Photo Courtesy of Keota PTO Social Media

The Keota Parent Teacher Organization has made the decision to begin supporting the entirety of the Keota Community School District, after previously primarily supporting the elementary school the past two years.

Jacayla Milledge, a parent and member of the Keota PTO, says the group decided to go district-wide to acknowledge and show appreciation for every staff member and student in the district. She says significant overlap also helped the group make the choice, “We have a few staff members that are teaching at both the elementary and secondary levels, so having one organization made sense since some of our staff are shared between the buildings. We also have families that have students, and some of our members have students, who are attending both the elementary school and the secondary school. So, by having one organization, our parents have just one spot to follow to get the information for what we have going on.”

Some activities that the PTO leads to support the district include organizing meals and snacks for conferences and other events, funding the school’s STEM club, and publicly recognizing teachers, custodial staff, and bus drivers for their hard work. Milledge says the group relies on fundraising to support its mission, so parental involvement is always appreciated. 

Coming up in February, the PTO will ask secondary parents for food donations to provide meals for staff for upcoming conferences. The group will also be in charge of the concession stand at next Friday’s homecoming basketball game.