PTO Board & Committees
2022 - 2023 BEMS PTO Executive Board
For general questions, email us at ptoboard@bemspto.org.
Mrs. Katie Johnson
Principal
Sharon Wilson
President
Greta Newborn
1st Vice President Communications, Marketing
Usman Qureshi
1st Vice President Communications, Technology
Nélida (Beatriz) Dos Reys - Argueta
2nd Vice President Hospitality
Joni Clifford
3rd Vice President, Ways and Means/Fundraising
Carrie Wright
4th Vice President, Volunteer Coordinator
Bindu Reddy
5th Vice President, Membership
Gina Phillips
Secretary
Sammaad Shams
Treasurer
Susan Ferguson
Family Liaison
Elizabeth Miller
Teacher Liaison
Committee Chairs
8th Grade Celebration: Kristen Stampe and Amy Knodell
BASAP: Susan Ferguson
Spirit Wear: Roberta Pierce-Osborne
Minority Student Academic Achievement Committee (MSAAC): Tisha Gibbs
Scholarship Committee Chair: Chuck Choi
Special Ed Advisory Committee (SEAC): Amy Knodell
Special Events: Chloe Qiang
Teacher Appreciation Week: Michele Wilson
Musical Committee
Musical Director: Jason Augustowski
Musical Producer: Kristie McDonald
Musical Treasurer: TBA
PTO Positions
Any of these positions can be shared by two people! Please email us at ptoboard@bemspto.org if you have any questions!
President - OPEN
Serves as the leader of the group and a key contact for members, officers and school administration. Schedules and presides over meetings of the Board and General PTO; coordinates work of all PTO Board and Committee members to ensure duties are being carried out; sign contracts; perform other duties as necessary to meet and promote the goals of the PTO; and serves as liaison between the PTO and school administration/staff to ensure that all efforts are being directed toward meeting the group’s goals and objectives.
Vice-President of Communications - FILLED
Act as an aide to the President. Performs the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that Officer to act.
Marketing/Communications: Oversees all communication efforts between PTO and parents. Publishes monthly newsletter; manages the PTO Facebook and Instagram accounts. Handles the creation and distribution of all PTO-related media and marketing.
Social Media Marketing (Instagram and Facebook): posting news and announcements
Create marketing materials/flyers on Canva
Web/System Admin: Ensures that the PTO website is accurate and up to date with relevant information for parents and volunteers. Posts activity calendar, budget, meeting agendas and approved minutes to the PTO website.
Website maintenance (GSuite): making sure website is always up to date with new content
Google Drive: manage and maintain BEMS google drive
Google Calendar: update all events on BEMS google calendar
Formsite administrator: setting up all new forms; managing and updating existing forms; and helping all other board members with their forms by exporting and cleaning up their results and emailing it to them
Manage members on BEMS Canva acct
Create posts/flyers on Canva
Zoom: set up meetings
Vice-President Fundraising (Ways/Means) – FILLED
Act as an aide to the President. Perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that Officer to act. Works with school volunteers, parents, students, staff and community members to oversee all fundraising activities for the PTO. Develop and manage sponsorship and procurement and work closely with school administration to plan key fundraising dates.
Vice-President Hospitality - OPEN
Act as an aide to the President. Perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that Officer to act. Oversee all hospitality events and committees responsible for teacher luncheons, teacher birthday recognition, December holiday cookie exchange, PTO contribution to principal/deans/counselor appreciation week, teacher appreciation week, bus driver treats, and other special occasions.
Vice-President Membership – FILLED
Act as an aide to the President. Perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that Officer to act. Coordinates and carries out all activities related to membership, including, but not limited to, creating marketing materials such as videos, flyers, and newsletters encouraging parents and school staff to become members of the PTO, beginning in July of each fiscal year. Manage membership signup for Harris Teeter fundraiser; encourage members to list Belmont Ridge as a charity on their Amazon Smile account; and facilitate purchase of membership gifts and distribution. Present membership materials at schools Open House/Family Night and 6th Grade Rising Night, in addition to coordinating membership drives throughout the school year. Ensures the PTO membership directory is up to date whereby members can be notified of opportunities to volunteer for PTO sponsored events.
Vice-President of Volunteer - FILLED
Act as an aide to the President. Perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that Officer to act. Collaborates with key members of the PTO and school staff to request and coordinate volunteer assignments and donations as needed. This role is also responsible for managing volunteers once they have signed up.
Treasurer – FILLED
Responsible for all funds that pass through the organization’s doors. The treasurer is also responsible for ensuring accurate bookkeeping. Collects, deposits and disburses all funds according to the budget. Maintain a current record of income, expenditures and assets. Present a financial report of income and expenses at each meeting, prepare a year-end financial report and file all required tax forms. Additional responsibilities noted in PTO Bylaws.
Secretary - FILLED
Maintains the PTO’s calendar of events and keeps a log of important notes/dates from all general meetings. Prepares the agenda for each general PTO meeting. Records the minutes and attendance of all PTO meetings. E-mails the minutes from the previous meeting to the PTO Board within one week for review. Corrected general PTO meeting minutes to be read and approved at the following general meeting. Responsible for posting General PTO meeting minutes on the website. Provides a typed PTO Board list to the school office and all Board members. Maintaining an accurate history of key points discussed at each meeting is vital to keeping communication open and transparent.
Family Liaison (LCPS Employee position - FILLED
Lead family and volunteer engagement initiatives within our school and local community. Identifies volunteer opportunities and needs with families in order to include ALL members of our school community. Also serves as a liaison to outside organizations within the local Leesburg community and our school community.
Teacher Liaison Chair - FILLED
Represent the teachers’ voices and provide valuable input on the PTO’s decisions.
Minority Student Academic Achievement Committee (MSAAC) - OPEN
Attend MSAAC meetings and provide updates by the channel of your choosing, but not limited to: PTO meetings, PTO website, BEMS website, newsletters, and social media.
Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) - OPEN
Attend SEAC meetings and provide updates by the channel of your choosing, but not limited to: PTO meetings, PTO website, BEMS website, newsletters, and social media.
Scholarship Committee Chair - OPEN
Oversee a three-member committee to facilitate and review applications from former Belmont Ridge students attending Riverside High School to receive a scholarship toward higher education.
8th Grade Celebration Chair - OPEN
Available exclusively to 8th grade parents. Work with the PTO and school administration to coordinate the celebratory events for 8th graders as they prepare to head off to high school. Establish and head up the 8th grade parents committee of volunteers. Starts the planning process in January and gets busier in the spring.
Teacher Appreciation Week Chair (TAW) - OPEN
Work with the PTO Board, parent volunteers and school administration to plan and facilitate a week-long themed series of activities to celebrate teachers.
Before and After School Program (BASAP) - FILLED
Work with BEMS teachers and staff to develop a slate of classes for students. Works with VP/Communications, Parent Liaison, and PTO Treasurer to accomplish tasks. BASAP sessions are conducted in the fall (August/September) and spring (January/February)
Spirit Wear Chair - OPEN
Oversee the running of the school store which occurs in the fall and spring. Planning session for the fall line begins in July, and February for the spring line. Work with approved vendor to design, price and order spirit wear to sell. Confer with Board members regarding selections prior to finalizing.
Special Events Chair - OPEN
Oversee all committees that run and organize special events which include, but are not limited to, Family Night, Bingo Night, Grade-Level Parties, Field Day, Cultural Appreciation Day and Spring Carnival. Advertise events via fliers and digital communications. Coordinates everything about the individual events in collaboration with the Board and the school administration, including programming, fundraising, managing volunteers and correspondence with appropriate students, faculty and community members.