Parents Association

The McDonogh Parents Association's role is to foster a trusting partnership between the parents and the school through communication, parent education, and community interaction. Our goal is to create a warm, welcoming and inclusive community for all McDonogh families.

The Parents Association supports the School's philosophy and embraces our diversity of background, culture and thought. In following John McDonogh's directive "to do the greatest amount of good" in our daily lives, we hope to make positive contributions, broaden parent understanding of the school, and serve the community through a variety of volunteer efforts.

Board of Directors 2024-2025

Officers

President
Grace Jackson '95, P '27, '29

Vice President
Dan Povich P '34

Treasurer
Ope Arowojolu P '29, '33

Recording Secretary
Jenny Meacham P ‘24 ‘26

Corresponding Secretary
Lauri Rosen P ‘34, ‘37

Division Chairs
Lower School Division Chair – Leah Zimmerman P ‘35, ‘36
Lower School Assistant Division Chair – Shefali Shah P ‘34, ‘37
Middle School Division Chair - Lindsay Payne P ‘32, ‘34
Middle School Assistant Division Chair – Alyssa Davis P ‘30, ‘32
Upper School Division Chair – Alison Watkins P ‘21, ‘27
Upper School Assistant Division Chair – Susan Marwaha P ‘26, ‘28

Standing Committee Chairs
Pre Prom Committee Co-Chairs – Susan Oh P ‘25, Rania Rafailides P ‘25, ‘27
Community Engagement Chair – Judy Sulisufaj Kelly P ‘22, 26
Community Engagement Vice Chair - Tiffaney Schwatzberg ‘99, P ‘27, ‘35
Equity & Inclusion Committee Chair - Tia Brown McNair P ‘26
Parent Resources Chair - Sarah Schlenker ‘93, P ‘28, ‘30
Parent Education Co-Chairs – Yemmy Ajayi P ‘31, Neda Frayha P ‘30

Members-at-Large
Jennifer Ashley P ‘26, 28, 29
Margaret Boehmer P ‘35, ‘36
Kara DeOliveira P ‘29
Eric Greene P ‘27
Erin Meehan ‘98 P ‘26, ‘28, ‘31
Kari Teffeau P ‘33
Fauzia Vandermeer ‘91, P ‘27, ‘28, ‘28, ‘29

Director of Stewardship and Parent Engagement - Kelly Blavatt

History

McDonogh has a long history of parent volunteerism. In 1923, when the school was 50 years old, parents founded “The Mother’s Club” primarily to raise money for school necessities. Dues were $1 a year. The group bought McDonogh its first school bus, in fact, in 1924.

The Mother’s Club became “The Patrons’ Club” in 1931, which was the same year the club’s first male president took office. The name “Patron” reflected the days when McDonogh enrolled orphans and half-orphans and sponsors paid for their education. McDonogh Patrons remained mostly a fundraising organization until recent years.

The word “Club” was dropped in 2004. After all, Patrons was not a club to which one could belong. Every parent of a McDonogh student was considered part of the Patrons group.

Since fundraising is no longer a primary goal, the mission statement has been revised to reflect that. At the same time, our board of directors voted to change our name to “The McDonogh Parents Association,” which we feel more accurately reflects our identity.

Our mission statement describes our desire to create a warm, friendly, and inclusive atmosphere within the McDonogh community. It also serves as a complement to the school’s mission statement, which includes the directive of school founder John McDonogh “to do the greatest possible amount of good.”