Who We Are

The Lowell Parent Teacher Association (PTA) organizes activities and programs that make our school a better place for our students and staff. Parent involvement is essential to student success, and Lowell PTA provides many opportunities for parents to get involved in what's happening at school. It's also a great opportunity to meet other Lowell families!  The Lowell PTA is also a member of the Tacoma Council PTA and the National PTA.  The dues we pay to these organizations support programs and legislation that benefit education. The National PTA's membership of over 6.5 million has a powerful voice in government. Visit the National PTA's website for more information about the larger organization.

2009-2010 PTA Meetings

PTA meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm in the school library.  Coffee and snacks are provided and babysitting is always available.  Please join us. Here's our meeting schedule.

Lowell PTA 2009-2010 Board Members

To see a list of the PTA Board Members, see the contact page.

What PTA Funds

Lowell PTA funds a variety of enrichment programs, events and activities, community service programs, and provides teacher and school support. Here is a sampling of what we have planned for the coming school year.

Academic Enrichment Programs

• Science: Nutrition Education for grades K-3, Garden Program, Pacific Science Center science van, and Science Fair
• Literacy: School wide writing workshops, support for the Read Naturally reading tutoring program and the Accelerated Reader program
• Art, Drama and Music: Drawing lessons for all classes, funding for classroom In-Touch-With-Art program, drama productions including funding for classroom plays and professional opera production.

Staff and School Support

The PTA provides funding for classroom field trips, classroom supplies, emergency preparedness supplies, equipment purchases, Teacher Appreciation Week, and professional development programs for teachers and staff.

Programs and Events

Funded events include Back-to-School Pizza Feed, Fall Carnival, and Family Fun Night.

Other programs and activities sponsored but not directly funded by the PTA include

Tuition based foreign language instruction, 5th Grade Environmental Camp, and Lowell Baseball Night at the Tacoma Rainiers.

Community Service Programs

The PTA provides Thanksgiving Baskets, a Christmas Giving Tree, and funding to purchase school supplies for Lowell students and families in need.

How We Fundraise

To pay for all of these great programs, events, and provide staff support, Lowell PTA has approved a budget with expenses of $34,000 for the coming school year. We need your help with fundraising to meet our projected income! Please consider helping out by participating in some of this year’s fundraising activities, or by making a donation to Lowell PTA. These are the major fundraisers planned for this year:

• Sally Foster: We will be starting the school year off with our Sally Foster gift-wrapping sales. This fundraiser typically funds the largest portion of our budget, raising over $12,000 last year for our PTA programs. Fifty percent of every purchase through Sally Foster goes directly to our PTA.
• Scrip: Scrip is a pre-paid “gift” card purchased through Lowell PTA to various stores. We offer scrip to numerous grocery stores, restaurants, retail stores, and gas stations. A percentage of the amount purchased goes to our PTA. Depending on the store, this can range from 3% to 20%. Scrip orders can be placed approximately every 2 weeks, with purchased cards available for pick-up every other Friday after school. Grocery and coffeee cards are available for sale most Fridays after school across from the office.
• Academic Triathlon: Last year our Academic Triathlon raised over $1,200 to help send the 5th graders to Environmental Camp. This year we hope to raise an additional $6,700 to help support a variety of other academic enrichment programs. Students collect pledges for the Triathlon, which consists of 30 minutes of reading, 30 minutes of math, and 30 minutes of walking. All students participate in the Triathlon, regardless of whether or not they obtain pledges.
• Donations: Lowell PTA is a non-profit organization. This year we are allocating 100 % of our general donations to our library fund. Please consider making a generous fully deductible donation to the PTA to help us upgrade our wonderful library or to support our other valuable programs.

We Need Volunteers

Consider volunteering! We need volunteers to tutor students having difficulty reading, classroom In-Touch-With Art volunteers, garden volunteers, and volunteers to help with the Foreign Language program. We also need volunteers to help out at variety of events this year such as: Back to School Dinner, Fall Carnival, “Walk Your Child to School Day”, Thanksgiving Baskets, Giving Tree, Book Fairs, Art Night, and Science Fair. We need help with fundraising events such as Sally Foster, Pizza Takeovers, and the Academic Triathlon. We are also looking for PTA members interested in serving as math enrichment coordinator, field trip coordinator, Lowell Anthology coordinator, library acquisitions coordinator, and technology troubleshooter. Volunteering is a great way to get to know other parents and become more involved in the community surrounding our school. Sign up now and make a difference in a child's life. If you would like to volunteer for one of these events or positions, click here to email our volunteer coordinator.

Standing Rules for Lowell PTA

1. The name of Lowell PTA local unit is: Lowell PTA 10.9.115.
2. Lowell PTA serves the children in the Lowell school community, which includes the residences and businesses in the Lowell elementary school enrollment area.
3. Lowell PTA is incorporated by the State of Washington as a non-profit organization. The Treasurer is responsible for filing the Annual Corporation Report. The registered agent for this corporation is the Washington State PTA.
4. Lowell PTA is registered under the Charitable Solicitations Act. The treasurer is responsible for filing the annual registration (must be filed by November 15th to avoid penalties).
5. Lowell PTA is granted tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3). The treasurer is responsible for filing IRS Form 990 prior to November 15th.
6. The membership service fees for Lowell PTA shall be Ten Dollars ($10.00) per person, or Seventeen Dollars ($17.00) per family. All board members and committee members are required to be current PTA members.
7. The elected officers of Lowell PTA shall be President, Vice President-Events, Vice-President-Fundraising, Secretary, and Treasurer, with the elected officers comprising the executive committee. Job descriptions for the elected officers are:
1. President: The president shall preside at all meetings and plan the agenda ahead of time with the PTA secretary, utilizing input from others. The president has the responsibility of making appointments to positions and committees, with the approval of the executive committee. The president assures that Lowell PTA participates in the election of the region director, and should attend general council meetings for the region.
2. Vice President-Events: The vice president-events shall oversee all events run by Lowell PTA. The vice president-events shall perform all of the duties of the president in their absence, and shall assist the president when called upon. In case of a vacancy in the office of president, the vice president-events shall temporarily assume the duties until the vacancy is filled.
3. Vice President-Fundraising: The vice president-fundraising shall oversee all fundraising undertaken by Lowell PTA. The vice president-fundraising shall assist the president when called upon. In case of a vacancy in the office of president, the vice president-events shall temporarily assume the duties until the vacancy is filled.
4. Secretary: The secretary shall take minutes and record all business transacted at each meeting. The secretary must prepare the minutes for approval at the next meeting. Together with the president, the secretary should plan the meeting agenda and inform the president of any unfinished business at the meeting. The secretary issues all notices of meetings and conducts correspondence. The secretary should work with the treasurer and membership chair to keep an up-to-date roster of members and record of all committees. At the end of the year (June 30), the secretary should be sure that all legal documents and permanent record files are in order and ready to transfer to new officers.
5. Treasurer: The treasurer shall present the budget to the membership, and keep an accurate and detailed account of all funds received and all funds disbursed. The treasurer should submit a written monthly financial report at each meeting of the PTA. The treasurer shall forward the State PTA portion of membership service fees to the Washington State PTA. The treasurer must preserve all receipts, bank statements, cancelled checks, and other records and submit these to the audit committee when requested. The books must be closed prior to June 30, and submitted for audit to the audit committee.
8. The board of directors of Lowell PTA shall consist of the elected officers and the chairs of the following committees:
1. Membership: responsible for overseeing the membership drive and keeping track of the membership roster, maintaining volunteer lists, and contacting volunteers or forwarding volunteer names to appropriate committee chairs
2. Curriculum Enrichment: liaison between various enrichment programs, staff, and PTA
3. Publicity: organizes publicity for events, helps prepare items for newletter
4. Legislative: communicates State PTA legislative issues to the membership
9. Any board position, whether elected or committee chair, may be held jointly by two (2) people. Each co-position holder shall be entitled to voice and vote at a board of directors’ meeting.
10. Lowell PTA’s board of directors will meet monthly, on a date and time to be determined by the board.
11. Adoption of the budget, adoption of standing rules, election of the nominating committee, and election of officers shall take place at general membership meetings. Lowell PTA’s general membership will meet the second Tuesday of each month.
12. Lowell PTA shall approve its annual operating budget in the spring of each year.
13. The board of directions shall have the authority to shift funds from one expense category to another, up to an amount of $200, to cover requested expenses as needed.
14. Lowell PTA shall conduct an audit of its books and records in January of each year in addition to the required audit at the close of the fiscal year.
15. The signatures of at least three elected officers shall be on the signature card for Lowell PTA’s authorized bank account. All checks issued by Lowell PTA require two signatures.
16. A non-check signing PTA member shall review bank account statements for Lowell PTA monthly.
17. Proposals submitted to the PTA shall be submitted at least one week prior to a membership meeting for consideration of addition to the agenda.
18. All reimbursement requests shall include a receipt and shall be submitted to the treasurer within 60 days of purchase and prior to June 30th. The board of directors must approve requests for reimbursement that are received after June 30th.
19. Teachers are allocated equal portions of the budgeted field trip money for field trips or classroom activities, and an equal portion per teacher of the budgeted money for staff professional development. These amounts may be combined or shifted between the two categories at the discretion of the teacher.
20. Should the PTA receive an NSF check, a $10 service fee will be charged. If the PTA is not reimbursed for an NSF check and service fee, then the PTA may refuse to accept future checks from the individual.
21. Should the PTA receive an NSF check, a $10 service fee will be charged. If the PTA is not reimbursed for an NSF check and service fee, then the PTA may refuse to accept future checks from the individual.

Lowell Elementary PTA is a member of the Tacoma Council PTA and the Washington State PTA. Lowell has adopted the Washington State PTA Uniform By-Laws.