2025-2026 PTO Board & Committees

We know! It's still the 2024-2025 school year - but we're already excited for NEXT year! We want to make sure to keep you in the loop on all the news - so here's how to make sure you don't miss a thing! 

1) Be sure you are getting the PTO's emails!  Create an account with membership toolkit (this website that we're on now) - to get on our email list. Click LOGIN from the home page and then create a new account. How will you know it worked? You'll get our "Tails from the Barkside" newsletter each Monday during the school year - and occasional updates this summer. 

2) Follow us on social media (links on the home page). 

3) Watch this page for updates over the summer as we assemble the team for next year. We appreciate your patience as we transition our current board to the new board as we want to make sure we can get you the correct contact people for the programs you are interested in! 

Getting involved with the PTO

We encourage ALL families at HCE to join the PTO as a member. Your membership donation is what makes ALL of the programs you see below possible! (Membership for next year will open in August)

Beyond that - we LOVE to see families to get even more involved - by volunteering at events, joining a committee- or being part of our Board of Directors! This page gives more information about taking the next steps with the PTO. Our goal is to make the PTO board welcoming for all parents - with clear descriptions of expectations that can be balanced as a working, single or stay-at-home parent!  Read on for more information! 

OUR PTO BOARD STRUCTURE

GEt Involved!

Where to begin? 

There's so many ways to get started! 

1) Volunteer at an event or for an "at home" job! You'll see opportunities to volunteer posted on our website during the year, in our email newsletters, and on social media. Jump in when you can lend a hand! 

2) Join one of our committees! This will give you a feel for how the board works - and the chance to see an event or program from start to finish. Simply take a look at the org chart... and then reach out to that committee and let them know you'd like to be part of it! (contact links coming soon) 
Please note: at this time our committees are on a rest for the summer - so you might not hear back until the start of the new school year or even later depending on the time of the event/program. :) 

Consider being a LEAD of a committee! 

Our committee LEADS are the point people to manage all of the details for that specific program or event. We'll count on them to manage/recruit the committee, handle the logistics, manage the budget - and ultimately "own" that event. Depending on the committee/event/program... our lead might emerge from past committee members, or just simply be someone who steps up and says "I'm in!" if there is not someone in place!  We'll announce which committees still need LEADS in Tails from the Barkside communications or at board meetings during the school year as the need arises. 

Join the Board of Directors as a CHAIR

Our CHAIR positions are appointed by the officers (who are voted in in our May Annual Meeting). Chairs are members who have shown interest in the role and success as a committee lead. Our Chair positions oversee multiple committees - ensuring each committee has a strong lead and has the resources they need to be successful. 

Run for an OFFICER position. 

Officers are voted in by our membership. Our Secretary and Treasurer are specialty roles - someone with the skill set and desire to manage those responsibilities. Our President and Vice President must have served as a Chair on the board previously - allowing them to have a broader view of the board and programs the PTO manages - as they will oversee the Chair positions.
Our President role can be held for up to 2 years. Ideally - we aim to have a President with a student in 3rd or 4th grade... enough time to have gained a greater understanding of how the school works - terming out in time to enjoy their 5th grade year and serve as an advisor to the incoming President! 

Learn more

While many of the roles seem very self-explanatory from just the org chart, we encourage all interested individuals to read through the STRUCTURE OVERVIEW document for more details about each role.

The overview describes the expectations for board roles (those depicted in orange and blue) and committee leads (those depicted in green). In some cases, it also goes into more detail about what the committee topic actually handles - as some titles were shortened for the chart. If you aren't familiar with some of the programs, we recommend you visit the About the PTO page, as well as look at our Brought to you by the PTO page for a little more detail. 

For the nitty-gritty details on our structure and rules by which we function - we encourage you to read our bylaws - which can be found on the Documents page.