Edison Elementary PTA Volunteer Guide
Volunteering at Edison
At Edison, there are dozens of ways to get involved and volunteer to support our Otters. We are thankful for any help, whether it’s five minutes cleaning up from the Fall Festival, 50 minutes organizing Earth Week festivities, or 5 hours a week helping out as a Lunch Buddy. It takes all of us to make Edison the community and school that it is – and we appreciate everyone helping in their own way. Sign up on Konstella!
PTA volunteer work is structured through committees, each of which are coordinated by a chair. We have committees in six major areas. Each major area has an Executive Board Liaison to ensure that all of our activities are aligned with the Edison PTA mission.
- Advocacy
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Family Engagement
- Fundraising
- School Operations and Support
- Youth Enrichment
- PTA Communications
Each of our volunteer opportunities are described below. Please read and sign up on Konstella for committees where you are interested!
Every volunteer must submit an online AUSD Volunteer Registration. Volunteers who will supervise children outside the presence of a teacher (for example, field trip drivers) must also get LiveScan fingerprinted.
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I have . . . |
What can I do? |
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5 minutes |
Join Konstella, like our Facebook page, donate money, and come to our events. |
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Time during the school day |
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Occasional time during the school day or weekend |
Lunch Buddy, Art Docent, Garden Science, Go Green, Room Parents, Assemblies, Field Trips, STEAM, and in-classroom volunteering coordinated by your room parents or teacher. |
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Time in the office or from home at night |
Everything else! ALL of our committees – even the ones above – require organizational work that can be done from home, the office, or the car between shuttling kids around. All PTA meetings are held after working hours so that as many parents as possible can participate. |
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A love of party planning |
The Dad’s Club and the Auction are the place for you! |
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A desire to make friends and build our Edison family |
Become a Room Parent and help create community across all of the |
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A desire to change the world! |
Check out Diversity and Inclusion, Community Service, Go Green, and Walk & Roll! |
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Computer, Facebook, or graphics skills |
Please help us make communications even more seamless and effective! |
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The ability to speak different languages |
Join the Diversity or Communication Committees and help us get the message out to all of our Otter families! |
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Occasional, unpredictable time |
No worries! Join any of our committees and feel free to offer what you can on your own schedule. Or check out the Edison Express newsletter and our newly-created Volunteer – General Interest group in Konstella, which feature tons of one-shot opportunities for helping out around the school. |
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Special Skills |
Come talk to Emma Finley, VP of Volunteers – we will find a place that takes advantage of your skill set! |
Edison PTA Committees
Click the links on the committee title to sign up for more information on Konstella.
Advocacy
Executive Board Liaison: OPEN
Community Service
The Edison Community Service Committee focuses on ways that the Edison community can help out around our city and county and on ways to increase family volunteering throughout the year. This includes bi-monthly information about how to volunteer in the area, supply drives for those in need, and a Fifth Grade Legacy Project. Volunteers help organize our turkey drive and community service night and help identify other needs and projects.
- Chair: OPEN
- Time commitment: 5-10 hours per year. Much of the work can be done from home or after school hours.
Go Green
The Edison PTA Go Green Committee aims to reduce our impact on the environment by providing programs and education that encourage our students and the school district to reduce, reuse, and recycle in school and at home.
- Chair: Danielle Mieler & Mike Mieler
- Time commitment: Flexible depending on your availability, with work that can be done during school hours or on your own.
Walk & Roll
Edison Walk & Roll encourages exercise, community, and safe walking and biking through our programs. Volunteers help put on our assemblies and morning celebrations.
- Chair: Francesca Puccini
- Time commitment: Flexible depending on your availability.
Diversity and Inclusion
Executive Board Liaison: Lebbonee Kittredge
Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Our hope is to empower all students at Edison to their fullest potential. Students can have success when all of their self is uplifted and included in classroom learning. Building positive identities and a respect for differences means weaving diversity and inclusion into the fabric of the school as well as the children’s everyday lives. As a committee we do community building work, organize workshop opportunities for parents and teachers, and plan for multicultural night, assemblies and potlucks.
- Chair: Lebbonee Kittredge
- Time Commitment: 2-4 hours a month or join our meetings when you can.
Family Engagement
Executive Board Liaison: OPEN
Dad’s Club
The Dad’s Club is a group of parents that puts on our Fall Festival, Edison Idol, the chili cook-off, and many other fun community building events.
- Chair: Mike Kuhlmann
- Time commitment: depends on your role, up to 5-6 hours per event.
Hospitality
Help welcome parents, provide snacks, and otherwise welcome families at PTA meetings and other events. General volunteer needs: Typically run by one or two people who can be at evening events before they start, provide and set up food/drinks, and stay through the event to clean-up.
- Chair: Madeline Donovan, co-chair still OPEN
- Time Commitment: Flexible, up to 3 hours per event
Room Parents
The Room Parent committee coordinates communication between all the room parents. This includes recruiting parent volunteers for each classroom, hosting an orientation meeting at the beginning of the year, sending out teacher surveys, maintaining room parent assignments and files in Konstella, and working with other committees such as teacher appreciation, Go Green, safety, etc. General volunteer needs: Ongoing communication with PTA president and other committees, Konstella site maintenance, training at beginning of year, sending out teacher surveys, and helping to coordinate end of year picnic.
- Co-Chairs: OPEN
- Time commitment: up to 10 hours per month
Fifth Grade Promotion Committee
This position is usually held by a fourth grade parent, who convenes a small group to organize the Fifth Grade Promotion so fifth grade parents can enjoy the party.
- Chair: OPEN POSITION
- Time Commitment: 2-10 hours in May/June
Welcome Committee
Coordinate events for incoming Edison families, especially incoming Kindergarten families, so that they feel welcome and informed about life at Edison. Volunteer needs include organizing and helping with annual events: Kinder and New Student Playdates and First Day Coffee; meeting and orienting families that join Edison after a typical fall start.
- Chair: Kelly Esguerra & Kat Smith
- Time Commitment: Varies depending on role
Fundraising
Executive Board Liaison: Charlise Tiee
Spring Auction
Every March, the Edison PTA parent community comes together to celebrate our school, our kids, and our community at our annual spring auction & gala. This event is our biggest fundraising event of the year. It brings in over half of the PTA annual budget and is critical to the success of our students. Every dollar raised goes towards new technology in classrooms, field trips, school psychologists, garden and computer staff and programs, school assemblies and more. The auction & gala is a night of fun activities including: online, silent and live auction; delicious food & drink; live entertainment and more!!
Planning for this event begins in about mid-September. If you like to plan events & parties please consider joining the Auction Committee!
- Co-Chairs: OPEN POSITION
- Time Commitment: Depends on your role – could be 1-2 hours a month for 4 months (i.e. if you are helping with food and drink menu) or could be many hours 1-2 days before the event if you are on the decorating committee or helping with set-up.
Read-A-Thon
During this two-week event, students focus on reading while raising money for important PTA-sponsored programs. Your donations help make our school great! We need a committee to come up with a concept, and roll out the program (including stuffing envelopes with Read-A-Thon information for all the students; tracking the reading hours and disseminating the prizes accordingly).
- Chair: Charlise Tiee
- Time Commitment: 3-4 volunteers on about 2-3 afternoons stuffing envelopes before the event and then again after.
Merchant Programs
There are many easy ways to earn FREE MONEY for Edison PTA every time you shop through Amazon and other merchants. This committee helps advertise our programs and works with sponsors to set up new programs. Volunteer support is always helpful – sign up if you are interested and we will be in contact as needs develop throughout the year.
- Chair: OPEN POSITION
- Time Commitment: 10 hours a year
Dine and Donate
Set up occasional fundraising opportunities that also support our local businesses. Eat out on a specific date, bring a flyer, and the participating restaurant will donate a percentage of the proceeds to the Edison PTA! Volunteer support is always helpful – sign up if you are interested and we will be in contact as needs develop throughout the year
- Chair: OPEN POSITION
- Time Commitment: 10 hours a year
Otterwear
Help with any design concept for Edison Otterwear and other swag. Coordinate orders with vendor. Take and track Otterwear orders. Coordinate getting the Otterwear orders out to purchasers. Volunteer support is always helpful – sign up if you are interested and we will be in contact as needs develop throughout the year
- Chair: Kat Smith
- Time Commitment: 10 hours a year
School Support and Operations
Executive Board Liaison: Kat Smith
Teacher/Staff Appreciation
The Edison PTA greatly appreciates our teachers and staff – and we want to show it! On a monthly basis, each grade provides a Staff Appreciation luncheon for our School Staff. Parents contribute homemade or catered lunches, with plenty of flowers and treats! Then towards the end of the year, the Staff Appreciation Committee coordinates Teacher Appreciation Week, where we pamper our teachers each day of the week, with a grand luncheon on Friday!
- Chair: Heather Kafka & Erin Zajonc
- Time commitment: 1-2 hours per month
Lunch Buddies
Help support kids during lunch and lunch recess.
- Chair: OPEN
- Time commitment: 11:45-12:45, as many days as you choose.
Youth Enrichment
Executive Board Liaison: OPEN
Art Docent
Edison’s Art program is led by an art instructor with support from parents. Monthly lessons cover a variety of art methods and related art history. No art or teaching experience is necessary to be an art docent. The lessons are prepared for you step-by step, and it is a really fun way to get in the classroom with the kids!
- Chair: OPEN
- Time commitment: 2 hours per month.
Assemblies/Field Trips
Monthly assemblies bring in authors, musicians, plays, and many more educators to teach our kids about many topics, plus they are super entertaining! Volunteers help research, schedule, coordinate and hire Assemblies programs that enhance learning for all of our students.
- Chair: Analucia Silva
- Time commitment: 15 – 20 hours per year.
Garden Science
Edison’s organic garden is a hands-on place to apply lessons and have real-life experiences that get kids excited about learning. Students visit the garden for a new lesson each month, learning about observation and investigation, life cycles, problem-solving, recycling, and teamwork, with topics as varied as chickens, intercropping, soil ph level and weather measurements. They plant crops, pull and compost weeds, amend soil, harvest crops and share vegetables and herbs they’ve grown themselves. Volunteers help with lessons and help maintain the garden.
- Chair: Mark Cline
- Time commitment: Garden Docents 1-1½ hrs/month during school hours; Garden Maintenance Crew 1-3 hrs/month on the weekend. Garden Recess 1-4 hrs/month during school lunch hour.
STEAM Enrichment
From assisting Edison’s educators with STEAM related supplies and activities, to hosting Weekend STEAM Workshops/Experiments out on the Edison blacktop, to participating in the Alameda Mini-Maker Faire, this committee seeks to engage our parents and kids with hands-on STEAM learning opportunities.
- Chair: Julia Berger and Scott Gilbert
- Time commitment: 1-2 hours per month
PTA Communications
Executive Board Liaison: Brian Donovan
Marketing and Graphics
We are seeking people who can help us advertise various events and encourage more participation. From advertising restaurant nights to promoting PTA meetings to designing graphics for Facebook, this is a job that can be done from your home. We are particularly looking for people who are comfortable with graphic design or Facebook. For example, you could help us make this overview of volunteer opportunities look slick and beautiful! Sign up under the Communications committee.
- Chair: OPEN
- Time commitment: Variable and as you prefer
Communications
We are looking for people to support our Communications efforts, including technical support to parents on Konstella, newsletter preparation, and other communications efforts. This job can be done from home!
- Chair: Brian Donovan
- Time commitment: Variable and as you prefer