FAQ
The purpose of the Educational Foundation is to provide financial support to enhance the academic curriculum at Park Village Elementary School for all our students. Our primary objective is to provide funding for the following supplemental programs: art, music, physical education, science, and technology software.
We also aim to provide funding for programs and events that foster community-building and encourage students to shine.
No, the Foundation and PTA are two separate entities. The Foundation is the fundraising body for Park Village. Any donations that parents would like to have directly support the Park Village Elementary School community need to be made to the Foundation. We do not have annual membership dues and do not provide any dues to a national body — all Foundation funds stay within the school.
The Foundation funds the salaries for the Special Area Teachers (“Specials”) and has also taken on the responsibility of hosting the majority of school-wide events.
No — the entire Foundation Board and Committee Members are parent volunteers. No one on the Board is an employee of PUSD or paid for their time.
The only exceptions are the Teacher Representatives and the Principal, who participate in monthly meetings and help guide the Board in decision-making to best support the school.
Absolutely. Please note that meetings have a full agenda, and new topics should be emailed and discussed prior to the meeting so they can be approved and added to the agenda.
Attending our monthly meetings is a great way to get insight on what is happening within the school, the challenges we are facing, and the opportunities available to help improve the school.
Please email us at parkvillagefoundation@gmail.com.
- Weekly Newsletter — sent via email from our Principal each week and also posted on the school website.
- Social Media — follow us on Instagram (@parkvillageelem) and Facebook (@parkvillagefoundation). Tag or DM us if you’d like something shared.
- Visit our Volunteer page or our Volunteer Sign-Up page on Sign Up Genius.
Volunteer! You do NOT have to serve in a board position to volunteer with the Foundation. Any event we host, we welcome — and need — parent help. No time given is too small.
To volunteer, visit our Volunteer Sign-Up page on Sign Up Genius and click on the event(s) that interest you. For events that aren’t yet open for sign-up, see our Volunteer page. If you want to be more involved, email us at parkvillagefoundation@gmail.com.
Anyone can volunteer to be on an event planning committee, sign up for a Book Fair shift, or help at another event. We need all the parent and community support we can get to make events and activities happen each year.
To serve on the Board, members must be nominated by a current Board member and voted on at the annual elections. Board members must attend 90% of all meetings each year and serve in a leadership capacity as a VP, Director, or Advisor.
Board members are voted in each year. Anyone interested in joining the Board can submit an application to the President at parkvillagefoundation@gmail.com.
Visit our Funding Goals page to learn more about the areas we fundraise for, our budgeted goals, and more.
Friends of the Foundation are local businesses that directly support Park Village through donations or services and goods. If you own a local business and are curious how it can make a tax-deductible donation to support Park Village Elementary while sharing your brand with the school community, visit our Friends of the Foundation page.
While our goal is to always have Science, Music, PE, and Art positions filled, these positions are hired through PUSD and financially reimbursed by the Park Village Foundation. All positions are part-time, so it can be tricky to find candidates who match the qualifications and schedule/hours needed.
If you know of an interested candidate for any of our open positions, please refer them to our Principal to begin the application process.
Restaurant Nights are a monthly fundraising opportunity for our school. We collaborate with local restaurants who donate a percentage of proceeds on a selected date — often by mentioning the fundraiser (or using a specific code) when ordering.
If you know of a local restaurant that might want to host a fundraising night for us, please let us know!
Several times each year, the Foundation hosts a day when parents can come to school during their child’s lunchtime and spend lunch together. Parents are welcome to bring in outside food and a picnic blanket, or sit in the lunch area. Ice cream is sometimes available for a nominal fee, which supports future Foundation events.
Friday Flag is a monthly school assembly hosted by our Principal, Teachers, and Student Leadership to recognize students for outstanding character and other distinctions. It’s usually held on the last Friday of the month from 8:45–9:15 AM — we recommend checking the school events page in case the date shifts.
If your child has been selected, your teacher will reach out the week of the assembly and invite you to attend. Guests enter from the front gates and assemble on either side. Students sit in the lunch area (youngest students up front); Student Leadership and staff use microphones from the stage.
Apex Leadership Co partners with our school for a Jog-A-Thon-style fundraiser combined with age-appropriate leadership and character lessons during the school day. It typically runs almost two weeks, culminating with the Run on a Thursday morning.
Like most jog-a-thons, students are encouraged to reach out to family and friends for flat donations or per-lap pledges. There are daily classroom competitions and students earn incentives based on participation and fundraising. All students participate in the Apex Run, regardless of how much they raise — making it a fun, inclusive, school-wide event.
Apex operates on a commission-based model and takes a portion of funds raised to cover staffing, technology, curriculum, and prizes. The Foundation still retains significantly more net funding than we did running our own jog-a-thon. In the past, our own jog-a-thon required 300+ volunteer hours and raised about $30,000 with extensive expenses. With Apex our first year, the Foundation retained over $60,000 with minimal day-of volunteers — allowing us to sustainably support programs like Music, Science, and Physical Education.