Our mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
We strive to fulfill our mission through programs, advocacy and family engagement.
The RSES PTA is made up of hard-working parents & staff who pool their talents to provide practical support for our school. Those listed below volunteered to provide leadership this year. Get to know their names and look for their faces around school and at events. Feel free to ask questions.
Interested in getting involved? Contact us!
2025-2026 Executive Board
President - Chani Buettner president@rsespta.org
Secretary - Kira Jackson secretary@rsespta.org
Treasurer - Lauren O'Neill treasurer@rsespta.org
VP of Programs - Lindsey Booth programs@rsespta.org
VP Arts and Education - Annie O'Brien artsandeducation@rsespta.org
VP of Fundraising - Megan Caruso fundraising@rsespta.org
VP of Volunteers - Karen Ogden volunteers@rsespta.org
VP of Information - Samantha Bethke information@rsespta.org
Membership - Sarah Barr membership@rsespta.org
Parliamentarian - Krista Diaz parliamentarian@rsespta.org
Council Delegate - Lauren Caiella councilrep@rsespta.org
Council Delegate - Zane Lucke councilrep2@rsespta.org
Staff Liaisons
Primary Teacher Liaison (K-2) - TBD
Secondary Teacher Liaison (3-5) - TBD
***Note: Staff Liaisons are appointed and will be announced soon.
2025-2026 COMMITTEE CHAIRS
VP of Programs | ||
Healthy Lifestyles | Morgan Swope | healthy@rsespta.org |
All Abilities | OPEN - NEED CHAIR | allabilities@resepta.org |
Spelling Bee | OPEN - NEED CHAIR | spellingbee@rsespta.org |
Community Social Events | Leslie Bieser | communityevents@rsespta.org |
Watch D.O.G.S. | Tom Boren | watchdogs@rsespta.org |
VP of Arts in Education | ||
Art Appreciation | Jewel Duchamp | art@rsespta.org |
Talent Show | Carl Coccaro | talent@rsespta.org |
Reflections | Christina Thompson | reflections@rsespta.org |
Diversity & Culture | Sonya Young | diversity@rsespta.org |
Learning Garden | Megan Caruso | learninggarden@rsespta.org |
VP of Fundraising | ||
School Supplies | Maggie Krein | supplies@rsespta.org |
Class T-Shirts | Kate Peters | tshirts@rsespta.org |
Spirit Items | Sammy Moore | spiritsticks@rsespta.org |
VP of Volunteers | ||
Staff Workroom | Cheyenne Rutter | workroom@rsespta.org |
Hospitality | Courtney Adams | hospitality@rsespta.org |
Science Lab | Carrie Shultz | sciencelab@rsespta.org |
Room Parent Coordinator | Lauren Vaughn | roomparents@rsespta.org |
Staff Appreciation | Theresa Albus | staffappreciaton@rsespta.org |
VP of Information | ||
Yearbook | Sammy Moore | yearbook@rsespta.org |
Social Media | Krista Diaz | socialmedia@rsespta.org |
Bulletin Boards | Regan Noveskey | bulletinboards@rsespta.org |
Marquee | Monika Anderson | marquee@rsespta.org |
Webmaster | VACANT | webmaster@rsespta.org |
Interested in understanding what the PTA Board Positions do?
PTA Board Position Summaries
President: Coordinates board efforts and officers, presides at PTA meetings, attends PTA District Council meetings, works closely with the Principal and is an official member of all standing committees. The President supports and guides board members and committee members as needed throughout the year, and works closely with school staff and the Info VP on PTA communications. The President is responsible for the Back to School Bash. Time Commitment: This is a year-long commitment including work over summer. The President is expected to attend most events. Hours per week vary depending on programs/events. Setting “office hours'' is recommended.
1st VP - Programs: Attends monthly board meetings, general meetings and committee meetings as needed. Responsible for implementing the PTA goals of student enrichment and parent education including but not limited to articles, flyers, workshops, academic nights (STEM). Responsible for overseeing and supporting chairs Healthy Lifestyles, All Abilities, Community and Social Events, and Spelling Bee. The Programs VP also works closely with the counselors to help provide programming/school assemblies. Time Commitment: Busy periods vary depending on events and programming.
2nd VP - Arts & Education: Attends monthly board meetings, general meetings and committee meetings as needed. Responsible for overseeing and supporting chairs for Art Appreciation, Reflections, the Learning Garden, Talent Show, Diversity & Culture events. Time Commitment: Busy periods vary depending on events and programming.
3rd VP - Fundraising: Attends monthly board meetings, general meetings and committee meetings as needed. Leads fundraising events like Apex and Spirit Nights. Responsible for overseeing and supporting chairs including: School Supplies, Class T-shirts, & Spirit Items. The VP also serves as the liaison between community sponsors and/or donors. Time Commitment: Busy periods in August and various fundraisers especially Apex Fun Run.
4th VP - Volunteers: Attends monthly board meetings, general meetings, and committee meetings as needed. Coordinates with other board members for any volunteer needs. Responsible for overseeing and supporting chairs for Room Parent Coordinator, Staff Workroom, Hospitality, and Staff Appreciation. Recruiting volunteers and keeping volunteers is paramount for this position. Time Commitment: On-going. Many of the chairs who report to the VP are active year round. Staff Appreciation begins in August. VP should be available to start working in July.
5th VP - Public Information: Attends monthly board meetings, general meetings and committee meetings as needed. Oversees PTA communications and supports the PTA President in promoting PTA activities and programs on the website and social media platforms. Additionally, the VP is responsible for overseeing and supporting chairs for Yearbook, Marquee, Bulletin Boards, Social Media, and Webmaster. VP of Info submits PTA information to the school secretary each week for the Thursday Folder. Time Commitment: Ongoing weekly commitments, must be responsive to emails.
Secretary: Attends and records minutes of all PTA Board and general meetings. The Secretary takes all meeting minutes, distributes the agendas, keeps track of various records, and helps prepare a portion of the financial reconciliation. The Secretary must have access to a computer. Experience with Google drive recommended, but not required. Time Commitment: Fluctuates based on meeting schedule, commitment varies throughout the year.
Treasurer: Attends PTA board and general Board meetings. Keeps books of all monetary transactions. Duties include writing checks for activities and reimbursement, filing tax paperwork to maintain non-profit status and pay state taxes, reconciling books monthly to keep accurate track of all monetary transactions, making timely deposits to the PTA bank account, supplying petty cash for all events, and maintaining detailed files pertaining to all activities. Experience with QuickBooks is recommended, but not required. The ideal candidate should be detail oriented. Time Commitment: Workload is approximately 10 hours per month, mostly at the beginning and end of month.
Appointed Board Positions: The following positions are appointed by the President Elect and approved by the newly elected board. If you are interested in serving in these areas, please email president@rsespta.org.
Parliamentarian: Attends board meetings and general meetings. Advise the chair, executive board and members on questions of Robert’s Rules of Order (parliamentary procedure) when asked during meetings; serve as ex-officio on the bylaws (and standing rules, if applicable) review committee;not serve as a committee chair; schedule first nominating committee meeting and provide committee the required information on the nomination and election process. This position only votes when there is a ballot. Additionally, this person also reviews Bylaws and Standing Rules and completes the process if changes need to be made. Time Commitment: Minimal outside of board and general meetings.
Membership Chair: Attends monthly board meetings and general meetings. Sets membership goal at the beginning of the school year. Responsible for promoting PTA membership and educating families on the benefits of joining PTA. Organizes and runs the month long Fall PTA Membership Drive. Submits member dues as needed to Texas PTA. Maintains membership database and member roster for PTA communications. Keeps track and reports PTA membership awards and submits award applications when required. Ideally the Membership chair is present at events and Membership meetings to welcome members and answer questions. Time Commitment: Prior to PTA general meetings verifies attendees are current members for voting purposes. Busiest at the beginning of the school year (3-5 hrs/wk during membership drive) and tapers off once the membership drive is over.
(2) Council Delegates: .The Council Delegates are appointed by our campus PTA to represent the interests of Rooster Elementary PTA at the Council level. They also serve as a liaison between the RSE PTA and DSISD Council of PTAs. In addition to attending monthly board and general meetings, the delegate attends a monthly District Council PTA meeting and reports back to the RSE PTA board and general membership. The Council Delegates also share information about Texas PTA advocacy work, including Rally Day, communicating what is presented at DSISD Council Meetings to the RSE PTA board and general membership. Council Delegates will keep the PTA informed on current legislative news by submitting information for the newsletter or by submitting articles for electronic distribution with the President’s approval. Time commitment: a few hours a month.
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RSES PTA COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Below are the positions for the 2025-26 school year. There are opportunities to accommodate various volunteer schedules and availability. If you are interested in serving, or have a passion and would like to share that with the RSE community that is not listed below, please email Chani Buettner at president@rsespta.org
Please note that chair positions are subject to change based on the needs of our school and if positions are filled. Standing Committee Chairs are appointed by the president and voted on by the board members and can serve up to 2 years. Note: Chairs must be approved each year.
Chairs will be responsible for forming committees to help execute their committee's purpose.
Chairs Reporting to VP of Programs
Healthy Lifestyles: The Healthy Lifestyles committee promotes healthy lifestyles in the home, school and community. This is a creative role to find ways to incorporate healthy lifestyles throughout a child’s life by helping plan for healthy food choices. The chair will host the Bike Rodeo and Wellness Fair. The time commitment is as needed. There is a lot of room for growth with this role. It’s a chance to propose new initiatives next year.
All Abilities: This committee aims to celebrate our individuality and help remind students, teachers and parents about the importance of including students with special needs, and acceptance of all neurodiversity. They frequently look for new ways to make our school a better place for everyone. There are also bulletin boards dedicated to this program that would need updating as needed throughout the year. This chair also works with the VP of Programs to ensure school-wide events are inclusive to all children. The committee would help with any of the monthly information and assist in planning and executing the curriculum and activities for the annual All Abilities Week (a school wide event). Time commitment varies and can be scheduled to fit your schedule.
Spelling Bee: The chair will register Rooster Springs with Scripps then work with the PTA board and school to determine the date of the school spelling bee and coordinate the bee. The chair will register students, distribute study lists to the spellers, coordinate bee judges, and get awards. The chair will also register winners for the district test to determine if either of the top 2 from the school Bee will advance further. For this test the chair will need to coordinate the test with the FLI to utilize the library for the test. Time commitment: The spelling bee typically happens in January. The chair should be able to coordinate the event and attend the event while working with the VP of Programs, Info VP and President to send out communication to families starting two months before the event.
Community & Social Events: Currently there are two main events that this chair leads: Movie Night and Spring Carnival. Each year the PTA hosts an outdoor family movie night where we set up a large projector and invite the entire community out to enjoy a movie. The kids vote on which movie to show at lunchtime before the event. A chair and committee are needed to plan and coordinate the event. The chair and committee secure movie licensing (if applicable), coordinate volunteer needs with the Volunteers VP, create PR materials to share with families, organize concessions (with healthy lifestyles), etc. Time commitment: heavy the month before for planning and night of the event. Our Spring Carnival is an afternoon event of games, activities, food, and fun for the entire community. From cake walks, rock climbing walls to carnival games and a petting zoo, this event is an action-packed event! The Committee for this event offers many volunteer opportunities including sponsorships, games, food booths, and much, much more! This committee coordinates day of volunteer needs with the VP of Volunteers. Time commitment: A few hours each week will be needed for planning starting in January and ramping up as the event gets closer. The chair and committee should be able to attend the event.
Watch D.O.G.S.: Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students) is a national program that the PTA partners with to engage parents and guardians in a community by focusing on fathers and father figures. Watch DOGS sign up for a part of full day to be on-campus helping in a variety of ways.
Chairs Reporting to VP of Arts in Education
Art Appreciation: The Chairperson maintains education materials and supplies and helps train the classroom Art Appreciation volunteers. This Art Enrichment Program is a fun, creative, and educational program that supplements RSE students’ already extensive art education with regular, parent-led projects throughout the school year. The PTA-funded art enrichment committee comes up with new and different projects every year, each of which first teaches students about a particular artist or artistic tradition (often connected to the curriculum or a local museum exhibit) and then leads students in a hands-on art project inspired by the same artist or tradition. The art committee provides all the supplies, and volunteers do not need any prior experience, just enthusiasm for the creative process! Please note that there is a vast library of activities from past years that can be used again. Time commitment: this happens 2-5 times a year. Chair will need to coordinate supplies as well as help execute the project.
Reflections: This national program offers students the opportunity to create works of art for fun and recognition. Students in preschool through grade 12 are encouraged to create and submit works of art in six areas: dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, and the visual arts (which include art forms such as drawing, painting, printmaking, and collage). Students participate in the Reflections Program by submitting entries to the RSES PTA. The top contestants in each category and age group continue on to the district level. The Chair and committee are responsible for organizing and promoting Reflections to RSES students, staff and PTA members. Responsible for communicating Reflections information and the different mediums that may be submitted for participation to students, staff and parents. Responsible for getting all advancing entries to the District Chair in a timely manner in order to have them compete in the District-wide competition. Work with VP of Arts in Education and Principal to announce schoolwide winners, district wide winners and state winners that come from RSES. Publish winners in Thursday folder and PTA newsletter. Purchase awards within budget. Plan a celebration for all participants during school hours.
Learning Garden: The Learning Garden requires many volunteers but it is a rewarding effort as it is truly a favorite among students. The chair ensures our garden supplies are fully stocked including - seeds, mulch, garden tools and related craft supplies. Teachers can sign up for a plot and choose whether their garden visits will be weekly, biweekly or monthly. Chairs work to assign garden volunteers to each class that wishes to maintain a garden plot. The chair is the main contact for classroom garden volunteers and shares monthly garden to-do's and activities for all volunteers to execute in the garden. The chair must ensure the garden is thriving in order to maintain the Monarch Waystation and Certified Wildlife Habitat certifications. The chair is responsible for maintaining the Learning Garden Facebook group. This position requires a weekly commitment both in the garden with the beginning of the school year being their busiest time and less work over the summer. (Depending on time of year: 1-4hrs/wks in the garden and 1hr a month online.)
Talent Show: This committee assists in coordinating a talent show to allow our students to display their talents. In order to make this event a success, a committee of 4-5 volunteers is needed. The talent show is typically at the end of February. The chair ensures the security for any equipment needed, creates all PR materials, and works with the committee to build the order and guidelines for participants. Works with the committee on the sale of any items during the event and recruits committee members to help with the day of production. Note that the event date can change if needed, but will need to be mindful of the yearbook submission deadline to be able to be pictured in the book.
Diversity: Diversity & Culture Committee will strive to celebrate and bring awareness on a variety of topics that provide educational information to the RSES Community. Topics should specifically bring awareness to underrepresented cultures as well as represent the RSES Community as a whole when appropriate. This committee is responsible for creating/hosting a night time event (One World Night). This committee will have tasks each month such as decorating bulletin boards and submitting flyers for social media. The Chair should also host committee meetings as needed throughout the year that includes parents, community members, and RSE staff.
Chairs Reporting to VP of Fundraising
School Supplies: Prepackaged school supplies are offered to parents for pre-order every May for the following school year. Supplies are grade-level/gender specific and are delivered to your teachers classroom prior to the first day of school. This chair would research and select a vendor in the winter (only done every 3 years), work with staff to create grade level supply lists, share order information with the school community, schedule delivery, distribute supplies to teachers at the end of summer. New to this role, last year we added a “Art Class Wish List” and “Workroom Wish List”. The chair worked with the Art teacher and Workroom chair to build out these lists. The committee helps receive & sort the supplies and distribute the week before school starts. Supplies are sorted the week before school starts.
Class T-Shirt: The majority of this role will be in the first few weeks of school. Facilitating class t-shirt order with the t-shirt vendor, working with the Fundraising VP and President, answering parent emails, and organizing t-shirt orders from each classroom. The chair will need to coordinate with a small committee the sorting and delivery of shirts to students.
Spirit Items: This role is a new opportunity for a committee to research and raise funds for our programs through the sale of school spirited items. The chair will lead the coordination of the sales and work with the committee on what will be offered. The chair and committee will align with the VP of fundraising on the dates and duration of the sales for the year.
Chairs Reporting to VP of Volunteers
Staff Appreciation: The chair plans a back-to-school teacher lunch, Sugar Shack, and monthly birthday celebrations. The committee works with the volunteer team and room parents to coordinate Teacher Appreciation Week events. Time commitment: one day before school starts, once a month for birthdays, Sugar Shack in December, and the week of Teacher Appreciation in May.
Room Parent Chair: The room parent chair is the link between the PTA, school and parents in the classroom. The chair coordinates with the committee of room parents for each class to facilitate PTA news and calendar events via online communication to help create public awareness and support for PTA goals and programs. This committee of room parents are responsible for collecting pictures of their classes throughout the year to help with class yearbook pages. (in February). Consistent email communication is needed. Time commitment: Communication is shared on an as needed basis and busier at the beginning of the year and around holidays/class parties.
Hospitality: This committee chair coordinates any food/beverage for regular PTA meetings, STAAR snacks, STAAR breakfasts for staff, Field day vendor breakfasts, and Field day snacks for students. Additionally, the committee works with the Veteran’s Day committee (school staff and teachers) to coordinate the event. Time commitment: The chair & committee should be available for each general meeting and Veteran’s day.
Staff Workroom: This position leads the coordination of the committee of teacher workroom volunteers. The committee provides assistance for teachers with making copies, lamination, cutting, and other projects for teachers. It’s a great way to see first hand what students are learning and free up our teachers to do what they do best—TEACH!! There is a Facebook group for this committee to help with coordination. The chair leads send out weekly communications to remind volunteers of their time slots, order materials for both the workroom and the supply room as needed, train volunteers at the beginning of the year, and be available for workroom questions as they arise.
Science Lab: This committee will be a newly reinstated and revamped group. We are looking for individuals passionate about all things STEM to collaborate with the teachers on how we can reignite this space in our school.
Chairs Reporting to VP of Information
Bulletin Boards: The Bulletin Boards chair updates the bulletin boards/glass cases in front of the school to reflect what is happening for the week or month. Also, the chair updates flyers created by other committees hanging on bulletin boards and at school entrances as required. This committee is great for the volunteer who wants to be involved on an as needed basis. Time commitment is heavy the 2 weeks before school starts.
Marquee: PTA is responsible for keeping up-to-date information on the marquee in front of the school. The Marquee chair changes the message each month. This position requires a monthly time commitment, in updating the visible board by the road in front of the school. Updates can be done anytime, day, evenings, weekends. VP of Info will help with determining events to be posted.
Yearbook: The yearbook chair leads a committee of people responsible for taking pictures at events and collecting pictures all year. The yearbook chair must host a meeting with room parents at the beginning of the year to educate everyone on the yearbook plan and then works closely with room parents to create a yearbook page for each class. The ability to be at important school and PTA events in order to capture pictures is ideal. This committee needs 3-5 members to make it a success. This committee is a full year commitment. There are multiple deadlines, with a major production submission due in March. If the committee decides to do Yearbook+, a digital component currently being offered by the publisher, the work continues to the last day of school. The yearbook chair also coordinates distribution of the yearbook in May. The yearbook chair must be comfortable using email and google suite. Regular email communication is required.
Social Media: The social media chair works with the Info VP and President to update the RSES Facebook page and Instagram account with timely information about events happening at RSES. This position is great for the volunteer who can complete all tasks from home and is social media savvy.
Webmaster: A new chair, this person would work closely with the VP of Information ensure the PTA website maintains current and accurate information. The PTA website serves as a key resource for our parent and teacher community. This responsibility requires weekly attention but can be done from anywhere. Familiarization with website management would be ideal.