Report of the 2026/27 Nominating Committee

2/18/2026 7:39 pm

Greetings, MWE community,

We wanted to share the Report of the Nominating Committee for your review. The names you see next to each position represent the nominees the committee is putting forth for a vote by the PTA General Association at March 17's meeting, and will be elected to serve during academic year 26/27.

The nominating committee met on Feb 2, Feb 6, Feb 9 & Feb 17, 2026 to consider all eligible candidates for the July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 term of office. Here is the following slate of officers for the association’s consideration:

ELECTED OFFICERS
President Sara Simmonds
1st VP - Communications Sarah Rothbard
2nd VP - Programs — Vacant —
3rd VP - Fundraising John Meehan
4th VP - Volunteers Sarah Burns
Recording Secretary Katy Fisher
Treasurer — Vacant —
Historian Katherine Sheehan
Financial Secretary — Vacant —

Additional Voting Members of the Executive Board, Committee Chairs & Assistants will be appointed by the President at the PTA Summer Retreat and ratified by the General Association at the first meeting in September 2026.

Members of Nominating Committee: Angela Vawter (Chair), Andrew Bulbrook, Raúl Fernández, Ramona Orley, Anu Pradhan.

The report of the nominating committee is submitted to the membership in writing at least 28 days prior to the election and reported at the election meeting. The report of the nominating committee must be entered into the minutes of the association.

We appreciate all the thoughtful conversations and correspondence we've exchanged with many of you considering nomination. Discussions are ongoing for the elected positions that remain vacant, and our goal is to present a full slate of nominees at the March 17th meeting.

In addition, we are noting those who have indicated strong interest in an appointed position such as Membership Chair, Programs Assistant, etc., and will supply the president-elect with that list after March 17. Appointments are made by the president at the first meeting of the board in July.

To learn more about the nomination process, click here. If you are interested in learning more about the vacant elected positions or any of the appointed positions, click here, or reach out to any of the members of the nominating committee.

With gratitude,
PTA Nominating Committee
Angela Vawter (Chair) - parliamentarian@mwpta.org
Andrew Bulbrook - andrewbulbrook@gmail.com
Raul Fernandez - raulbfernandez@gmail.com
Ramona Orley - ramonaorley@gmail.com
Anu Pradhan - programs1@mwpta.org

Spring Book Fair: March 6–13

2/13/2026 8:52 am

Ahoy mateys...The Literati Book Fair is coming March 6–13 and we are getting ready to set sail.

The book fair team is gearing up, so watch this space for more details.

Right now, we're on the look out for volunteers (link to sign up genius) to help during lunch & after school. Fun fact: you don't need LAUSD clearance to be on campus, so this is open to anyone.* Did you hear the scuttlebutt?

As a small token of our gratitude, volunteers get a 20% discount at the book fair

*If you want to hang out with your kid(s) during the classroom previews, hold tight. We'll have those time slots up in a few weeks. And yep, you need Volunteer Tier II clearance , so this is a good time to submit your paperwork to LAUSD.

Stargazing Night

1/30/2026 9:09 am

Friday, Feb 20 @ 6–8 PM

Presented by MWPTA and FOWMS

RSVPs encouraged!

Join the PTA Board Next Year!

1/20/2026 1:42 pm

Tue, Jan 27 @ 6:30 PM • PTA Meeting Link

PTA Meeting #3 is an important one: it's where we begin the search for our new Executive Board. Read more below, and check out the available positions for the 2026–27 school year. Click here to learn more about the nomination process and timeline.

Questions? Please reach out to Angela Vawter - parliamentarian@mwpta.org

1/11/2026 2:25 pm

THANK YOU

Hey everyone, it’s Alex Riguero, Direct Appeal Chair, with an important announcement. WE DID IT! We raised 200K!

It was a huge team effort and there are just so many people to thank. I want to thank our donors (seriously you’re the best) but there were so many additional people who went above and beyond to make this possible:

Ms. Ontiveros, for being so transparent with our school’s budget challenges
The parents who hit the class WhatsApps after Ms. O’s budget presentation and raised 10K in a weekend
Rachael Morrison and Rachael Garza who’s impassioned plea on behalf of our wonderful little school mobilized tons of parent support
Sarah Burns and the room reps who kept reminding folks to give with humor and warmth
The people who gave *multiple times* to reach our goal
The grandparents who gave so generously
The PTA Board for their unstinting support and help
...and last, but definitely not least, my co-chair John Meehan. Thanks again for supporting our school!

Mindful Tech @ MWE

9/25/2025 12:00 am

After last week's PTA GA meeting ended, MWE parent Alicia Van Couvering spoke about the rise of classroom technology and its effects on the learning, safety, and privacy of students in education broadly, and at LAUSD across all grades.

In response, MWE teachers Mr. Talty (4th grade) prepared an overview of EdTech as it is currently used at MWE, which includes the platforms used by each grade level. Many thanks to Mrs. Fowler, Ms. Zelina Munoz, and Ms Graham for contributing.

To ensure that the dialogue around tech at MWE is thoughtful, informed and focused on the reality of screens at our school, Mr. Talty will also host a school-wide meeting in late October. More details to come!

We thank Alicia for starting the conversation, and are so grateful to Mr Talty, his fellow teachers, and MWE admin for their responsiveness, transparency, and willingness to inform our parents.

Technology at MWES - prepared by MWE educators Mr Talty and Mrs Fowler
EdTech - prepared by MWE parent Alicia Van Couvering. Sign up here to join the MWE Mindful Tech email list and what's app group.

CHOICES applications now open!

8/13/2025 7:00 am

Hi Middle School, It's Me, a MWE parent.

Now that you're kinda back in the groove of this school year, let's talk middle school...

LAUSD’s “Choices” application for specialized academic programs—including magnet schools, dual-language programs, and some charter schools—opens on October 1, 2025.

Learn about the LAUSD magnet programs and the points system with this presentation from Dr. Keith Abrahams III 🧲

Important Deadlines:

November 14, 2025 — Deadline to submit the application online or by mail.
February 2, 2026 — The late application window opens for any remaining spots.
March 2026 — Families will receive results for on-time applications.
Early April 2026 — Deadline to accept or decline offers from on-time applicants.
April 2026 — The late selection process begins.

Check out LAist's handy dandy article for more information!