Giving back to WTES Faculty & Staff

Dear fellow Westy parents,

I’m Pam Chen and like many of you- this is my last year as a West Towson ES parent. It’s a busy emotional time, leaving elementary school behind is a milestone for the kids - and me! I’m grateful that our children were able to attend this amazing state-of-the-art elementary school. But it’s not just the building and technology that makes this school special, it’s the people in the school that make it what it is.

The WTES parents are known for their involvement, support and generosity to the school. As we leave the school, I have tried to figure out what gift I might give back to the school. Yes, the work room could always use a new coffee machine, or the teachers always love home baked goods, but a more lasting benefit might be to help teachers or staff who would like to further their own education and attend conferences or seminars without paying for it themselves.

Mrs. Hershfeld has limited funds to support current requests and has thrown her support behind a Scholarship Program for WTES Faculty and Staff.

"I always place money in our school budget for professional development but there is never enough to send staff to conferences. This year [2017-2018] I had two requests that I had to, once again, turn down. Teachers receive a lot of good professional development from BCPS but attending conferences provides them with wonderful opportunities to explore topics of special interest to them and to their professional growth. Ultimately, the students benefit! "
- S. Hershfeld

The purpose of this fund would be to allow faculty and staff to attend seminars and conferences to further their own education and support their teaching.

Our family plans to contribute to this scholarship program and I have created this Go Fund Me campaign so that other families can also give back to the school. The donations cannot be collected by Mrs. Hershfeld or anyone at the school, but 100% of the money collected (minus any GoFundMe fees) will be gifted to Mrs Hershfeld and the school.

This collection is independent of the WTES PTA. Though the PTA may get involved with helping to support this fund later, this would be initially funded as a gift by the families of WTES students for the benefit of the faculty and staff. Any amount is appreciated, a suggestion might be $5/yr at WTES.

GoFundMe allows credit card and online contributions, but there is a 2.9% fee+ 30 cents for each donation (thus a $50 donation has a $1.75 administrative fee). You are welcome to leave a tip to cover this fee; if you prefer not to tip- just select "other" and type in 0.

There is no formal deadline for this project, but I hope to announce the total contribution at the 5th grade celebration.

Thanks for your consideration, 

Pam Chen 
Mother to Sophia,  WTES’18
Nathan, WTES '15


School librarian Elizabeth Gleitsman, Principal Sue Hershfeld, teacher Alexandra Stein- at Towson University Basketball Jan 2018

Staff Maria Rockwell, Secretary Debbie Ford, teacher Karen Kuebler


WTES Faculty and Staff on Pajama Day - December 2017

WTES Faculty Preparing for Back to School Aug 2017


Thank you for funding the Scholarship Program for WTES Faculty and Staff.