by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Sauk Rapids Pleasantview Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Advisory Council has been around for more than a decade and is still going strong.
Jim Dorn, president of Pleasantview’s PTAC, says the groups primary function is to help the school with things that aren’t in the budget and to make activities accessible to every child, regardless of the child’s family’s income level.
A PTAC is a bit different than a Parent-Teacher Association. A PTA is a formal national organization, whereas the PTAC is much less formal.
“We’re basically a way for parents to get involved who might not be able to make it to school during the day to help out,” Dorn said in a Newsleader interview.
Mississippi Heights Elementary also has a PTAC, while Rice Elementary has a PTA group and the Sauk Rapids Middle School has the Green-and-Gold Committee.
Dorn is part of the Green-and-Gold Committee, as well, because his 11-year-old son Mitchell is in sixth grade there. Dorn and his wife, Rose, also have a daughter, Morgan, who is 9 years old, a fourth-grader.
“I started with the Pleasantview PTAC when my son was in first grade,” Dorn said. “It was nice to be doing things that made a difference in the school.”
Some of the events the Pleasantview PTAC puts on throughout the year include:
- Fall Fundraiser, which is held through the Chip Shoppe, a fundraising company based in St. Cloud. Students are given the chance to sell treats to raise money for the PTAC. Students are not required to participate, but all students benefit from the fundraising;
- Ice Cream Social, which is usually held on a Thursday night in the fall, right before the first late-start of the year;
- 5K/1K Family Run/Walk that will be held Saturday, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m. at Pleasantview;
- Cabin Fever, usually held the last Friday night in January. Games and activities are held in and around the gym and include face-painting, nail-polishing, bingo and more.
- Drive-in Movie Night is held sometime in the spring. The gym is turned into a pretend drive-in theater with popcorn, candy, pop and water for sale at reasonable prices. Admission is free, but you have to bring your own lawn or bean-bag chair. The movie is usually a recent release.
- Spring Carnival is usually held toward the end of the school year, with inflatables and games, pizza and a basket raffle.
“It’s interesting to see how kids interact with their classmates from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,” Dorn said. “And these activities give families a good reason to get together and see each other, as well.”
Dorn said the group works closely with Pleasantview Principal Aby Froiland to understand the needs and wants of the faculty and staff.
“We use some of the fundraising money to subsidize class trips,” Dorn said.
For example, if a trip costs $10 per student, the PTAC might put money toward the trip to drop the cost down to $4 per student and even offer scholarships for some students to cover the complete cost of a particular trip or event.
“We want to make sure every child gets the opportunities their classmates get,” Dorn added.
The fundraising also benefits the school structure itself. This summer, the PTAC donated a tension structure to provide shade for students near the playground. The structure is basically just four poles with a taut piece of fabric stretched between them.
“Before, there wasn’t really any shade near the playground for kids to take breaks . . . Also, a large map of the United States will eventually be placed under it, so it can be used for outdoor learning, as well,” Dorn said.
The PTAC also supported the installation of ActivBoards in Pleasantview classrooms. The ActivBoards are basically whiteboards which are interactive and are connected to a computer.
5K/1K Family Run
This is the second year Pleasantview’s PTAC will host the 5K/1K Family Run. Last year, about 100 people registered for the event in advance, and as of Tuesday about 85 people have registered.
“I love that the course keeps you right in the neighborhood around Pleasantview,” Dorn said. “It’s just a great little community run . . . Last year it just kind of landed on the same weekend as the firefighters’ open house and we had families do the run and then head right over as a group to the fire hall . . . It was really cool.”
The 5K/1K Family Run starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 at Pleasantview, while the firefighters’ open house is from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the fire station on North Benton Drive.
If you are interested in becoming involved in Pleasantview’s PTAC, you can find more information about it online at www.facebook.com/PVPTAC1 or at www.isd47.org/pv/about/pv-ptac. To find out more about the other parent groups in the school district, head to www.isd47.org/parents and look on the left-hand side under ‘Parent Groups’ for your school.
From left to right, Adyson Froiland, 11, Landon Johnson, 5, and Ashley Koneitzko, 11, head to the finish line at the 2014 Pleasantview Family 5K/1K Run.
From left to right, Adyson Froiland, 11, Dylan Schroeder, 9, and Janet Peterson head to the finish line at the 2014 Pleasantview Family 5K/1K Run.
Piper Froiland, 8, and Rayleen Lahr, 5, try to stay warm after the 2014 Pleasantview Family 5K/1K Run.
The 5K/1K Family Run will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 at Pleasantview.
