Parent Volunteer Committee

The Cincinnati Classical

For most parents, there will be no change in how they volunteer and support the school. Parents will continue to have opportunities to help with events, Athletics, Fine Arts, Community & Culture, and other needs throughout the school year.

If you have already signed up to volunteer for an event or activity this year, your volunteer commitment remains in place. There is no need to sign up again.

Volunteer opportunities will continue to be shared through the newly launched Parent Hub, Sentinel Life, the CLASSICAL Parent Facebook page, and the PVC Facebook page. The current PSO Facebook page will simply be renamed for the PVC, so parents who already follow the page will not need to find or join a new one.

While a Parent-Teacher

CLASSICAL is transitioning parent volunteer efforts from the PSO structure to the Parent Volunteer Committee.

The PVC will carry forward many of the volunteer efforts, activities, and traditions previously supported through the PSO, but under a simpler structure. Parent coordinators will continue organizing volunteers and supporting programs and activities, while working directly with the appropriate school representatives.

The primary structural change is that these efforts will now take place through a committee of CLASSICAL rather than through a separate organization with its own governance and financial administration. This transition is intended to simplify the structure and to make execution of volunteer roles as smooth as possible.

Parent involvement is important to CLASSICAL. Parents will continue to have opportunities to volunteer, support events and programs, bring forward ideas, strengthen the school community, and contribute their time and talents.

As CLASSICAL has grown, so have the number and variety of ways parents support the school. The school and current PSO board believe this is an opportunity to simplify the structure supporting those efforts and create clearer areas of responsibility.

Maintaining the PSO as a separate organization requires its own governance, financial administration, reporting requirements, volunteer time, and expenses, duplicating many administrative functions that already exist through the school and Friends. Under the PVC structure, parent coordinators can spend more of their time organizing volunteers, supporting programs, and working directly with the appropriate school representatives.

Having both the PSO and Friends of Cincinnati Classical Academy collecting donations has also proven confusing for some families. Friends already has the infrastructure in place to process contributions, maintain donor records, provide appropriate acknowledgments, and support the school’s fundraising needs. Consolidating charitable giving through Friends creates one clearer and more consistent process for families and donors.

The name is intentionally simple and descriptive. Parents and volunteers remain at the heart of the group, with its primary purpose being to coordinate the time, talents, ideas, and service of parents who want to support CLASSICAL.

The PVC is a committee of Cincinnati Classical Academy and operates under the direction of the school, while parent coordinators continue to lead the organization of volunteers and service within their respective areas.

Within Athletics, Fine Arts, and Community & Culture, parent coordinators will work directly with the appropriate school representatives to identify needs, coordinate volunteers, support programs and activities, and bring forward ideas from parents.

Rather than having traditional organizational officers, leadership will be centered around these areas. This creates a more direct connection between the parents coordinating volunteer efforts and the school programs they support.

Parent coordinators will be selected by the school in consultation with the appropriate school representative for each area.

Coordinators will be parents willing to take an active role in organizing volunteers, supporting programs and activities, communicating needs and ideas, and serving as a connection between parent volunteers and the school.

Each area of the PVC will include a school representative and parent coordinators who work together to support the programs, activities, and volunteer needs within that area.

• Athletics
  • School Representative: Mr. Bissmeyer, Athletic Director
  • Parent Coordinators: Individual sport coordinators will continue working directly with the Athletic Director as they do today. Becoming part of the PVC does not change their responsibilities or require anything additional of them.
• Fine Arts
  • School Representative: Mr. Meriwether, Fine Arts Director
  • Parent Coordinator: Mrs. Erin Deschene
• Community & Culture
  • School Representative: Mrs. DiNino, Director of Student Health Services & Dean of Girls
  • Lower School Parent Coordinator: Mrs. Jenny Handley
  • Upper School Parent Coordinator: Mrs. Jessica Toy

• PVC Liaison

• • Mrs. Amanda VandeRyt
  • The PVC Liaison will support communication and coordination among school representatives, parent coordinators, and parent volunteers. The Liaison will work alongside representatives and coordinators to support collaboration across areas, assist with coordination as needed, and help ensure PVC efforts remain aligned with school priorities and direction.

The PVC brings these existing parent volunteer efforts together under one school-directed structure. For parents already serving in these roles, the goal is continuity, not added responsibility.

The events, activities, and traditions that families are familiar with are expected to continue. As they do now, individual programs and events may naturally evolve from year to year based on the needs and priorities of the school, parent interest, available volunteers, and resources.

The transition to the PVC is not intended to eliminate the programs and traditions parent volunteers have worked hard to build and support.

Yes. Parent ideas are welcome and will continue to be an important part of identifying new ways to support the school community.

Parents who would like to propose a new event, program, or initiative should bring forward a basic plan, including a parent willing to lead the effort, anticipated logistics, volunteer needs, and other details necessary to carry it out.

Ideas can be shared with the appropriate PVC coordinator or school representative and will be considered based on the school’s needs, priorities, calendar, available volunteers, and resources.

The PVC and Friends serve different but complementary purposes.

The PVC focuses on people and service: coordinating parent volunteers and supporting school programs, events, and activities.

Friends focuses on fundraising and charitable giving: providing the infrastructure to process donations, maintain appropriate financial records, and acknowledge donors.

When a PVC activity involves fundraising or donations, contributions will go through Friends. Friends does not oversee the PVC or direct its volunteers.

Donations and fundraising associated with PVC activities will be processed through Friends of Cincinnati Classical Academy.

This gives families and donors one consistent process for charitable giving while allowing parent coordinators and volunteers to focus their time on the programs, events, and service they are supporting rather than maintaining separate financial and fundraising operations. All funds will go to support the purpose they were donated for.

Purchases for approved PVC events and activities will follow the established school and Friends purchasing processes. Whenever possible, approved purchases will be made directly rather than requiring parent volunteers to use personal funds and seek reimbursement.

Specific purchasing procedures will be shared with PVC coordinators and volunteers as needed.

Yes. Donors may identify a particular program or area of CLASSICAL they would like their gift to support, such as Athletics, Fine Arts, or another school initiative.

Donations will be processed through Friends of Cincinnati Classical Academy, which will work with the school to appropriately track and administer contributions intended to support specific programs or purposes.

Moving donation processing through Friends does not eliminate the ability to support the areas of the school that are most meaningful to you. It simply provides one consistent process for making, tracking, and acknowledging charitable contributions.

If you are interested in making a gift to support a specific program or area, please contact Russell Newsom, Executive Director of Friends of Cincinnati Classical Academy, for assistance at Russell@friendsofcincyclassical.org.

The PSO’s remaining funds will continue to be used for the benefit of CLASSICAL and its students, programs, and activities.

The PSO, school, and Friends are working together to ensure remaining funds are handled appropriately as the transition is completed, including funds associated with specific programs or purposes.

Parent volunteers remain an important part of the CLASSICAL community, and there are many ways to contribute time, talents, and expertise throughout the school year.

Parents interested in volunteering can connect with the appropriate PVC coordinator or school representative within Athletics, Fine Arts, or Community & Culture. Volunteer opportunities will also continue to be shared with families throughout the year.

Whether helping with an existing activity, volunteering for a specific need, or bringing forward a well-developed idea for something new, parents are encouraged to continue finding ways to contribute to the life of the school.