Month: April 2021

The PA is looking for a few superhero parents and guardians to join us for the upcoming 2021/2022 school year! We are planning big things for next year, and we need your help! Nominate yourself or someone you know for the Executive Board or School Leadership Team (SLT)!

ELIGIBILITY:

Parents of students currently attending PS99 are automatically members of the PS99 Parents’ Association and thus eligible to serve on the PA Executive Board or SLT. Parents include parents by birth or adoption, stepparents, legally appointed guardians, foster parents and persons in parental relation to a child currently attending PS99.

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THE PA EXECUTIVE BOARD:

While each of the positions are fluid, and board members help out where possible, here are the overall descriptions:

PRESIDENT/CO-PRESIDENT:

• preside at all meetings of the Association
• is an ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee;
• appoint Association committee chairpersons with the approval of the executive board
• encourage meaningful participation in all parent and school activities
• provide opportunities for members’ leadership development
• delegate responsibilities to members of the Association as needed
• attend all regular meetings of the presidents’ council
• is a mandatory member of the School Leadership Team
• meet regularly with the executive board members
• plan the agendas for the general membership meetings
• is one of the eligible signatories on checks
• assist with the June transfer of Association records, including all pertinent user ID and passwords, to the incoming executive board

Miriam Kessler and Irina Peschan are current co-presidents. They intend to run again for the upcoming year.

VICE PRESIDENT/CO-VICE PRESIDENT:

• assist the president or co-president in the discharge of duties
• assume the president or co-president’s duties in his/her absence or at their request
• is a signatory on all PA bank accounts if there is a single president
• in the event of a vacancy in the office of the president/co-president, the vice-president shall automatically succeed to the office of the president.
  
• Michel Leroy, Kathy Bolanos, and Richard Nunez-Lawrence are current co-vice presidents. Michel and Kathy intends to run again for the upcoming year. Elena O’Neal (currently co-recording secretary) intends to run.
  

RECORDING SECRETARY/CO-RECORDING SECRETARY:

The duties of the recording secretary shall include but are not
limited to the following:

• record minutes at all Association meetings;
• prepare notices, agendas, sign-in sheets and materials for distribution;
• prepare and read the minutes at Association meetings;
• distribute copies of the minutes for review and approval by the general membership;
• maintain the custody of the Association’s records on school premises;
• incorporate all amendments into the bylaws, and;
• ensure that signed copies of the bylaws with the latest amendments are on file
• in the principal’s office;
• may be responsible for reviewing, maintaining and responding to all correspondence addressed to the Association; and,
• assist with the June transfer of Association records, including all pertinent user IDs and passwords, to the incoming executive board.

Christopher Lee and Elena O’Neal are current co-recording secretaries. Nominations are open for both co-recording secretary positions.

TREASURER/CO-TREASURER:

The duties of the treasurer shall include but are not limited to the
following:

• responsible for all financial affairs and funds of the Association;
• maintain an updated record of all income and expenditures on school premises;
• is one of the signatories on checks;
• adhere to and implement all financial procedures established by the Association;
• prepare and present a written report of all transactions at every executive board and general membership meeting (which includes income, refunds,
• reimbursements and other expenditures, and opening and closing balances for the reporting period);
• prepare the Association’s interim and annual financial reports;
• make available all books and financial records for viewing by members upon
• request and for audit;
• assist with the June transfer of Association records, including all pertinent user IDs and passwords, to the incoming executive board.

Jeffrey Zimmer and Juana Mock are current co-treasurers. They both intend to run again for the upcoming year.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/CO-CORRESPONDING SECRETARY:

The duties of the corresponding secretary shall include but are not limited to the following:

• prepare and distribute notices of all Association meetings and event dates;
• be responsible for reviewing, maintaining and responding to all correspondence regarding the Association
• shall prepare responses or correspondence at the request of the president.

Lisa Fu is currently the corresponding secretary. She intends to run again for the upcoming year. Nominations are open for a co-corresponding secretary.

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM

The School Leadership Team (SLT) is a group of stakeholders consisting of the Principal, Assistant Principal, a PA Co-President, a United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Chapter Leader, Parents, and staff.

SLT provides:

• ongoing evaluations of a school’s educational programs and their impact on student achievement.
• play an important role in school-based decision-making
• help to make school cultures more collaborative

As an SLT member, you will:

• develop and review the schools Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP), including annual goals and objectives,
• consult with the principal in developing school-based budge and staffing plan aligned with the CEP; and
• assist in the evaluation and assessment of the school’s educational programs and their effect on student achievement

TIME COMMITMENT:

The SLT meets on the third Monday of every month during the school year from 4:30-6:30pm. Reimbursement for 30 hours of service is $300. The SLT position is a two-year commitment.

There are three main positions open with two alternate positions available in September. We are currently seeking nominations for the three main positions.

HOW TO NOMINATE YOURSELF/SOMEONE:

To nominate yourself or someone, please fill out the following form here.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScKc3e1ZsRqOHXtLbi6cr-DigaV6a4q8w54IRsq-hMJpr0jlQ/viewform?embedded=true

You must be present at the May 20th meeting in order to run for the election.

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The PS99 Parents’ Association (PA) calls on all parents to attend our next 2 meetings, to learn about how you and other parents can volunteer to serve as board members or as members of the School Leadership Team (SLT) to help make important decisions for the future of our PA and our school. These are positions for parents like you, who have the talent and the time, who believe they can benefit PS99 by serving on the PA Board or the SLT.

CALL FOR CANDIDATES:

The PS99 PA calls for candidates to fill all positions on the PA Board (details below).

The SLT calls for candidates to fill 3 positions for parent representatives (details below).

If you have questions or if you are interested in running for any of these positions, contact ps99queens.pa@gmail.com by May 18, 2021.

Note that all voters and candidates in these elections must be a parent (birth parent, adoptive parent, step-parent, legally-appointed guardian, foster parent, or “person in a parental relation” of a PS99 student.

You must be present at the PA Election Meeting on May 20th at 6:30 pm in order to vote or run for office.

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PS99 BOARD?

The term for each position is one year, beginning July 1. Following the election, there will be a Transfer of Records in June, when newly elected officers meet with the continuing and outgoing officers and school staff to ensure that everyone on the new Board is ready to step into their roles by July 1.

The minimum mandatory positions to qualify our organization as a PA are President (presides at meetings), Treasurer (keeps track of our finances), and Recording Secretary (keeps records of our meetings). However, in order to function effectively and do meaningful work to help PS99, we need a much more robust team that includes co-officers to share duties, Vice Presidents to take on specific projects and to connect with different constituencies within the school, and at least one Corresponding Secretary (deals with communications). The Board, and the roles of its officers are evolving to meet the challenges of our time, as we are on the cusp of becoming a 501c3 non-profit organization for the first time.

Serving on the Board is voluntary and unpaid. Each month, Board members are required to attend both the Board meeting and the General Membership meeting. The Board decides when the meetings will take place. This year all our meetings took place on Zoom; usually Board meetings were at 6:30 pm on the first Wednesday, and the General Membership meetings were at 6:30 pm on the third Thursday of the month.

Candidates can team up to run as a pair for certain positions, such as co-treasurers – to share the responsibilities, and to make sure the Board functions seamlessly in the event any officer unexpectedly resigns.

All Board members have an opportunity to help shape the PS99 PA’s plan of action for your term in office, and for the future!

WHAT IS THE SLT?

The SLT is a body that assists with school-based decision making. It develops PS99’s Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) which lays out attainable goals to meet the needs of students.

SLT meets once a month, at a mutually agreed-upon time. The date of the Meeting usually falls on the third Monday of the month, from September to June. New representatives begin their term in September, and meetings are open to all to attend as observers.

SLT members are given a stipend of $10 per hour that they participate.

The SLT at PS99 has 14 members – including a total of 7 parent representatives. One parent is the PA President, and the others are elected directly to the SLT by the  parents during PA Elections. The other members of the SLT are the principal, the assistant principal, a teacher who represents the UFT (Teachers’ Union), a staff member who represents the DC37 (Union of NYC public employees), and 3 teachers who are elected by the other teachers.

Parent representatives on the SLT serve for a 2 year term. Elections for parent representatives on the SLT take place every year, to fill the seats of those whose term is expiring.

This coming election we are seeking 3 new parent representatives, and there will be spots for 2 alternates up for election in September, to encourage the participation of parents new to the school.