Parent volunteers show up in hundreds of small ways: fun runs, book fairs, last-minute supplies, as someone there for a child who isn’t always their own. But anyone who's served on a PTO board knows the other side of that story: a huge amount of volunteer energy going toward things like filing paperwork, reconciling a checking account, or figuring out who has signature authority this year.
That's a problem Scott Middle School set out to solve when they collaborated with the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools to create the Scott Family and Community Collective. Starting this school year, the Foundation will hold and manage the Collective's funds, handling the behind-the-scenes work so Scott's parent volunteers can spend their time supporting their school.
Every PTO experiences volunteer turnover, but at the middle school level it's a unique challenge, since families are only there for three years. Just as a parent gets comfortable running a fundraiser or managing a budget, their student moves on to high school, and the next group starts from scratch.
Principal Jesse Tvrdy has watched this cycle play out for years, and says it's exactly why this shift made sense. "Anytime we can find a way to make life easier for the dedicated volunteers spearheading our school initiatives, we jump at the chance," she said. "Partnering with the Foundation gives our new Scott Family and Community Collective a streamlined system. It takes the heavy lifting and stress out of money handling, donation tracking, and financial oversight so our families can focus on what matters most: supporting our school."
Jennifer Hunke and Sheila Clayton, the two parents spearheading the Collective, are eager to get to work. "We are very excited to be working with the Foundation for LPS," they said. "This collaboration will allow us to focus our time on activities that directly benefit the Scott students, teachers, and staff, rather than spending a lot of time on administrative functions. This relationship will also provide continuity, especially in years where parent interest in leadership roles is limited. We wanted to create an organization that is sustainable for not only our time at Scott Middle School, but for future families as well."
For Tvrdy, a partnership with the Foundation through the Collective is simply the next chapter in a relationship that's already proven itself.
"The Foundation has been a steadfast partner to Scott Middle School, consistently driving positive change in our building," she said. "The Foundation’s involvement with LPS has directly enhanced the teaching, learning, and culture in our classrooms. Expanding our work together with this new Collective feels like a natural continuation of a partnership that has always put our school community first."
So what does this actually mean for Scott families? Every dollar given to the Collective is held in a dedicated fund through the Foundation that is tracked, transparent, and used exactly as intended for Scott students and staff. And this year, that means something concrete. Funds raised through the Collective will cover things like meals for teachers and staff on all four conference nights, end-of-year classroom celebrations for each grade, staff appreciation in May, and support for the student incentive store. Small things, maybe, but the kind that contribute to a school where everyone feels seen and supported.
The Foundation is excited about what this partnership means for Scott. And what it could mean more broadly across the district. Every parent group across LPS carries the same administrative load Scott's volunteers carried before this collaboration. If this model works well here, it's easy to imagine other schools adopting it too.
You can donate to the Scott Family and Community Collective via this direct link.
