Ralston PTA
Ralston PTA Overview
Dear Ralston Families, Staff and Teachers,
Each year, our PTA looks for new ways to create positive experiences and contribute to the success of ALL of our students. Engaged staff, parents, and students working together have a tremendous impact on our children's educational experience. Research shows that parent involvement makes a positive difference in a child's education, affecting his/her behavior, motivation, and school engagement
The Ralston PTA posts regular updates via ParentSquare, and some updates on Facebook.
Become a PTA Member
Becoming a PTA member is the easiest way to get involved and support Ralston. When you make a donation to SchoolForce, part of your donation goes towards the annual PTA dues, making you an automatic voting member of the PTA.
Volunteering at Ralston
There are an incredible number of clubs, assemblies, competitions, and other community-building activities at Ralston. Each year, hundreds of Ralston parents volunteer thousands of hours to make all of these wonderful events successful.
If you would like to learn more about the different ways to volunteer, please fill out this volunteering form.
Also, just a friendly reminder that you need BRSSD volunteering clearance to volunteer at Ralston. This needs to be done every year. Getting volunteering clearance is easy - Level 1 and Level 2 clearance (which covers nearly all volunteering activities) can be done online here.
When you volunteer for the Ralston PTA, please log your volunteering hours! The Ralston PTA is a non-profit organization, so we need to track all volunteering hours for tax purposes. You can log your volunteering hours by filling out this simple form.
PTA reimbursement form
Reimbursement form can be found here
PTA Executive Board
Danny & his wife have been living in Belmont for over 15 years, and have a 7th grader at Ralston and a 5th grader at Fox. As a family, they love sports, board games, and travel, and are excited to be part of the Ralston community!
Penny Foks, VP / Communications
Penny and her family have lived in Belmont for 10 wonderful years!!! They adore this welcoming community. With two children, one in 10th grade at Carlmont and the other in 7th grade at Ralston, they stay busy. The family shares a passion for activities like community service, volleyball, wrestling, camping, and traveling, especially exploring different cities together.
Manal Elghandour, VP Council Rep
Manal and her family have been in Redwood Shores for 15 years. She has 4 kids, a 9th grader, 6th & 7th grader here at Ralston and a 2nd grader at Sandpiper. She has served on the PTA board at Sandpiper for the last 4 years and is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the PTA board here and continue to be involved on the district level as well. She loves reading, travelling and going for walks.
Annie has lived in Belmont for 11 years with her family. She and her husband have two children, a 10th grader at Carlmont High and an 8th grader at Ralston. Annie was on the Board of Nakayoshi Gakko (Japanese for Friendship School) in Mountain View for 7 years and currently works at Fox Elementary School. The family is involved with AYSO Soccer where her husband serves on the Board and is often found on the field as referee. Their kids are also involved in various other activities including volleyball, hiking, camping, scouting, chorus, band and orchestra.
Helen and her family have lived in Redwood Shores since 2007. She and her husband have 2 children, a 7th Grader at Ralston and a 9th Grader at Carlmont. The McCormick family are into many activities, including work, softball, arts, baseball, martial arts, scouting, online gaming and golf. In her words, I am very fortunate to be on the PTA board, and enjoy the opportunity to help out as a treasurer.
Evelyn Klass-Rodewald, Financial Secretary
Evelyn is a native Californian. She and her husband have three children, a 7th grader at Ralston, a 5th grader at Nesbit, and a TK student at Fox. Previously, Evelyn served as financial secretary for SchoolForce and as secretary for Nesbit PTA.
Dave Poole, Auditor
Dave has lived in Belmont since 2010. He has 3 kids that attended Nesbit through fifth grade and are now in Ralston, Carlmont, and Design Tech HS. He values the BRSSD schools, teachers, and administration and enjoys lending his support wherever possible. Dave previously served on Nesbit PTA, has coached soccer and baseball, and is active with Scout Troop 61
Kendra has lived in Belmont for over 10 years with her husband, two sons, and their crazy dog. Both her kids have both been in the BRSSD since kindergarten and they really love this community. Before joining the Ralston PTA, she was on the Cipriani PTA for many years and chaired the Reading Power committee for many years at Cipriani.
Marian and her family have been part of the Belmont Redwood Shores School District for the past 9 years. She has an 8th grade daughter at Ralston and a 10th grade son at Carlmont. They are a big sports family and you can be certain to find them on the sports fields on the weekends.
Nivedita Sahasrabudhe, SchoolForce
Nivedita & her husband have two boys - a Carlmont Scot and a Ralston Ram. She has volunteered in our beautiful Belmont school communities in various capacities for the last decade. She is proud to be a part of Ralston PTA and the SchoolForce Board.