Like many parents, when Stamford resident Deb Ehrets first child started school, Ehret began going to school again, too.
I started volunteering when she was in kindergarten, Ehret said about daughter Erika. I was new. I was trying to get to know people in the school.
Erika is now a fifth-grader at Roxbury Elementary School, and Ehrets son, Bennett, is in third grade. Ehret currently serves as co-president of Roxburys PTO with Lori Johnston.
I found out there was a great bunch of parents at Roxbury who were very involved, said Ehret. There was a lot of energy at the school. It energized me.
A major PTO focus is generating extra funds for school projects, student enrichment programs and needed equipment. Ehret recalled initiatives such as an auction held when Erika was in second grade. It brought in $48,000 for the school.
Its a biannual event, one of our biggest fund-raisers, said Ehret. Other sources of revenue include sales of such items as holiday wrapping paper, arranging for students photographs, and the schools pumpkin patch festival, scheduled to take place Saturday. The PTO-sponsored fund-raisers bring in around $60,000 each academic year.
With most projects, funding is the only barrier to their realization. That does not hold for one special PTO project, providing air conditioning. For that the school itself, which was built several decades ago and has an aged infrastructure, is the major obstacle.
What we need to see is some upgrades in that, said Ehret. Id definitely like to see physical upgrades to Roxbury.
Regardless of needed structural refurbishments, Ehret said the schools curriculum serves youngsters well.
I think the direction Roxburys been going in the past several years is really great, she said.
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