We asked. You answered. Let's expand our enrichment and afterschool offerings!

One of the top responses to our 2023-24 Parent and Teacher Surveys was increasing our in-school enrichment and afterschool offerings. From bringing in residency programs to work with individual grades to deepening the clubs and classes we offer for all ages to drawing our children out of the classroom and into Central Park and our cities' cultural institutions, we want to grow our youngsters' ability to learn through hands-on doing and exploring!

Our school's budget is limited -- and under threat of being painfully cut even further by the City. We can help the budget go further by increasing donations and building out the projects the PTA supports, expanding the overall experience of our children as well as making the school more attractive to new families. New families increase our enrollment, which in turn increases funding for the school. All of these things add up to more resources for our current and future students -- and it's up to us, with our advocacy, our donations, and our community, to start this flywheel.

We are exploring the costs of a wide variety of enrichment classes (foreign language, sports, arts, quirky offerings like nature/survival camp and parkour) and putting together a field trip database of ideas, costs, topics of exploration, accessibility, and best ages. We are creating a grant application for our outdoor classroom resources for all ages, augmenting our PAC funds, working to provide storage, shade, and seating for every grade and enrichment subject. And we're pricing out additional lunchroom and recess support through aides or structured programs.

So let's build it.

Our goal with this campaign is to maximize participation, and any little bit counts. To kick things off, a small group of parents is offering a match on our first $2,000 of donations! Your $1 is now $2; your $10 is now $20; your $100 is now $200! If you can't give money, we would still love to hear from you - your participation could be a future Bake Sale donation, volunteering for a hour at an event, or helping with a project that piques your interest.

We also highly suggest looking into whether your employer might offer a corporate match for any donation you make. We are a 501c3 organization and can hook you up with whatever information (like our EIN) that your employer might need. For many employees, this is an opportunity to snag free easy money for our school with little additional effort!

You can donate here or, if you prefer, send us money via Venmo (@LockePTA185) or CashApp (PTA.lockeschool@gmail.com) or by emailing us at PTA.lockeschool@gmail.com to set up a cash or check hand-off. You can also email us to be added to our mailing list and hear more about big and small ways to get involved.

Family & Friends Giving Campaign

By P S 185 Parent Teacher Association

Family & Friends Giving Campaign

Providing educational and after-school enrichment for our students