Why?
In past years, there were two separate parent associations working independently to support our schools and students where the district budgets too often fall short. Given the two year aspect of each school, parents often choose to have less involvement as compared to prior elementary school association experiences. Sometimes parents are even encouraged to "let go" of their students during these middle school years. Typically, the first year is spent learning about the school and fundraising events but the second year left many feeling that there was no need or point, because their child(ren) would be moving on soon. We found that some parents hesitate to donate to fundraisers or participate as volunteers when a child is at school for a short period of time.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when all of our children were distance learning and schools were closed, there was a small, dedicated group of parents and administrators from both Dana and Correia that joined together virtually to talk about completing the vision of the original "founders" of the two separate parent groups. That vision was to someday join these two groups into one to raise the bar in fundraising efforts, promote volunteerism and build a sense of community between our two cluster middle schools. We are so grateful that we were able to see that vision through and we are excited to get to work each year in support of our middle schools!
It takes an army of volunteers to coordinate all of these efforts and we cannot succeed without parent participation. Please visit our website at fodacms.org to learn more or contact us with any questions, suggestions or ideas