About the PTA

The Barnard Bears PTA is the parent teacher association for the Barnard Elementary School in Washington, DC. The PTA is a group of families and staff working together to help support the Barnard community. Membership is open to all families, staff, and community members. Dues are $10 per year, payable annually. We meet one evening each month, varying between in-person and virtually, during the school year to keep up with Barnard news and events. See the Calendar page for upcoming meeting dates and locations.

Contact the PTA Board at barnardbearspta@gmail.com with any questions you have for current Barnard parents or about the PTA.

PTA Meetings

PTA meetings take place on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, from 6-7:30 pm, unless school is closed that day. Check the Calendar for all scheduled PTA meetings for the year. We meet in person and provide refreshments (a light meal), childcare, English/Spanish interpretation, and live-streaming so as many families as possible can attend.

View past PTA meeting agendas and minutes in the Docs & Photos menu option on the left. You will need to login to PTBoard or create a new account to see minutes.

Financials

Check out our 2023-2024 Year in Review Annual Report! Click the image below to download as a pdf.

 

Approved FY24-25 Barnard PTA Budget and FY23-24 Actuals

The PTA voted to approve its new fiscal year 2024-2025 budget at the September monthly meeting.

 

Treasurer's Notes on FY24-25 Budget

FY23-24 WELL EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS ON BOTH INCOME AND EXPENSES. THE PTA BOARD FEELS A RESPONSIBILITY TO STRIVE FOR THIS LEVEL OF ACTIVITY AGAIN IN THE NEW YEAR.

Therefore, we’re proposing a “Status Quo” budget with the goal of keeping expenses relatively flat over last year’s actuals.

  • For Income, restricted money is not projected which is the major difference between this year’s projections and last year’s actuals.
  • Assumes same level of fundraising from individual donors.
  • For expenses, projections are fairly even in comparison to last year’s actuals, with 81% of costs allocated to support the Staff and Student Community.

 

​Target End-of-Year Balance (6/30/25): $9,000

Thank you for your support of the Barnard Bears community through the PTA! 

 

Email Group

In addition to this website, the PTA maintains a google group that we encourage all Barnard families to join. The PTA sends out announcements, updates, and information on events through the group. The group is also a great place for Barnard families to communicate with each other. Sign up via Google Groups.

2023-2025 Barnard Bears PTA Officers

ShaVaughn Sanders, President

* Happy Everyday * My name is ShaVaughn Sanders. I am a native Washingtonian born and nurtured on Capitol Hill in Washington District of Columbia. I was educated within the DC public school system from Head start through high school. I am the Mother of seven, four singletons and a set of triplets. I've been a Barnard Bear for 7 years. I have two Barnard alumni and three current scholars. I am honored and excited to be your PTA president representative . * Barnard Bears * * I LOVE CHILDREN *

 

Eliza Cava, Vice President 

Eliza Cava has lived with her wife near Sherman Circle since 2012 and is the parent of two Barnard Bears. She speaks fluent conversational Spanish and rides her bike everywhere. Her professional background is in environmental advocacy.

Tiffany Reed, Treasurer

Tiffany Reed has lived in Petworth for over ten years. She loves urban hikes, running in Rock Creek Cemetery, and socializing with neighbors. In her professional career, Tiffany is a marketing and fundraising executive for national non-profit organizations and has previous experience serving as treasurer on two non-profits boards. Tiffany is a proud mom to her son Kieran who is a thriving Barnard Bear.

Liz Langton, Secretary

 

Thank you to former Secretary, Nathalia Melamed.

 

Thank you to the 2020-2023 PTA!

Shonta Oliver, Dan Mickelson, Rush Sanghvi, Rebecca Sanghvi

 

Volunteer Opportunities at Barnard!

Room Parents

The PTA strives to match a Room Parent to each classroom. Room Parent duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Meet 1-on-1 with your child’s teacher at the beginning of the year to establish a relationship & ask what requests/expectations the teacher may have
  • Help to manage class communication among parents and caregivers
  • Serve as a conduit for the teacher to ask parents/caregivers for help for class-wide events/projects/needs
  • Plan at least one off-campus and optional gathering - playground meet-up on the weekend, etc. (requires no-cost; no snacks need be provided)
  • Coordinate class gifts for teachers (holidays, end of the year, or any other occasions that may call for support; new baby, death in family, etc.)

PTA Committees

We need you! The work of the PTA is done by its members - family members, teachers, staff, and community members. In 2024-2025, the Officers propose the following standing committees. Standing committee chairs serve as part of the PTA Board of Directors:

  • Fundraising - Chair: Tiffany Reed
  • Grounds/Playground (i.e. trash pickup, artwork, weekend playground access) - Chair: Rachel Redfern
  • Garden - Chair: Wasima Gary
  • Teacher Appreciation - Chair: Courtney Edwards
  • Events (i.e. cultural heritage activities including Black History Month Extravaganza, movie nights, etc.) - Chair: ShaVaughn Sanders
  • Family engagement (i.e. back-to-school nights, outreach for PTA meetings, help with newsletters, multilingual communication, supporting food and coat drives) - Chair: NEEDED
  • Volunteer coordinating (i.e. managing Room Parent process and linking volunteers to other committees and school administration) - Chair: Alissa Mickelson

JOIN A COMMITTEE! (scroll down to "Groups")

In-School Volunteering

There are also opportunities to volunteer within the school, such as helping out in the cafeteria at lunch time, supporting teachers in classrooms with reading, tutoring, and art projects, and much more. If you would like to volunteer within the school and with the students, you must:

  1. 1. Submit the DCPS Clearance Form (click the button below).

    • Where the form asks for school contact, put Angela Blanchard; angela.blanchard@k12.dc.gov; (202) 576-1100

  2. 2. Get fingerprinted at a UPS location (instructions will be provided once you finish the DCPS form).

    • When you are scheduling your fingerprinting, where it asks for DCPS role choose “Employee”

  3. 3. When you receive notification of your clearance, email barnardbearspta@gmail.com for next steps to get a volunteer assignment.

PTA Board 

PTA Board terms last two years and we have a minimum of four offices: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Board coordinates all other activities of the PTA, stands up committees, and leads communication with the school administration. The current Board will serve through the 2024-2025 school year, and then there will be an election for the new board. Only current PTA members will be eligible to run for office and vote for the new board at that time.