They work in the background, funding a host of projects and school events. They oversee the college fair and plan the senior lock-in on graduation night. They organize everything from teacher appreciation week to grounds beautification. Students may not always see the work of Partners in Education (P.I.E.), but these parent volunteers are crucial to their high school experience.
P.I.E. is a parent-led volunteer organization created to benefit students and teachers, including fundraising for projects from the administration, organizing the yearly college fair and providing food for teachers on parent-teacher conference night.
“The way [P.I.E. sees] it, we’re the bridge between the kids’ experience and the teachers,” Cassandra Matthews, co-president of P.I.E., said. “Our goal is to be there for the teachers, appreciate the teachers … and then when it comes to the students … [this year] P.I.E. partnered with faculty and students, the student-led organizations … to host the Trunk-or-Treat … So we’re a volunteer army of parents. We’re not paid, but it is time given.”
One of the student events that P.I.E. is responsible for planning is the senior lock-in. On the night after graduation, seniors can stay from midnight to 5 a.m. at a venue chosen by P.I.E. and play games, dance and party one last time with their classmates. They also receive gifts — including gift cards, refrigerators and iPads — to help them in their adult life.
“The lock-in is a safe place for … our newly graduated seniors to go to after graduation,” Matthews said. “They stay overnight. We feed them. We give them gifts … And a lot of times, these are classmates that you may never get to see again … This is your last time to get to party with your classmates that you’ve spent probably the last four or eight years with, and you come together for one last night, one big party.”
P.I.E. also coordinates the annual college fair, which takes place in the fall and gives juniors and seniors an opportunity to meet with recruiters from schools around the country and from the military. P.I.E members help set up tables, direct students, and talk with recruiters themselves to explore college options for their children.
“We provide food for the recruiters,” Matthews said. “We come in, we set up, we provide the volunteers and … especially for if you’re a parent [of a junior], I love that as a P.I.E. parent … we get to meet all the recruiters from all the schools.”
Teacher appreciation is also a core responsibility of P.I.E. — members organize meals and food trucks on important occasions, including parent-teacher conferences and the first day of school, and distribute goodie bags during teacher appreciation week.
“Our goal in P.I.E. is to try to be that help where we can fill in the gap for teachers,” Matthews said. “We do fundraising, and we do teacher appreciation [week]. We feed [teachers], we give them gifts, we even … sponsor them for training.”
P.I.E does several fundraisers throughout the school year, including selling specially designed cups in green and gray. The money raised helps fund teacher trainings, grounds beautification and school expenses that cannot be covered by the principal.
“Fundraiser[s] will go towards P.I.E. to help us assist the teachers whether there’s another training that they want to get and may not have the funds for,” Matthews said. “P.I.E. is involved in beautification — P.I.E. will contribute to any work that needs to be done on the grounds … We [also] partner with Ms. Holland. If there’s a need that we can fill for Ms. Holland financially or even volunteer-wise, then we do that as well.”
For Matthews, P.I.E. is a way to be involved in her daughter’s education and meet teachers and staff. Although many high school students do not want their parents directly involved at school, P.I.E. offers a way for parents to support their education from the background.
“I wanted to make sure that I understood what was going on at school with my daughter, because I wanted to continue to be that partner with our teachers,” Matthews said. “Once you get to high school, it’s kind of hands-off with parents because we kind of have to [let students be independent] a little bit … but being a part of PIE, you can explain to your child … we’re partners in education, so what that means is I’m making sure that you’re getting the best education possible.”