Our last PTA Membership Meeting for this school year will be on Thursday, June 11th.  Principal Lucy Davies will be our special guest after we cover our business items, which include approving a budget and electing officers for the next school year (June). We welcome all families of Ben Rush Elementary to attend but only members will be able to take part in voting items.  The agenda for our June Membership meeting is as follows:

• Review and Approve Membership Meeting Minutes from May 7, 2020 (voting required)
• Nominating Committee Report
• Election of Officers (voting required)
• Review Budget and Approve (voting required)
• President’s Report
• Principal’s Report
• Membership Questions

If you could RSVP to attend the Membership Meeting we would love to have you join us.  The full details are below, once you RSVP we will follow up with a meeting invite to hold the time on your calendar.

Meeting ID: meet.google.com/nzf-exbb-wey

Phone Numbers
(‪US)‪+1 470-499-1725
PIN: ‪586 252 178#

Our Nominating Committee has completed their evaluations for our elected offices and has the following report to share.  Elections for these positions will take place during our General Meeting on June 11th.

The 2020 Benjamin Rush PTA nominating committee hereby places the following names into nomination:

For the office of President: Lisa Winfrey
For the office of Vice-President: Amy Hackmann
For the office of Secretary: Cristin McClellan
For the office of Treasurer: Michelle Udasco

The nominating committee has confirmed that all nominees have been a member of a PTA for at least 15* days prior to the election and meet other requirements as stated in the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws.

The recent events in the US regarding injustice to those in the black community remind us that all humans deserve to live in a world where they are shown through words and action that they are valued and loved.  While the road to justice regarding racial issues will take continued effort and action we can start by ensuring we are taking steps to ensure Ben Rush students and families practice inclusion and appreciation for all individuals, including and especially towards those who may be different from themselves.  As a Ben Rush board we accept a collective and individual responsibility to advance equity for our students, and will be taking two immediate steps to support this for our school and our PTA.

First, we will be opening a position for “Equity Chair”  as an extension of our board.  This individual will be invited to sit on our board meetings and prioritize advancing equity for Ben Rush.  This person will also sit as a parent member of the Ben Rush Equity Team to be a representative voice to the school.  If you are interested in this position please reach out to Lisa at President@BenRushPTA.org.

Second, for the 2020-2021 school year we will budget to purchase books for teacher classrooms to ensure students learn about a variety of cultures, races, and abilities.  We will work with the school to determine age appropriate books for each grade.  This allocation will be included in our review of the budget at our Membership Meeting on Thursday.

Both National PTA and WA State PTA have released statements to address their position on racial equity, and as a member of Ben Rush PTA you help to support efforts to advocate for all children.

We are planning to create a rock garden at Ben Rush to commemorate our 2019-2020 school year.  The past few months are not what any of us would have expected or wanted, but we are so grateful for our school staff, teachers, families, adn students for their continued dedication to education and staying together as a community.  We are finalizing plans for how to collect rocks and display them at the school, but in the meantime if you’d like to get a head start on this feel free to find your favorite rock (no more than 4″ in diameter) and decorate as you wish!  Feel free to paint or color your rock, decorate it, and have your student write their name on it.  We will provide an opportunity for students to be able to create these rocks at school in a safe way and will message those plans once they’re finalized.