Athletic Boosters, PTSA Updates

At Chatham Charter, there is no shortage of opportunities to get involved and support student success. Two organizations integral to Knights students are the Chatham Charter PTSA and Chatham Charter Athletic Boosters.

PTSA

The Chatham Charter PTSA is a school-wide parent, teacher and student organization.  The Chatham Charter PTSA shares the National PTSA mission to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.  The PTSA supports and enriches Chatham Charter’s academic learning environment and physical campus.  The PTSA works closely with Student Support Services and helps to provide needed materials/items for students and families in need.  Additionally, the PTSA helps provide materials and various classroom needs for teachers.  The PTSA is also involved in several activities throughout the year to show appreciation to our teachers and staff.  During holidays and teacher appreciation week, the PTSA often hosts breakfasts, luncheons, and provides special treats to our teachers and staff.  Each year the PTSA holds fundraisers to help fund these services/activities and for special school facility improvements.  Some of the projects the PTSA has funded in the past include, the playground, benches and picnic tables around campus, the covered awning between the gym and high school, and many more.  During the 2023-2024 school year, the PTSA is fundraising to support playground improvements and maintenance.  

There are many ways to help and be involved!  Parents/guardians, teachers/staff, and students can play valuable roles as PTSA officers, members, and volunteers.  The Chatham Charter PTSA meets on the 4th Tuesday at 6:30pm in the K-5 library.  If families/staff would like to be involved but are unable to come to meetings, the PTSA needs volunteers too!  The PTSA depends on volunteers in order to make these various activities and services possible.  Email the PTSA at chathamcharterptsa@gmail.com to be added to the volunteer list or to find out more information about membership.  Information about special projects and current needs are also communicated via the school messenger on Sundays.  Be sure to like the PTSA on Facebook at Chatham Charter School PTSA http://www.facebook.com/chathamcharterptsa; here you will find information about upcoming PTSA activities. You can also join the PTSA, purchase a t-shirt, or make a donation at https://chatham-charter-ptsa.square.site/. We are excited for another great year and continuing our mission with our awesome parents, teachers and students. 

Athletic Boosters

With more than 30 athletic teams and nearly 60% of middle and high school students participating in at least one Chatham Charter sport, the Athletic Boosters play a pivotal role in supporting Knights athletics. As a school of choice, Chatham Charter receives no government funding for its athletics program. That means that every single dollar spent on athletics uniforms, coaches, officials, facilities and everything else that goes into a successful, thriving athletics department is 100% self-funded.

The Athletic Boosters is a volunteer organization made up of parents, coaches, staff and others committed to providing the student athletes at Chatham Charter with safe, reliable and quality facilities, equipment and opportunities. Chatham Charter Athletic Boosters support Knights Athletics by:

• encouraging and promoting attendance at games and matches;
• raising funds for athletic equipment, uniforms, personnel, and transportation; and
• taking a leadership role in the growth and longevity of Knights Athletics programs.

The Boosters have several annual and ongoing fundraisers throughout the year, including Knights Discount Cards, Knights Family Weekend, spirit wear sales, concession sales at athletic events and a golf tournament in the Spring. These fundraisers support the Boosters General Fund, which pays for uniforms, equipment and other essential operating expenses to supplement gate admission fees at certain athletics events, which are collected by the school to cover officials, transportation and other operating costs.

Individual teams also have the opportunity to raise funds for their specific teams, and those monies are are monitored and controlled by the Boosters, but are largely used at the discretion of the teams’ coaches, parents and players after approval by the Boosters officers and membership.

Annual operating costs for a typical athletic program of this size costs well over the $100k mark, which is why it is crucial that all student athlete families do their part to volunteer time at the three major fundraising events mentioned above, as well as work at least three shifts per year in the concession stand. This teamwork allows Chatham Charter to continue as a free play athletics school, rather than using a “pay-to-play” model that many other schools similar to us use.

For additional information or questions about how to get involved with either of these organizations, please check out their pages on our website, linked above in the headings.