2007
Collin County Education Volunteers of the Year
April 19, 2007
Cara Mendelsohn, Huffman Elementary School PTA President, Mendenhall
Elementary School's "Parents Helping Teachers" group,
and Plano ISD Volunteer Ann Boswell captured top Collin County
Volunteer of the Year Awards on April 17.
Cara Mendelsohn - Huffman Elementary PTA President
 Huffman
Elementary School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President Cara
Mendelsohn says that, "Without a doubt, my work as PTA president
has been the highlight of my volunteer service to the community.
"I have enjoyed helping Huffman focus on academic success
for all students, and I believe that PTA works as a true partner
with the school," said Ms. Mendelsohn, whose PTA doubled in
membership and volunteer
hours of service to the school this year. "We have engaged
our community, and that's our biggest success."
Ms. Mendelsohn's leadership was also instrumental in Huffman's
selection as one of three "key schools" identified by
the Plano ISD Board of Trustees as a response initiative
to closing the achievement gap.
Also cited for her community volunteer service, Ms. Mendelsohn
was recognized for rallying neighbors to successfully
work with
the Plano City Council to establish more stringent limitations
regarding where
registered sex offenders can live in terms of proximity to a
school.
Individuals also nominated in the education category were: Sandee
Black, Keith Braley,
Gerald Cosgrove, Elise Gold, Lilly
Leung, Rene Mahoney, Janice Schieffer and Harold Sickler.
Mendenhall Elementary "Parents Helping Teachers"
 Mendenhall
Elementary School's bilingual
parent liaison has involved the school's Spanish speaking parents
in a variety of ways. The most effective has been the formation
of weekly get togethers to support the classroom teachers in making
materials for the students. For the past three years, a group of
mothers called “Parents Helping Teachers” began meeting
every Friday morning for a couple of hours to laminate, cut, color
and
collate classroom games and learning materials. (Pictured,
clockwise from left, are Maria Lopez, Rosalina Gonzalez, Paty Galvan
and
Esther Roady.)
This year, members
of the group can be seen in the Family Center at Mendenhall almost
every day. A craft day on Tuesday was added this fall to strengthen
the feeling of friendship and belonging to the group. The ladies
have taught each other to knit and crochet while making ponchos
and scarves. They have also worked on scrapbooks and smaller crafts.
All of the ladies are Spanish speaking. Some are bilingual and
some have very limited English. This group of about 15 women
has become good friends and very involved parents in the school.
Several of the members are taking English classes twice a week
while their
children are in class.
The Mendenhall PTA has benefited
because three of the ladies have joined the PTA board, taking the
roles of historian, multicultural co-chair and grade level room
parent. The school volunteer base has also grown as a result of
this group.
This dedicated group cooked and served a delicious
Mexican food lunch for Mendenhall’s entire staff in December. They are
active volunteers in the library, on field trips and in the mentoring program.
Some mentor students in English in
either handwriting or oral reading and others mentor informally in Spanish during
the students’ lunch period.
This group is surely a model of success in
involving parents who might have been reluctant to get involved in the public
schools. Confidence and enthusiasm is
evident in these ladies at Mendenhall and the school is richer because of their
involvement and support.
Also nominated in the education group category were the Jesuit
College Preparatory School Student Volunteers.
Ann Boswell Captures 'Spirit of Volunteerism Award'
 Longtime
Plano ISD volunteer Ann Boswell, who served as event chair for
the Volunteer Center Awards luncheon, captured
the 11th Annual "André Davidson Spirit of Volunteerism
Award." Ms. Boswell (pictured with Plano ISD's 2006 Secondary
Teacher of the Year Michael Abney and School Board President Duncan
Webb)
has
served for the past two years as Plano ISD's Teacher of the Year
Gala
co-chair. She has been an active leader
in the Plano ISD Council of PTAs for
many
year,
currently
serving
as
the council's legislative
chair.
The Spirit of Volunteerism Award is named in honor of André Davidson,
founding and current member of the Plano ISD Education Foundation,
whose many volunteer achievements exemplify the passion, enthusiasm
and spirit of volunteerism.
Ms. Davidson presented the award to Ms. Boswell at the April 17
luncheon, stating...
"For more than 20 years, our award winner has not only
shared her
time and talent with many of the non-profit agencies represented
here today, but also with the community at large."
"She is passionate
about the welfare, education and protection of children and is
a founding
board member
of the
Collin
County
Children’s Advocacy Center and former president of the Children’s
Advocacy Centers of Texas. A sustaining member of the Junior League,
she currently serves on the League’s Literacy Task Force
and Family Violence Task Force.
"As a member of the North-east Texas Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation Board, she co-founded the highly successful “Plano
Father of the Year” event benefiting cystic fibrosis research.
She is a member of BRAVO, the fundraising arm of the Arts of Collin
County. She is also the current president of Plano Youth Leadership,
and, she and her daughter, Katherine, are members of the Plano
chapter of the National Charity League.
"Her involvement in the Plano school district is extensive. She
is a former PTA president at Wells Elementary, secretary at Schimelpfenig,
and is currently Vice President of Membership at Jasper High School.
In addition, she has been a member of the PISD Calendar Committee,
Career Education Advisory, President’s Council and was Solicitations
Chair for the Teacher of the Year Gala for three years.
"She has served the City of Plano on the Community Services Commission,
the Community Substance Abuse Commission, and is a graduate of
Leadership Plano and the Plano Citizens Police Academy.
"Our award winner has had a commitment not only to volunteerism,
but to the Volunteer Center of Collin County for many years, having
served two terms as board president. Today, she is still donating
her time to support the Volunteer Center as chair of this luncheon.
"This
year’s 'Spirit of Volunteerism' recipient
does, indeed, 'inspire by example.' And what a perfect
day for us to honor her…on her birthday!"
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