Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Dear Brent Families,

Welcome to the new Brent Elementary school year!  The PTA connects caregivers, faculty, and the administration, in order to build a tightly-knit community that supports the growth of Brent students, inside the classroom and beyond. This mission relies, critically, on your help. Brent is fortunate to be part of an active and engaged community on the Hill, with caregivers that are generous with their time and resources. Thank you for all your support in years past, and let’s continue to build on that tradition!

Learn more about the full scope of PTA activities below. But first, here are a few ways to jumpstart your involvement:

Fall picnic. Mark your calendars now! The fall picnic will be held on Saturday, September 9, from 11am – 2pm at Providence ('X') Park. This longstanding event brings together Brent families to celebrate the start of the school year with burgers, hot dogs, and pizza, bounce houses, face painting, uniform and book swaps, and more! The picnic is free; however, please register in advance to ensure an accurate headcount for food. This is also the perfect opportunity to volunteer! Help register attendees, flip burgers, supervise a bounce house, or sort clothes at the uniform swap. Short shifts leave plenty of time to enjoy the event with your family. And for new families, this is a fantastic way to meet your fellow Brent Bears!

Volunteer to be a room parent. Have a direct impact on your student’s classroom by assisting teachers with classroom tasks, coordinating activities and playdates across the grade level, and communicating important information. If you are interested in serving in this role, please email brentschoolpta@gmail.com now or contact your student’s teacher after classroom assignments are announced.

Community meetings. Community meetings are held roughly quarterly, and we are working hard this year to deliver engaging and informative content. Hear directly from school and parent leadership, and use the opportunity to ask about issues on your mind. Best of all, meetings include free childcare with pizza for dinner! The first community meeting of the school year will be held on Wednesday, October 25, from 6:30 - 7:30pm.

Bringing families together outside of school is a key way of fostering connections across the community. The PTA organizes many events throughout the year, including morning coffees, game night, skate night, holiday sale, glow party, spring gala, teacher appreciation events, and more. Attending (and volunteering at) these events is a great way to meet new families and to add invaluable experiences to your student’s time at Brent. We will do our best to advertise events as far in advance as possible – please help us make them successful by adding them to your family’s calendar!

The PTA also supports Brent financially through its fundraising efforts. In fact, the PTA pays for nearly 100% of Brent's non-personnel operating costs. That's over $266,000 per year and includes building and grounds maintenance, teacher development, technology and school supplies, community engagement events, social-emotional support programs, and more. Since PTA money covers all these fundamental operating expenses, Brent can use allocated DCPS funds to add more teachers to the classroom. The PTA raises money in three main ways: the holiday tree sale, the annual fund drive, and the spring gala. The tree sale and gala are run by committees of parent volunteers and are in need of new participants this year! To learn more about these roles, email us at brentschoolpta@gmail.com.

We hope you and your family enjoy the rest of the summer, and we look forward to working together to make this year another incredible one for our Brent Bears! To stay connected, follow us on Instagram (@BrentElementaryPTA), come back and visit this webpage, and watch the Tues News calendar for upcoming PTA events. Have questions? Email us at brentschoolpta@gmail.com.

With gratitude for your support this year,

The Brent PTA Board