February 10, 2026 | Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) General Meeting Minutes
Board Members Present: Emily Modde, Summer Smith, Ms. Martin, Mr. Loznak, Mic Murphy, Ramata Diop, and Becca Jones-Albertus.
At the peak of the meeting, there were 51 community members, including students and the Board.
Welcome
At 7:04 Emily Modde, PTSA President started the meeting and welcomed everyone. Emily said that we would discuss upcoming events; give a quick update on the School Climate Update; host a Generative AI Panel; and finally go over ways to keep yourself (and your students!) safe online.
Emily introduced herself and went over all the ways the PTSA communicates with the community – something for everyone! See the slides for multiple ways to get involved. Ramat offered Spanish translation for those who need it.
Upcoming February Events
- February 27: Early release day (12:30 pm)
- February 27-28: Books and Basketball events (see more below)
Upcoming March Events
- March 3 and 5: MISA testing (8th graders)
- March 5: TPMS Parent Workshop Series: Internet Safety & Generative AI for Parents, Guardians and Communities
- March 10: Monthly PTSA Meeting
- March 12: Spring musical
- March 19: Choral festival at Blair HS
- March 30-April 6: No school (Spring Break)
For more information and details, see the school calendar.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/takomaparkms/calendar-index/
Books and Basketball
The Books and Basketball events is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. Friday, February 27 from 6-8:30 is the students versus staff basketball game in the gym. This year we are doing a play-in for teams – the winning team will then play the TPMS Staff.
Silent Auction
This year, we are doing the auction online to make it more accessible for all. The auction will open Sunday, February 22 – look for an announcement on all the TPMS channels: Community Newsletter, Blue Devil Digest, and PTSA communications. During the week of February 23, the bidding will be live – track items you are interested in or set a limit and let the website track it for you. On Saturday, February 28 the auction will close.
Teacher Appreciation Week
We need volunteers. Please check out this interest form: https://bit.ly/4qskUXE
Consider Joining the TPMS PTSA Board
Elections for the 2026-2027 PTSA Board will be in May 2026. Please start to think about what positions you could contribute to. Positions are:
Board Positions: President, Exec Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership, Communications, Events, and Fundraising
Committee & Aux Positions: NAACP Rep, MCCPTA Rep, Special Education, Books & Basketball, Multicultural Night, Welcome Picnic, Silent Auction, 8th Grade Dance, Advocacy, and Grant Writer
Maybe you have an idea of what you want to do? If you see a need for a committee or event or way to improve the school, make a proposal!
Questions or interested in a position? Reach out to: president.tpms.pta@gmail.com
School Climate Survey Update
We’ve talked in the past about the parent input to the survey, and now Mr. Loznak would like to highlight student input. A school year 2026 goal is to increase favorable response to Student-Student Relationships, Physical Safety, Bullying and Physical Environment.
Highlight the great things that are happening at TPMS.
February 10, 2026 Budget Update
We need to shift some finances around due to our dues to Free State PTA (the PTA that our PTSA falls under). Summer Smith, PTSA Secretary called a vote to move funds from one category to another. The majority of the members voted yes. No members voted no on the motion. The motion to move money in the TPMS PTSA category budget was approved.
GenAL Panel
Becca Jones-Albertus opened the session by introducing our speaker: Amanda Lenhart. Amanda said she was excited to be here and give an overview of Gen AI. She started by discussing the slide with an AI generated “well fed possum.” She stressed that there are good reasons to be wary about GenAI, but it can also be a fun tool. Her family challenged AI to create a super cute well-fed possum.
What is AI? There are two types of AI that we are talking about: usually traditional AI – Syri, Alexi, computer chess game: these are very bounded ways of using AI. A machine learning model is working in a set of parameters – it’s never going to give you something you don’t expect.
Generative AI is more complex and responses to prompts. The thing that GenAI is based on are based on Large Language Models (LLM). They are not generating new things, but rather on the data they are trained on. They don’t know anything that they have not been fed to learn on. One thing to note is that it’s predicting, and NOT thinking. The big three models are ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Amanda presented a slide on kid and teen use of Gen AI – 70% of American teens 13-17 have ever used generative AI. One thing that she thinks is important: newer research is showing that teens are using Gen AI about once a week.
Amanda encouraged folks to drop how they and their families use GenAI in their lives into the chat. Responses included ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and others. She then went over some “promises” (personalized learning, help students and teachers, erase language barriers) and some “challenges” (we might not learn things because we rely on chatbots to do the work for us; misinformation and bias: the models are based on the best of the best and worst of the worst when it comes to information, and that chatbots are designed to be your best friend and this can pose challenges).
Becca then introduced the GenAI Panel: Ms. Lever, Daniel Ward, and Katherine (Kit) Smallwood.
Ms. Lever started the panel saying that some kids are using AI to do their work faster. It’s also helping when you are facing a blank page and have an assignment to complete. She said that she sometimes uses it to start an email when she’s not sure what to say. It can also be used as a private tutor, but be aware that sometimes it makes things up and you need to understand where the information is coming from. Ms. Lever said that she is worried that it can contribute to kids who feel helpless and make them feel worse.
Kit said that they see their friends use it for interactions and writing. They said that some kids don’t want to do the work or don’t have time to do the work and copy paste off AI. They said that the most common way is to ask for the answer rather than learn what you need to know to answer the question. They mentioned that Google has now incorporated X into their search so it’s harder to know what’s real and a good source.
Daniel said that they have a lot of people in their life who use AI. They said that it’s great for a lot of things but not for school. When kids get caught using it they have to redo the work. They said it’s good for teaching people how to do a certain thing that they can’t find elsewhere – especially if that thing is specific. Amanda asked for an example. Daniel said that one of their friends wanted to learn something for a computer science project. They couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem and AI gave them a little bump to help them solve the problem. It was good because it didn’t solve the problem, but helped them get there.
Kit said that they have seen their classmates and peers are complaining that their teachers are using AI and it’s unfair. They said that teachers should be the experts and not use the information to create lesson plans.
Ms. Lever said that she wanted to challenge that idea. She said that adults have gone through the learning and know how to use it. She said that the amount of work teachers need to do, combined with critical thinking, and being adults makes it ok for adults.
Another student chimed in saying that they have seen teachers use AI to grade papers and that sometimes AI can’t understand as well as teachers. They said that a lot of people are using the AI overview because sometimes Wikipedia is the only other source. Amanda said that what she’s hearing is that the most important thing is that a human is always involved.
Amanda asked the panel for areas where AI shocked them. Kit said that they see peers use it for entertainment – writing stories. But the way they are using it creates more harm than good. They were using real people’s names and it felt uncomfortable. Another student said that it can be questionable with the AI overview. They have come across areas where they want to look up silly things and they get questionable results.
Amanda asked the panel what parents need to know, or what might surprise them. Daniel said that parents need to know that most kids are using it. And parents need to teach kids how to use it correctly.
Pam said that it’s important for parents to be aware and not stick their head in the sand and be really aware of what’s out there and what kids are using. Kit added awareness of kids’ interaction with AI and understanding that not all AI is bad, not all of it is detrimental to learning. That being said, there needs to be parent awareness. They used the example of graphic calculators and that there was a worry that no one would do math anymore. Not all AI is bad. Ms. Lever said she likes that analogy.
Amanda thanked the panel for giving us an insight of what kids are doing at TPMS. She shared a final slide with some resources for people.
Amanda echoed what Pam said – you need to experience this yourself. She also suggested that kids look into something that they know a lot about. Then look at the output to see where the model made mistakes. You can learn a lot when you see what the model got wrong and where you need to bring your critical thinking. Pam said that she thinks of AI as an assistant, not the person doing the job.
Digital Safety Resources
Becca Jones-Albertus introduced Ruth Masterson, who has done a lot of research on digital safety and how to keep our kids safe. Ruth Masterson thanked the students for their insight and Ms. Lever for her input. Ruth said she’s not an expert, but she’s been looking in her home on how to keep her family safe and set up proper parental controls. She said that she believes that AI should be a tool for us to use, and not something that rules us.
She said that one thing is very important and that everyone who is using AI needs to be transparent about their use. She suggested three powerful resources:
The Anxious Generation (book) – Ruth said it’s very readable and relatable to families.
Julie Frumin – www.healthier-tech.org
Sarah Gallager Trombley (webinars on phones)
Resources: wait until 8th (one of the earlies groups to suggest doing something. Note that it’s a complicated decision. www.waituntil8th.org), ok to delay www.oktodelay.com (She’s starting a TPMS chapter, email her: oktodelaytakomapark@gmail.com), commonsense media www.commonsensemedia.org (good practical advise).
Ruth stressed that “we are all building the plane when we fly it.” We think we are on the right digital track and then we learn that things we think are ok, might not be. Part of the parenting win is being on the same page and being transparent within your family.
Next PTSA Meeting
Tuesday, March 10, 2026. 7-8:30. (location TBD)
Open Q&A
For Amanda and Ruth:
Emily said that this was very useful information. She asked about what tools our kids will need to take AI with them as they make decisions and move into the future. Amanda said that open communication is key. One reason we have school is to teach our kids how to write and learn. Some of that could be lost if we go over that and just go to AI. Very narrow AI tools could be good, but don’t have young children use chatbots without parent supervision. The stress is also why school is important and the critical thinking they are learning.
Meeting Close
Emily thanked everyone for coming. She adjourned the meeting at 8:22.