PTO Mom Takes Great Joy in Buying for Students, Teachers

Corrie Kettler said one of the best parts of being a Parent Teacher Organization member is buying, "big ticket" items for students and teachers.

Kettler, corresponding secretary for the Hedke Elementary PTO, performs several different tasks for the organization, but her favorite is using fund-raising dollars to buy large, expensive items that the Trenton Public School district could not afford to purchase.

In the last year, through various forms of fund raising, Hedke PTO has paid to have playground equipment moved from Taylor Elementary to Hedke and purchased data projectors for Hedke classrooms.

"The teachers are so appreciative and the kids get the new technology for learning," Kettler said. "Without the PTO we would not be able to do things like that."

Kettler also assisted in renovating the teacher's lounge at Hedke by getting new furniture and asking parents to repaint the interior.

When she isn't spending thousands of fund-raising dollars on Hedke students and teachers, Kettler writes and sends special cards to teachers and parents for any number of different occasions.

Kettler also organizes and executes several annual events including the fall family picnic and teacher appreciation day.

She has two children at Hedke. Her son Austin is in the first grade and her daughter Emily is in the fourth grade. Before joining the Hedke PTO, Kettler said she had no idea how much the organization did for students and teachers.

"When I wasn’t involved I didn’t have a clue," Kettler said. "Now, I'm always involved in the classrooms by either making copies or sitting and reading with the kids."