Schools
VIDEO: Groveland's 21st Century PTO
The Groveland Elementary School's PTO is helping to create classrooms for "digital kids."
From spaghetti dinners and talent shows to milk cap collections, parent and teacher fundraising efforts are becoming more important at Minnetonka’s , as funding for public schools shrinks.
“Go Groveland” is an on-going fundraising effort, created last year by , a Groveland mom who wanted to kick her children’s school fundraising efforts up a notch.
“Raising money for our school is very difficult in this economy, with all the schools asking the same businesses for donations,” said Holds.
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Lori Schneck has two children at Groveland and is a member of the more than 40-person organization. The group meets once a month, and Schneck says more than $25,000 was put directly back into Groveland classrooms through fundraising efforts last year.
“We take the entire fund and divide it among the school’s staff,” said Schneck. “They don't need to submit grant requests or gain pre-approval. They simply decide what they need to enrich their students’ learning for that year, and they are reimbursed.”
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Parents involved in the organization say teachers use the money to fund special curriculum programs, science or art supplies, field trips, the , Multicultural Week and the iPads in the classroom program, featured in the video portion of this article.
“Our organization annually gives the school’s media center at least $6,000 to purchase books and other technology items that enrich our kids experiences,” said Schneck.
There are two main fundraisers at Groveland, one in the fall and one in the spring.
“Our fall fundraiser has traditionally been a catalog sale of wrapping paper, food, and other things,” said Schneck. “Our organization is working hard to try to find alternatives to this, but the funds raised are critical to our school, so will continue to be a part of the puzzle for now.”
The organization also hosts a dad’s spaghetti dinner, online auctions, and a talent show.
“It’s a reality that public funding provides only the very basic tools for education,” said Schneck. “All of the extras, which are what most people would assume are basic, need to be funded outside of the district budget. The ‘I pay my taxes’ just doesn't cut it, not for the kind of education and environment we have come to expect.”
This Saturday is the “Go Groveland” Gala at from 6:30 – 11 p.m. Tickets are $30-$35/person, and include a live auction for Taylor Swift tickets and a performance by Minneapolis singer Tim Mahoney. Fore more information go to www.gogroveland.com.
