Dear Spectrum Families and Friends,
Hello, my name is Bob Marske. My daughter DaLyla is in the Intermediate Elementary class. Her mother Ann Thornton and I have been Spectrum parents for six years. We have been actively involved in many volunteer activities through the years, including PTO leadership, maintenance support, the big move from our North Main location to our current space, and fundraising. When I was invited to apply as a Board member, I decided it was my chance to have a voice in some of the higher-level decision making for the school. This was important to me because there were many times I didn’t understand or agree with what was going on, and I didn’t even know who to talk to about it.
As a new Board member, I am co-chairing the Fundraising Steering Committee. The purpose of the committee is to provide coherence and support to all school fundraising efforts, ensuring that processes for planning and executing quality events are in place. Fundraising is a critical aspect to financially sustaining Spectrum School, due to the reality that tuition and philanthropic giving do not fully meet the operating costs of the organization.
The Steering Committee is developing an annual fundraising cycle, which includes identifying audiences and participants in order to avoid continually asking our families for more. Parent involvement and a strong volunteer culture are important to all of our fundraising efforts. We need your help! Thank you to Emily Dickey, Sonia Chaudhry, Mary Baldauf, Kerry Ferris, Aly Vavra, Pepper Reicher, Ann Thornton, Jocelyn Shutkas, Meng Rimpakone, and Jen Johnson for being core support to efforts so far this year. It would be great to be able to add several names to this list for upcoming events. Please contact Marci Hallgren (m.hallgren@spectrumschool.
Spectrum is a school that wants all children and parents to really be and feel a part of something. When you read about all the stuff going on, know this is only possible because of dedicated teachers who are supported by the Board and parents. Feel free to reach out to a Board member with questions, ideas, or if you want to get more directly involved at a leadership level in supporting, sustaining, and building Spectrum School. The list of members is in the Spectrum Family Handbook (online) and below. Reach out to Heather Kulpa (h.kulpa@spectrumschool.
I am proud of Spectrum and hope many of you will feel welcome to get more involved.
Bob Marske
