There will be parking spaces reserved for veterans in the back lot. Veterans will sit in the front row of the auditorium. All family members and guests will sit on the left side of the auditorium facing the stage. We are asking to please fill in every seat. Veterans and family members are invited to a reception in the Hauser LRC (Library) following the program.

If you have any further questions, you may contact Mrs. Gill.

• Understand and clarify the original purpose of the Flexible Boundary Plan;
• Evaluate the Policy against its own stated priorities;
• Evaluate the success of the Policy in terms of equity of class size across buildings and efficiency of building use;
• Compare long-term numbers to program expectations;
• Recommend solutions and modifications to the Policy, if necessary.

Hauser PTA has been asked to provide a representative to this working committee. If you would be interested in serving on this committee, please contact Lisa Aulerich-Marciniak. The first meeting is November 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hauser library. Subsequent meetings will be scheduled to accommodate parents, staff and community members. This will be an important discussion of this key district policy. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting, and we encourage Hauser parents to participate, but we have an immediate need for one official representative.

PTA or PTO: What’s the Difference?
State PTA Legislative Agenda
PTA/PTO Legal Structure
Hauser Parent Groups: A Brief History
PTA/PTO Mission

Also available is a chart comparing PTA and PTO. Discussion of converting the Hauser PTA to a PTO is on the agenda for the November 4 meeting (7:00 p.m. in the Hauser Library).

Hauser Jr. High invites you to travel back in time to small town turn-of-the-century life with its heart-warming production of the American musical classic, The Music Man. With a cast of 50 students (plus more than 60 students and parents working behind the scenes), the musical follows smooth-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, who tries to convince the town to organize a boys’ band. You’re sure to enjoy the memorable River City townsfolk, witty script, and catchy tunes such as “The Wells Fargo Wagon,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” and “Till There Was You.”

The musical is co-directed by Mr. David Mason and Ms. Laura Lynch, with musical accompaniment by Mrs. Patricia Goyette-Gill and Mr. James Colombo. Although there is no charge for admission, donations toward expenses will be gratefully accepted.

Call to Order, Pledge of Allegiance
Welcome
Approval of Minutes – September 3, 2009
Superintendent’s Report
Administrator’s Report
Encore Team Report
Presidents’ Report
Treasurer’s Report – Mary Lescher
Standing Committee Reports

Arts and Enrichment – Mary Somers
Membership – Sylvia Buh and Lisa Vais
Events and Speakers – Lisa Vais
Hospitality – Kim Michl and Kathy Barcal
Projects and Events
Magazine Drive – Michele Kmet and Becky Malloy
Spirit Wear Sale – Ginny Lee-Herrmann and Sheila Daily
Freaky Friday Dance w/North Riv. Rec. – Sheri Gabino
Hauser Staff Dinner – Jeannine Glavas
Honor Roll Breakfast – Lisa Veon and Mary Heuel
Book Fair – Martha Carlson
Family Dinner Fundraiser – Tori Sells and Olga Andrulis
Directory, Food Drive and 8th Grade Grad Party – Kathie Kunish
Teacher Support – Mary Monahan
Box Tops- Evelyn Heirigs
Publicity – Julia Gallo Torres
Reflections
PTA or PTO ? – Nancy Hopkins

Unfinished Business

Philanthropy Funds from previous year

New Business

Committee for examining Future Fundraising

Announcements
Adjournment

When considering whether the Hauser parents group should continue its affiliation with the national PTA, it is instructive to ask: How well does our mission fit with that of the national organization?

Though incomplete, Hauser PTA archives show that the priorities of our group have changed over time. What started in 1893 as an effort to beautify the school, a few decades later had become primarily about parent education, and then evolved further to the group it is today. Indeed, the activities and programs of our PTA today make clear the following priorities:

• To make possible academic, cultural, and recreational opportunities which are otherwise beyond the means of the school district;
• To build a sense of community among parents and staff;
• To educate and support parents in their role as advocates for their child’s education, and for the education of all children in the district;
• To facilitate communication between parents, principal, and school board.

In other words, our focus is on the educational experience specifically in our school and district. The national organization, by comparison, has a preference for advocacy on a broader scale, as reflected in the following official objectives, which are required to be in our bylaws:

• To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship;
• To raise the standards of home life;
• To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth;
• To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth;
• To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education.

What would be possible as a PTO that isn’t as a PTA?
Complete autonomy and, potentially, more inclusivity. (For example: we could decide whether or not to require dues as a condition of membership.)

Is there anything possible as a PTA that we’d lose as a PTO?
“Reflections” is a PTA- sponsored program in which we would no longer be eligible to participate. It may be possible to participate in similar programs sponsored by other organizations.

Isn’t parent advocacy important on more than just a school level? Yes. But, if enough interest exists, our PTO could sponsor educational programs on how individuals can effectively advocate for their beliefs. Right now, your dues support the national PTA platform, whether you agree with it or not.

For more information on national PTA mission and philosophy, visit www.pta.org.