Celebrating Scarsdale's Parent Volunteers

Oftentimes the hard work of our PTA volunteers doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. For some parents, such as each of our PTA presidents, their volunteer roles are essentially a full-time job as they oversee programming, after school clubs, author visits, fundraising events and so much more! While these good folks (and a countless number of other dedicated volunteers) don’t spend hours toiling and organizing to support our students and school communities for any sort of fame and glory, they sure do deserve it!Jeanette Rosen and Leah Dembitzer

To celebrate their efforts, a PTC Appreciation Luncheon was held on Wednesday May 22nd, and was attended by administrators, faculty, and BOE members alike.

Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick extended his deep gratitude for our PTC volunteers, both on a personal level as he mingled and chatted with all of those gathered, and in a speech in which he expressed:

“Your thoughtful, timely, student- and community-focused programming elevates our collective engagement on issues and topics that matter. You consistently identify relevant priorities and design activities, events, presentations, and learning opportunities that both broaden and deepen learning. It might even be said that this year’s opportunities Eclipsed last years. Together with multicultural events, school fairs, author visits, wellness opportunities, and myriad other programs, your work lifts the experience for our students and families.”

Board of Education President Ron Schulhof was also there to show his appreciation for members of the PTC. Mr. Schulhof began his speech by saying:

Meryl Satler and Erica German“I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak today and express on behalf of the Board our heartfelt thanks for all that the PTCouncil and each of the seven PTAs do for the District’s students and our schools.

The partnership of the PTC and PTAs is a key part of what makes Scarsdale Schools such a special place as we seek to support and enrich each of our students around the district.”

PTC President Leah Dembitzer gave a heartfelt speech thanking each member of her executive committee, Meryl Satler, Jeanette Rosen, and Rokaya Hassaballa, and drew attention to their kindness, thoughtfulness, and knowledge.

In addition to thanking administrators, BOE members, and STA representatives for their partnership, Dembitzer expressed her gratitude for each of this year’s PTC Chairs:

After School Clubs - Michele Dalton and Courtney AllenDebbie Bhatt and Royaka Hassaballa
Budget Study - Irena Turner and Ranjana Saini
Community Calendar - Dana Wiczyk and Rohini Sahni
CHILD - Jessica Freede and Nicole Warren
DEI/Belonging - Diksha Mudbhary, Lauren Grossberg and Laura Liu
Directory/Membership - Matt Chesler
Website - Amanda Glattstein
Technology: Jill Casal and Brian Rosenthal
5th Grade Activities - Rachel Krisbergh and Lauren Rubino
Legislative Advocacy - Rachana Singh and Josh Mitts
Programming - Wendy MacMillan and Emily Hira
Health & Wellness - Kelsa DeBrabant, Wendy MacMillan and Malu Gonzalez
Sustainability: Michelle Sterling and Vicki Tse
Sports Swap - Sara Farnsworth and Molly Pease
STEAM/Tinker Events: Steven Greene
Melissa Feinberg, Trish Iasiellow, Sharon De Lorenzo and Meghan TroyYWW - Amanda Glattstein, Lauren Rubino, Lara Chassin and Sharon Chesler
PTC Nominating Committee – Chaired by Attiya Malik
Dembitzer shared, “In my experience, one of the most special aspects of Scarsdale is that the school community is so expansive – it includes everyone – students, teachers, faculty and staff, administrators, families of all of those listed, the larger community of residents – so many people moving forward, innovating, educating our children. That is what drew me into PTA work. We are so fortunate to have so many people in our community who are dedicated to our schools – parents and faculty with diverse and extensive expertise and interests. We all care and want to make life and learning a special experience for the student community.”

During her speech, Dembitzer also introduced two new members of the PTC Executive Committee, Erica German who is the incoming PTC President-Elect and Shilpa Spencer who will be the PTC Treasurer. In addition, she introduced the incoming PTA Presidents at each of our seven schools:

SHS PTA President-Elect Cindy YauLaura Liu, Amber Yusuf, Cindy Yau and Tina Lin
SMS PTA President-Elect Emily Hira
Edgewood PTA President-Elect Katie Garvey
Edgewood PTA President-Elect Jessy Li
Fox Meadow PTA President-Elect Katy Goldman
Fox Meadow PTA President-Elect Eul Hui
Greenacres PTA President-Elect Tulika Khemani
Heathcote PTA President-Elect Andrea Burinescu
Quaker Ridge PTA President-Elect Lindsay Forschner

And to the nine out-going PTA presidents:

Jeanette Rosen, Erica German, Meryl Satler and Shilpa SpencerBeth Cukier - SHS
Tina Lin - SMS
Ammr Vandal and Jeanine Cole - EW
Jeannie Adashek and Leena Gyftopoulos - FM
Jen Galeon - GA
Debbie Bhatt - HE
Erica German - QR
Dembitzer expressed, “We’ve had a chance to learn and grow together and I feel proud of what we’ve accomplished and the ongoing work that we continue to move forward as we pass the torch to the incoming Executive Committee. Thank YOU, all of you. I’ve really enjoyed meeting you, spending time with you, and becoming a team.”

Molly Pease, Sarah Farnsworth and Kelsa DeBrabant