Dear MVCS Community,
As I conclude my second one-year term as President of the Mount Vernon Community School PTA, I find myself reflecting on how extraordinary our community is. Serving this school and its families has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. During the past two years, I have had the privilege of working alongside an incredible group of volunteers, educators, staff members, and families who care deeply about ensuring that every MVCS student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
These past two years have brought significant challenges. As federal and local grant funding came to an end and ACPS faced difficult budget decisions, the needs of our school community continued to grow. In response, our PTA stepped forward. Through the generosity of our families, local businesses, and community partners, we successfully increased our fundraising efforts to help bridge critical gaps and continue supporting programs, events, classroom resources, teacher appreciation initiatives, family engagement opportunities, student enrichment activities, and our amazing Blessings in a Backpack program.
I am especially proud that we have remained committed to transparency and responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. Our PTA budget and financial reports are always available to our community, and I encourage anyone interested to review our budget document here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aIBx9BF85MTd2IUGJNxAOcewoL5DYReZwOdlCXC6rzM/edit?usp=sharing.
None of this work would have been possible without the remarkable members of our board.
I would like to offer a special thank you to our outgoing board members:
- Elisha Garvey, Secretary
- Lizzy Ludwig, Vice President of Fundraising
- Maria Lotito, Vice President of Community Engagement
- Carrie Phillips, Vice President of Membership (after multiple years on the Board!)
- Nicole Tailleart, Communications (4!! years in this role)
Each of them has contributed countless hours of service, creativity, and dedication to MVCS. Their leadership has made our school community stronger, more welcoming, and better connected.
I would also like to recognize the individuals who will be joining the board next year:
- Abby Thoennes, Vice President of Fundraising
- Annie Ebbers, Secretary
- Jessica Wintfeld, Vice President of Advocacy
- Jenny Kellogg, Treasurer
- Stephanie Yost, Vice President of Membership
In addition, Meg Calnan will transition from Vice President of Fundraising to Vice President of Communications, where her energy and talent will continue to be tremendous assets to our organization.
Most importantly, I want to recognize Victoria Chang, who has served with distinction as our Treasurer for the past two years and who will become the next President of the MVCS PTA.
Victoria has been an exceptional partner throughout my tenure. Her thoughtful leadership, financial expertise, steady judgment, and unwavering commitment to our students have helped guide our PTA through a period of significant growth and responsibility. I could not be prouder—or more confident—in handing this important torch to her. Under Victoria’s leadership, alongside next year’s outstanding board, I know the MVCS PTA will continue to flourish and find new ways to support our students, families, teachers, and staff.
While my role as President is ending, my commitment to MVCS is not. This school has given so much to my family, and I look forward to continuing to support our community in new ways in the years ahead. I will continue to serve on the Board in the “Past President” role and I have just accepted the Executive Director position with the Caboose Fund (www.caboosefund.org).
Thank you for your trust, your partnership, your volunteer hours, your donations, your ideas, and your belief in what we can accomplish together. The strength of MVCS has always been its people, and I remain incredibly optimistic about the future of our school.
With gratitude,
Evan Wilson
President, Mount Vernon Community School PTA
2024–2026
For more information about the PTA and ways to get involved, please visit mvcspta.org.