Following is a list of PTA committees that will be active at Janney this year. Please note that we are in need of additional committee chairs, and volunteers are always welcome on all committees. If you are interested in participating in something specific, thank you and please email pta@janneyschool.org to sign up or complete the PTA Volunteer Sign Up Form.
| Committee Name | Description | Chair |
|---|---|---|
| 5K & Fun Run | This committee plans and implements one of Janney's biggest fundraisers, our beloved 5K and Fun Race. We will need many volunteers to help with the route and cool refreshments for the runners. We are going virtual this year. | Shari Berki, Eva Gunasekera, Andrea Travis, Jennifer Werth |
| 5th Grade Graduation | Purchase t-shirts and plan the graduation party (food, entertainment, chaperones, etc) for all 5th graders | Vacant |
| Affiliate Program | A committee dedicated to raising money for Janney through various Affiliate programs including Amazon, Giant A+ rewards, eScrip, and Shutterfly. Click here to learn here to link your Giant cards, or how to raise money when you shop on Amazon, or about our other affiliate programs. | Betsy Good |
| AtoZ Connect | This committee oversees the maintenance and development of Janney AtoZ Connect, a platform to publish the school directory, maintain emergency contact information for parents, and send out important information to families. | Bess Jankowski, Robyn Mandelbaum |
| Auction | A committee of Janney’s most dedicated parents plans this spring fundraiser. The group solicits auction items from neighborhood companies, school sponsors and the extended Janney community and puts together a fabulous evening of fun, music, food and bidding! | Dahlia Levine, Melanie Sheldon |
| Awards | This committee plans for a special awards ceremony for families who are leaving Janney and have contributed significant efforts to the school. The ceremony takes place at the last Community meeting of each year. | Jen Tidwell, Ginny Warren |
| Bingo Night | The Bingo Night Committee organizes a fun family night of Bingo at Janney to raise funds for the PTA. | Katie Backfield, Laine Kaplowitz |
| Blood Drive | A Red Cross blood drive hosted at Janney | Amy Boris |
| Book Fair (Politics & Prose) | During one weekend each fall, local bookstore Politics & Prose donates a percentage of its sales to Janney. This committee organizes the annual fundraiser by publicizing the event within Janney and the local community, as well as coordinating “wish lists” from teachers, resource specialists, and the school library. | Meg Brennan |
| Box Tops | If you buy General Mills foods such as cereals, granola bars, and other grocery items, clip the coupons labeled “Box Tops for Education” and put them in the box just inside the front door of Janney. Our school gets 10 cents for every coupon. | Ginny Warren |
| Bracket Challenge | March Madness Bracket Challenge. | Vacant |
| Community Service | This committee coordinates volunteers and contributions for various community service projects through the year including the Thrive DC volunteer program. Janney provides and helps serve monthly dinners to the Dinner Program for Homeless Women. Janney classrooms and individual families contribute items on a set dinner menu, and the committee organizes volunteers to transport and serve the food. | Connie Souto Learman, Jen White |
| Healthy Food | This project improves the nutritional content of the school lunches at Janney and DCPS as a whole. In addition this committee will work on ways to bring locally farmed foods into our school building (includes Whole Foods days - every other year or so) | Giuseppina Fancellu |
| Holiday Greens | Manages the sale of holiday greens during the week of the WinterFest. | Becky Hale, Mark Rasevic, Josh Wilson |
| Hospitality | Coordinate refreshments for grade-level and principal's coffees. | Elizabeth Calanan Mitchell, Audrey Cooling |
| International Night | This wonderful Janney tradition entails an evening of food, music, and crafts sponsored by the PTA for students, parents, and staff members to showcase club activities and enjoy the diverse cultures within our community. | Vacant |
| Library Volunteers | A team of volunteers supports the school librarian during classroom visits by reading stories and assisting students with research and word processing. Volunteers also assist with such library operations as shelving, data entry, book repair, and book circulation. | Robyn Goecke |
| Lice Check | As a preventative measure after every long break from school, Janney’s nurse and a team of parent volunteers check every Janney student’s head for lice. | Elyssa Larranaga, Elizabeth Mitchell |
| Lost & Found | This committee is partially student run/club/and parent volunteers. Its mission is to reunite Janney families with their lost items by organizing and displaying the contents of the lost and found. The committee also handles donation of unclaimed items to charity. | Vacant |
| Matching Grant | The Matching Grant committee is responsible for encouraging parents to pursue matching grant opportunities offered by their employers. This person will raise awareness of matching grants, help to facilitate the donation process, and track any grants that come in throughout the year. | Joanna Tipton, David Van Leeuwen, Katie Wilson |
| Merchandise | The Merchandise Committee manages the Janney merchandise program including selecting, ordering, and selling branded items. | Elyssa Larranaga, Jen Tidwell, Audrey Cooling |
| Monthly Dinners | This committee will organize monthly dinners at local restaurants for the Janney community. | Laine Kaplowitz |
| Movie Night | Movie and Popcorn at Janney one winter night. | Amy Andrus, Kim Neuman |
| Newsletter | Editors compile, edit, and work with Principal Lutz to publish a weekly Janney community newsletter, which is distributed electronically to all Janney families. To contact communication committees (newsletter, social media & website), email to communications@janneyschool.org. | Darcy Anderson, Johanna Cox Moran |
| Open House | This committee coordinates the open houses to showcase Janney for prospective families by recruiting tour guides, ordering coffee, putting ad in Northwest Current, etc. | Jackie Buckley, Danielle Burwell |
| Outdoors | This committee helps with improving, maintaining, and beatifying everything that encompasses the Janney school grounds. This committee coordinates and supports two “spruce up” days (fun for the whole family) one in the fall and one in the spring. It's volunteers also support the Janney Garden Project throughout the school year. | Vacant |
| Raffle | The annual winter raffle is one of the PTA’s most important fundraisers. Tickets are sold by a team of parent volunteers, and then winning tickets are drawn during the Winterfest for fabulous cash and/or prizes. | David and Nadiya Scott |
| Room Parents | A fun and rewarding way to get directly involved in your child’s class. Room parents coordinate parent support to the classroom, organize class events and parties, and facilitate communication from teachers and the PTA to parents. | Brooke Brown, Johanna Cox Moran |
| Safety Committee | This committee coordinates with school administration on school safety issues and coordinates safety trainings for teachers, staff, along with Janney+ instructors. It conducts research, provides recommendations, and reviews the school polices and procedures to ensure the safety of the school. | Brooks Singer |
| School Photos/Yearbook | This committee plans and executes the annual fall picture day and subsequent distribution of photos to families and yearbook volunteers. | Jenn Reid, Shana Zallman |
| School Tour Committee | This committee coordinates monthly school tours for prospective Janney families. | Vacant |
| Social Media | This committee helps the school update and inform Janney Community via Janney Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. To contact communication committees (newsletter, social media & website), email to communications@janneyschool.org. | Betsy Good, Robyn Goecke |
| Spring Mulch Sale | Mulch will be sold at Janney in the spring – to benefit your garden and your child’s school! | Mark Rasevic, Eliza Wong |
| Spring Picnic | This event takes place on a Friday evening in late spring and includes food trucks and a DJ! | Vacant |
| Staff Appreciation | This committee coordinates events that thank the teachers and staff for their dedication to our children. Thank you activities include holiday appreciation gifts, an end of year staff luncheon, and small tokens of thank you to recognize teachers and staff for their hard work and commitment to Janney throughout the year. | Jen Windom, Dahlia Levine |
| Talent Show | Lissy Melia | |
| Used Book Sale | The ultimate in scholastic recycling! This committee organizes the Janney Spring Used Book Sale. Volunteers organize the book donation drive prior to the sale and organize the many boxes of donated books. On the day of the sale they set up a “book store” at Janney and act as cashiers and baggers. This committee also finds suitable locations for donating the books at the end of the sale. | Deborah Samenow, Mindy Saraco, Nora Stein |
| Website | This committee updates and maintains the Janney website with important news and information at janneyschool.org. To contact communication committees (newsletter, social media & website), email to communications@janneyschool.org. | Bess Jankowski, Robyn Mandelbaum, Jennifer Werth |
| Welcome Committee/ Buddy Families | The purpose of this group is to provide a go-to resource for families with questions about Janney and to assure their transition to Janney is as easy and comfortable as possible. | Jen Tidwell, Ginny Warren |
| Winter Market | Students, teachers and parents all come together to sell their treasures ahead of the holidays, and lot more activities to celebrate winter. | Vacant |
