It takes a minute and routes you to the right committee.

    What came next

    Zombie Run, Saturday, October 17. Join the Los Wildcats de CCES team, donate to César Chávez on the race page, or start your own fundraiser for the PTO. Details are on our Zombie Run page.

    October to December: two author visits and the Scholastic Book Fair, from the Media and Literacy team. The update from administration meetings was held over to October.

    Next PTO meeting: Wednesday, October 28, 7–8 pm. Bring the kids.

    Families gathered outside for the September 2026 PTO meeting
    Parents and caregivers listening at the September 2026 PTO meeting
    A committee presenter speaking at the September 2026 PTO meeting
    The meeting at Wildcat Way at dusk, September 2026
    Kids playing on the field during the September 2026 PTO meeting

    Recaps are written from the meeting notes, taken by PTO Secretary Mirieth Valenciano. Names of families, household circumstances and individual donor amounts are never included. Recording and transcript are posted when available.

  • June 2026 — Elections, and fixing the way we take payments

    Three takeaways

    1. A new board was elected on 10 June. Tomehka Ettinoffe as President, Margaret Megan as Vice-President, Mirieth Valenciano as Secretary, Sarah Reza as Treasurer.
    2. ¡Sí Se Puede! grossed $11,097.72 and netted $9,354.22 against a $15,000 goal. The silent auction alone was 40% of gross — the argument for giving it its own online window rather than running it inside one busy afternoon.
    3. “Fix the QR code and online payment flows for next year.” Recorded almost verbatim. Friction in paying was costing more than any individual campaign.

    What needed a volunteer

    • A Communications chair — Ian Fay took it on as acting chair
    • Volunteers to wear the Wildcat mascot costume
    • A photographer for events, social and a possible yearbook
    • Separating the silent auction from the festival day

    What came next

    This website, and the decision to make paying a single tap rather than a form. The silent auction moving online is also a direct result.

    Recaps are written from the meeting notes. Names of families, household circumstances and individual donor amounts are never included. Recording and transcript are posted when available.

  • April 2026 — Parents testify to the county after a classroom fire

    An electrical fire in a classroom on a Sunday left smoke damage, ash on Chromebooks and burned headphones. Students reported feeling unwell from the odours the following week.

    Three takeaways

    1. Six parents testified to the county’s Operations, Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee on 22 April — on building conditions, air quality and the pace of repairs.
    2. The county numbers are the argument. PGCPS runs roughly two hundred facilities, about half more than forty-five years old — the third-oldest inventory in Maryland. The capital plan called for around $570M a year; the district has averaged closer to $160M.
    3. Purple shirts work. Wearing them to county meetings makes it obvious how many families are in the room, which is the entire point of showing up.

    What needed a volunteer

    • Families willing to attend and testify at county meetings
    • The Wildcat Way workday on 12 April
    • Help with the idle-free zone campaign at pickup and dropoff

    What came next

    Advocacy now carries building conditions, air quality and traffic safety, and posts action alerts with the specific thing to do rather than general appeals.

    Recaps are written from the meeting notes. Names of families, household circumstances and individual donor amounts are never included. Recording and transcript are posted when available.

  • December 2025 — Duplication, and who owns the calendar

    Three takeaways

    1. Two groups were separately planning food support. The duplication created work rather than reducing need. It was agreed to route it through one committee, with confidentiality as the first rule.
    2. The master calendar should belong to the admin account, not a volunteer. Anything owned by an individual disappears when that person rotates off.
    3. Teacher holiday gift cards went out — fifty of them, funded by the PTO.

    What needed a volunteer

    • Student Holiday Shop
    • Hot chocolate bar
    • Starting the ¡Sí Se Puede! sponsor emails — the earlier these go out, the better the festival does

    What came next

    The ownership rule now applies to the website, the calendar and the email aliases: they belong to the PTO’s admin account so the next person inherits them working.

    Recaps are written from the meeting notes. Names of families, household circumstances and individual donor amounts are never included. Recording and transcript are posted when available.

  • September 2025 — Ask fatigue, and a plan for the year

    Three takeaways

    1. Ask fatigue is the real constraint, not fundraising capacity. Several committees had been running their own campaigns against the same parent base. The board agreed to coordinate everything through one calendar.
    2. The Back to School Mixer and the merch campaign both launched. Merch went out through Custom Ink, with youth sizes ordered short.
    3. WhatsApp saturation was raised as a communications risk. Too many groups, unclear names, and no way to opt into only what you cared about.

    What needed a volunteer

    • Grade reps and room parents — a new structure, with several grades unfilled
    • Help with the Zombie Run in October
    • Someone to coordinate the fundraising calendar

    What came next

    The Giving Groove calendar came directly out of this meeting — one printed sheet showing every ask for the year, so families see the whole shape of it in September instead of being surprised each month.

    Recaps are written from the meeting notes. Names of families, household circumstances and individual donor amounts are never included. Recording and transcript are posted when available.