CVHS PTO Committees

Whether you have an occasional free hour or time available on a regular basis, Carnegie Vanguard High School has many volunteer opportunities to meet your interests, skills and time constraints. Listed below are all PTO standing committees.

Business Development/GATE Committee

This committee meets with faculty and staff to identify the broad and long term needs of CVHS. Each year a project is chosen by the committee, with the approval of the Executive Board, to be the focus of the PTO’s Annual GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Campaign to help support the educational programs at CVHS. Along with an annual letter to CVHS parents, the committee focuses on long term investments, grant writing, mentor programs, corporate gift matching programs and business partnerships. This committee also compiles teachers’ wish lists, assesses priority of needs for materials, and makes recommendations for procurement to the Executive Board.
Contact us for more information or to volunteer.
Read more about Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) donation form

College Information Programs Committee

This committee works with the college counselors and school administration to organize, publicize and host events throughout the school year that provide information to students about college financial aid, college preparatory testing, college applications and recruitment visits.
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Communications Committee

This committee informs the membership of upcoming events, school information and PTO meetings through various means including e-mail and the PTO website. A committee member serves as Internal Communications Chair for the purpose of maintaining the e-mail network system and transmitting group membership e-mails. A committee member serves as Webmaster for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the PTO website.
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Facilities Development Committee

This committee organizes school landscaping workdays and suggests general exterior campus improvements. It works with the faculty and administration to implement suggestions and identify other needed physical resources for classrooms and campus grounds.
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Faculty/Staff Appreciation Committee

This committee plans, recruits volunteers for and coordinates three faculty/staff appreciation events during the school year: one at the beginning of the school year, one at the beginning of winter break and one at the end of the school year.
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Fundraising Sales Committee

This committee coordinates ongoing fundraising sales activities, including food sales on campus and incentive programs with area merchants, and presents a fundraising plan as part of the annual PTO budget.
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Membership/Directory Committee

This committee prepares new member information packets, collects registration forms, keeps a record of registered members, and serves as an information source for recruiting volunteers for committees and events. This committee is also responsible for soliciting paid advertisements for, compiling, producing, distributing and selling the annual student directory.
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Publicity

This committee helps the school’s staff keep HISD, the Houston Chronicle and various neighborhood publications aware of student and faculty achievements and activities.
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Recruiting and Welcome Events Committee

This committee works with the school administration to provide refreshments, tour guides and other assistance during Magnet Awareness Week in the fall and helps to coordinate the Magnet Open House held at the end of that week on campus. This committee also works with parent volunteers to organize informational coffees or teas in their homes during the acceptance/decision week(s) in April of each year to which accepted incoming freshmen students are invited. The committee organizes, recruits volunteers for and hosts the Ice Cream Social usually held in late June where incoming freshmen are invited to meet current students and faculty and obtain summer information. This committee also works with administration to assist as requested with Fish Camp, the off-campus weekend orientation held for incoming freshmen students in August of each year.
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Scholarship Committee

Each year the PTO awards one or more scholarship(s) to graduating senior(s) who have attended CVHS for a minimum of two years and whose parent, legal guardian or caretaker is a member in good standing of the PTO. This committee distributes scholarship applications to qualified candidates, reviews submitted applications, interviews the candidates and selects the recipient(s), who are announced at the Spring Celebration Banquet.
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School Spirit Sales Committee

This committee selects and orders school spirit items such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, bumper stickers and other novelties to be sold at specified times for the primary purpose of promoting school spirit and providing school publicity (as opposed to fundraising). The committee plans sales and coordinates publicity with the administration and the Communications Committee. The committee sells items at the summer Ice Cream Social to incoming freshmen.
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Social and Auction Committee

This committee organizes this adult function open to families, friends, faculty and alumni of CVHS, which is usually held early in the spring semester. The committee solicits the item donations for the live and silent auctions, plans the location and date of the event, produces and mails invitations, publicizes the event, sells tickets, arranges for the food and auction item displays, produces the auction catalog and conducts the auction at the event. This event is the major fundraising event for the PTO.
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Spring Celebration Banquet Committee

This committee organizes the end of year awards banquet which is usually held in late April or early May. The banquet is open to all students and their families. The committee sets the location and date of the event, produces and mails invitations, sells tickets, plans the program in conjunction with the faculty and arranges for the food and decorations.
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Class Representatives
One or more parent representatives from each class of students attending CVHS are recommended by the Nominating Committee or any member of the Executive Board and appointed by the President to serve for a one-year term to coincide with the PTO membership year. Representatives may be appointed for successive one-year terms if they wish to follow the class they are serving. Each representative works with students in the given class as well as faculty members and staff to plan for and carry out special class events, fundraising projects, celebrations and outings as approved by the students and administration. If more than one parent representative serves a given class, the representatives choose one among them to communicate with the Third Vice President as the Executive Board liaison.
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9th   Class of 2011 Tom Black
10th   Class of 2010 Francis Aheanacho
11th   Class of 2009 Fran Thomson
12th   Class of 2008 Melanie Becker

The Shared Decision Making Committee (SDMC)
The Shared Decision Making Committee (SDMC) is the formal committee that discusses major issues related to the school. It is chaired by the CVHS school principal and made up of faculty and staff representatives as well as parent, business and community representatives. Two parent representatives are recommended by the Nominating Committee and appointed by the principal to serve a one-year term. The President serves as the Executive Board liaison with these parent representatives.
Contact us for more information or to volunteer: Diana Dinn or Betty Wong

The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) is an informal forum for any parents to meet with Principal Ramon Moss. Parents are encouraged to come to any or all of the scheduled monthly meetings with Mr. Moss in order to discuss issues of a general nature and advise Mr. Moss regarding possible solutions. These meetings are generally scheduled on the second Friday of each month at 8:00 a.m. except as noted on the school calendar.