- Welcome
- Join the PTA
- Executive Board
- About PTA Meetings
- Lucky the Lion
- Program Contacts
- Mission Statement, Values, and By-Laws
- Meeting Minutes
- Budget
- PTA Links
- Laurel Ridge Spirit Wear
- Speaker Series
- Time Capsule
Watch our 2025-26 Back-to-School Night Video!
The Laurel Ridge PTA is an organization made up of parents and teachers working together to support and enrich all our students. We support school staff, help promote students' social and emotional wellness, provide community for our families, and assist in efforts to solve school needs through volunteering and fundraising.
With the support of its members, the LRES PTA provides:
- a private Facebook group for parents and families
- a private Instagram page for event and program reminders
- classroom supplies funding for each teacher
- educational enrichment presentations and assemblies for each grade
- field trip transportation for each grade
- family nights like STEAM Night and Passport to the World
- expert speakers on topics important to students and parents
- new student welcome events
- school supplies and spirit wear for LRES students in need
- volunteer recruitment and coordination at school events
- staff appreciation events and recognition
- school improvement projects
- advocacy for our students at the local, district, state, and national level
- and much more. . .
Your participation in the PTA makes a real difference, and is vital to our success! We hope you will join the PTA and our efforts to bring parents, teachers, students, and the community together to make Laurel Ridge Elementary School an exceptional educational experience.
Again, welcome to Laurel Ridge, and we look forwarding to seeing you at our events!
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Involvement levels - .png
LRES PTA Involvement Levels
- LRES PTA What We Do.pdf
🎉 This year, Laurel Ridge is turning 55—and to celebrate this milestone, we’re aiming for 550 PTA members! 🦁
PTA membership is one of the easiest ways to support our school community. There’s no commitment to volunteer—just joining helps us reach our goals and shows your support for our students, staff, and school programs.
✨ To mark the occasion, we’re planning to create a time capsule once we reach 550 members!
What’s a time capsule? It’s a container we’ll fill with special items from this school year—things like:
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Student artwork and writing
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Class photos or yearbook pages
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Notes from students about their favorite school memories
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A list of popular books, songs, or games from 2025
The time capsule will be sealed and stored away to be opened years down the road, giving future Laurel Ridge students and staff a peek into what life was like during our 55th year!
We hope you’ll help us make this fun project happen by becoming a PTA member today. 💛
Why join Laurel Ridge PTA?
Laurel Ridge Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a local unit of National PTA, the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America. Today’s PTA is comprised of 5 million parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, foster parents and other caring adults who share a commitment to improving the education, health, and safety of all children. We speak with one voice for every child.
Your membership in our PTA ensures that you are part of that advocacy and engagement. Members stay informed of local issues, get to know other parents and teachers, ask questions, and contribute to the conversations that go on with school and district leaders. We hope that every student will be represented by at least one PTA member at home.
Member Benefits:
Joining the Laurel Ridge PTA has its benefits! All donations are tax-deductible, as the Laurel Ridge PTA is a 501(c)(3) charity. Membership allows you to vote at meetings. All board members and committee chairs must have a current membership.
Beyond the obvious benefits to our school, opportunity for leadership, new friendships, and fun, PTA members also receive discounts through the National PTA website for companies such as Hertz, LifeLock, AARP, MetLife, Quicken Loans, Good Housekeeping, and more. See the full list here.
Membership will open soon! Stay tuned!
2025-27 PTA Executive Board
President – Kristen Bortner, president@laurelridgepta.org
1st VP (Events) – Rosanna Wallen, events@laurelridgepta.org
2nd VP (Fundraising) – Kerry Kares, fundraising@laurelridgepta.org
3rd VP (Communications) – Alessia Eiseman, communication@laurelridgepta.org
4th VP (Hospitality & Spirit Wear) – Elizabeth Barley, hospitality@laurelridgepta.org
Treasurer – Kristen Buzby, treasurer@laurelridgepta.org
Secretary – Jamie Austin, secretary@laurelridgepta.org
Membership will open soon! Stay tuned!
Top 10 Things You Ought to Know about PTA Meetings:
- You do not need to be a member to come.
- Joining the PTA does not require you to volunteer.
- Our meetings are usually 30-60min, but you can always slip out at any time.
- Some of our meetings happen before one of our PTA events, so you can attend both in one go.
- Meetings are just a bunch of parents with a shared mission: creating fun activities for our kids and raising essential funds for our school!
- Your whole family--kids and babies included--are welcome at meetings, and sometimes we are able to coordinate Girl Scouts to babysit for kids in attendance on site (for free!)
- Members can vote at our meetings, which can include decisions about how funds are spent.
- The next meeting agenda is always posted on PTBoard 24 hours in advance of our meeting (here!), so you can check out what we're going to be discussing.
- Meeting minutes of the previous meeting are posted on PTBoard (here!) prior to the next meeting, so you can catch up on whatever you might've missed.
- You can come to a meeting at any point in the school year, even if you haven't attended one before! Come to one, two, or all!
Our Upcoming Meeting Dates:
✅ August 26 at 7pm + Activities Fair
✅ September 30 at 7pm
✅ November 6 at 7pm with the option for students to make and submit art for the National PTA Reflections contest!
✅ December 4 at 6pm + pizza + Stories & Stuffies
✅ January 8 at 7pm + Speaker Series #1
✅ February 3 at 7pm + Reflections Awards Ceremony 6pm
✅ March 3 at 7pm + Speaker Series #2
🔜 April 8 at 7pm ─ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─ RSVP here!
Link for April PTA Meeting: Virtual
Wednesday, April 8 · 7:00 – 8:00pm
Time zone: America/New_York
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ray-htsd-gfh
Or dial: (US) +1 240-816-0018 PIN: 597 023 492#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/ray-htsd-gfh?pin=3382040058746
May 7 at 7pm
June 4 at 7pm + Volunteer Appreciation Dessert Reception & Awards Ceremony
🎉 Exciting News, LRES Community! 🦁✨
Say hello to the newly redesigned Lucky the Lion! Our beloved mascot has had a makeover—he’s now younger, friendlier, and more relatable for our students. This fresh new look was designed to help every Lion feel connected and proud, while also giving us a consistent, unified mascot across all platforms—from t-shirts to flyers to social media.
But that’s not all… our new Lucky has been drawn in over 100 different poses! That means you’ll see him showing up in all kinds of fun, expressive ways throughout our communications and events. 💙🦁💛
Below are the contacts for our PTA events and programs.
| Program/Event | Contact |
|---|---|
| Activities Fair Coordinator | PTA Board |
| After School Enrichment Coordinator | Emily Dahl |
| Amigos Spanish Club | Tina Smith & Rachel Kolb |
| Chili Cook-off and BINGO Night | Tina Smith |
| Enrichment Assemblies | Cinzia Pacheco |
| Every Lion, One Book | Katie McKeown |
| Gardens & Grounds | Sra Cordero |
| Grant Writing & Awards | Alicia Simon |
| Lightning Lions & Jump Rope Team | Richard King and Addie Ungaretti |
| Lucky's Friendship Safari | Alessia Eiseman |
| Marquee Coordinator | Elizabeth Barley |
| PTA Membership | Amy Grulke |
| Military Families Liaison | Melissa Hanley |
| Online Auction | Kerry Kares |
| Passport to the World | Sofie Vandenbroek |
| Power Up Night | Rosanna Wallen |
| Reflections | Susana Ordoñez |
| Science Olympiad | Deborah and Teddy Kim |
| Sixth Grade Committee | Jennifer King |
| Spanish Language & Culture Committee + Noche Cultural | Joanna Romero and Erika Stratmann |
| Sprout School Supply Kits | Luciana Navarro |
| STEAM Night | Emily Selia & Andrea Hess |
| Stories & Stuffies | Alessia Eiseman & Rosanna Wallen |
| Thanksgiving Pies for Staff | Jennifer King |
| WatchDOGS | Chris Andresen |
National PTA Mission Statement
PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
National PTA Values
- Collaboration: We will work in partnership with a wide array of individuals and organizations to broaden and enhance our ability to serve and advocate for all children and families.
- Commitment: We are dedicated to children’s educational success, health, and well-being through strong family and community engagement, while remaining accountable to the principles upon which our association was founded.
- Diversity: We acknowledge the potential of everyone without regard, including but not limited to: age, culture, economic status, educational background, ethnicity, gender, geographic location, legal status, marital status, mental ability, national origin, organizational position, parental status, physical ability, political philosophy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and work experience.
- Respect: We value the individual contributions of members, employees, volunteers, and partners as we work collaboratively to achieve our association’s goals.
- Accountability: All members, employees, volunteers, and partners have a shared responsibility to align their efforts toward the achievement of our association’s strategic initiatives.
Laurel Ridge PTA By-Laws
VAPTA Local Unit Bylaws (May 2024)
LRES PTA Organizational Structure Form (Membership Approved, August 2023)
LRES PTA Meeting Minutes
2025-2026 School Year
Coming soon- stay tuned!
2024-2025 School Year
2023-2024 School Year
February 2024 - meeting cancelled
2022-2023 School Year
October 2022
2021-2022 School Year
January 2022 - meeting canceled
2020-2021 School Year
2019-2020 School Year
January 2020: Meeting canceled due to snow
2018-2019 School Year
2017-2018 School Year
Meeting Minutes - November
LRES PTA Proposed Budget 2025-26 [coming soon!]
LRES PTA Proposed Budget 2024-25
LRES PTA Proposed Budget 2023-24
LRES PTA Proposed Budget 2022-23
LRES PTA Final Budget through 6/30/2022
LRES PTA Amended Budget 2021-22
Our spirit wear can be found on two platforms. Please click the images below to visit them!
THIS EVENT IS FOR RSVP ATTENDEES ONLY. NO WALK-INS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
PLEASE RSVP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND.
Wednesday, April 15th at 6pm
Creating a healthy & safe digital home
Presented by an FBI Special Agent
and AT&T's Ready, Tech, Go! program
RSVPs are REQUIRED
Back by popular demand, this (free!) presentation will be delivered by an FBI Special Agent on the topic of online safety. This presentation is for both students and their parents. After this portion of the presentation is done, students will join Girl Scout sitters (supervised by adults) while parents attend the Ready, Tech, Go portion of the presentation. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to read more about the event.
THIS EVENT IS FOR RSVP ATTENDEES ONLY. NO WALK-INS WILL BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE RSVP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND.
TL;DR
📅 Wednesday, April 15th
⏰ 6:00 PM
📍 LRES - in person only - RSVPs required
📝 Bring your kids' phones/tablets/etc if you would like help with setting up (or improving/checking) parental controls on them
👧🧒 Kids welcome! Students in 3rd grade and up are welcome to attend the FBI presentation. Younger kids/siblings can hang out with the Girl Scouts sitters (free! includes adult supervision at all times). After the FBI presentation, all kids in attendance will then go to Girl Scout sitters so that parents can attend the second presentation, Ready, Tech, Go!
🚫 no walk-ins; everyone must have RSVPd
🚫 no virtual option; this is an in-person presentation only
More about the FBI's presentation:
This presentation will feature a discussion about the dangers of the internet and how children should protect themselves. This presentation is suitable for students in Grades 3 and up.
SA Paul Fisher has been a Special Agent in the FBI for 14 years. Special Agent Fisher has been assigned as a criminal agent assigned to the Northern Virginia Safe Streets Task Force focused on gangs and narcotics for 8 years, until his reassignment to the Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force for five years. SA Fisher is currently assigned as the operations officer for the WFO SWAT team. Prior to joining the FBI, Special Agent Fisher was an Infantry Officer in the US Army.
More about the Ready, Tech, Go! presentation:
Parenting in the digital age can be challenging, and families are faced with many important decisions surrounding technology use and digital safety. Determining when their children may be ready for a device and establishing healthy digital habits are chief among them.
The PTA Connected: Ready, Tech, Go! program, a collaboration between National PTA and AT&T, will help families, parents and caregivers navigate these challenges through meaningful peer-to-peer discussions about screen readiness and ways to promote healthy and responsible device use for all members of the family.
Through the Ready, Tech, Go! program, families will:
- Identify and reflect on various aspects of screen readiness.
- Become familiar with tools and resources to determine screen readiness and discuss digital life.
- Gain new ideas to help create a healthy digital home.
LRES TIME CAPSULE PROJECT
We did it, Laurel Ridge! Thanks to our school community, we’ve reached our PTA membership goal of 550+ members —unlocking our LRES Time Capsule Project to celebrate the school’s 55th anniversary!
A time capsule is like a special treasure chest that holds items and memories from today so people in the future can discover what life used to be like here! Students, families, and teachers can put in small things—like drawings, photos, or notes—and then seal it up to be opened many years later. When it’s finally opened, everyone gets to see a little “snapshot” of history from the past!
The PTA is preparing a time capsule that captures what life was like at LRES during the 2025-26 school year. We want to know what you think we should put inside the time capsule and help tell the story of what life is like at our school today.
Now, it’s time to fill our time capsule with memories and mementos that capture what life is like at Laurel Ridge right now — for our students, families, and staff.
We want your ideas!
What items should we include that best represent this moment in time?
Think about:
- Favorite trends or toys
- School spirit items
- Photos, artwork, or class projects
- Notes, letters, or predictions for the future
- Anything that tells the story of our school in 2025
Thank you for being part of what makes Laurel Ridge such a special place to learn, grow, and belong.
A version for LRES students can be downloaded here. Have your student drop it off in the PTA Box in the school’s main lobby!
WANT TO BE PART OF THIS MOMENT IN LAUREL RIDGE HISTORY?
Join the PTA by March 1st in order to have your name and your student/s’ names included on the official list of PTA members who made the Laurel Ridge Time Capsule Project possible - which will go on a scroll and into the time capsule itself! You can join/renew your membership by clicking here.
We will later record and show all the items that get put into the capsule for all to see!