Lebanon Road’s PTA fell on hard times and bad press in 2015 when then-PTA president Christina Sawyer was accused of embezzling PTA funds for personal use.
But Lebanon Road’s current PTA board is a dedicated group passionate about doing more for Lebanon Road’s teachers, parents and students.
The PTA board is composed of President Danielle Anson, Vice President Tasheema Davis, Treasurer Yensi Serrano and Secretary Latrina Burden. “We’re a different PTA than when Ms. Sawyer was in office,” says Anson, “and we want to show it.”
Lebanon Road’s PTA is currently focusing on several volunteer initiatives and fundraisers to assist Lebanon Road’s teachers.
The PTA sponsors four main fundraisers over the course of the year: fall and spring catalog sales and fall and spring scholastic book fairs. The profits from these fundraisers support a variety of critical teacher and student needs. Some of the funds are used to purchase classroom supplies and refreshments for staff meetings.
Others are used to purchase prizes for the most improved and highest scoring students on end of grade tests. Still others are put toward students who are unable to pay in full for the yearly fifth-grade overnight trip to Camp Thunderbird.
The next fundraiser coming up at Lebanon Road Elementary is a catalog sale called “Winter Wonderland,” which will sell a variety of items appropriate for the holidays like wrapping paper, chocolates, home decor and gifts.
To expand on the ways the PTA can help Lebanon Road’s teachers, Anson plans to soon put in place the “Helping Hands” program begun by Maria Dorn at Shamrock Gardens. Helping Hands will place volunteers in the school one day a week to help teachers in whatever ways they need assistance throughout the day.
Anson is proud of the work the PTA does to support Lebanon Road’s teachers, but she hopes to do more for the school’s students and parents. Anson plans to start holding quarterly workshops for parents on issues like financial planning and internet safety. The first parent workshop is tentatively planned for January and will cover technology usage.
To meet the needs of the school community, Lebanon Road’s PTA is in need of more volunteers. Working with Lebanon Road’s PTA is a great way for anyone in the community to help support our local schools; you don’t have to be a parent of a Lebanon Road student.
If you are interested in volunteering for the Helping Hands program, future scholastic book fairs, or any other initiatives to support Lebanon Road’s teachers, students and parents, please contact PTA president Danielle Anson at daniellem.swan-anson@cms.k12.nc.us or 704-572-4605.
