Hello Duniway Families,

Welcome back to school! By this time, I’m sure you have acclimated to our new schedule, heard about new teachers from your students, and hopefully met our new principal, Dr. Melvin.

Now that we are more settled in, I would love to introduce myself as the 2024-25 Duniway Foundation president. My name is Andrea Angell. I'm a parent of a third grader at Duniway, and I also have a sixth grader at Sellwood Middle School - a K-5th Duniway alum. I’ve been on the Foundation board for three years. Last year, I served as vice president, and before that was a board member and two-time auction co-chair. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our involved and engaged community, and I am excited to lead the Foundation as we introduce new and exciting ways to enrich the educational experience of students. 

Last year, we came together with outstanding results - we were able to raise enough funds to hire two EAs, hire a student-facing administrative staff person, and close the funding gap to keep our beloved Music teacher, Mrs Adams, at Duniway five days a week. We also started a Duniway family emergency fund at our Spring Duniway Auction, which can provide funds to Duniway families in need or experiencing a crisis guided by the counseling department.  We couldn't have done it without you, our amazing supporters, volunteers, and donors! Thank you for all that you do. Go Dragons!! 

As you may have heard, this year will look a little different. We are no longer able to fundraise in support of PPS employees. However, we have been working closely with the PTA and Dr. Melvin to plan a support system of programming that will enrich the school day for your children and make the work of our teachers easier, even as we continue to advocate for smaller and more manageable class sizes. We look forward to working with the Fund for PPS to navigate this year and prepare for the 2025-26 school year.

One thing that will not change, however, is our commitment to increasing engagement and building community. Parents tell me that our events are a highlight of the year, and a cornerstone of their time at Duniway. We look forward to continuing these traditions in new and improved ways with your support. 

We are actively looking for individuals who are interested in joining the Duniway Foundation board to collaborate and build the future of the Foundation during this exciting time. Currently we need a secretary, and have voting and non voting member positions available. Please reach out to me directly if interested.

Thank you for being a part of Duniway. We are an incredible group of caring, connected, courageous, trustworthy, and curious individuals who come together to do great things each year. I'm excited to be working with our Duniway families  again this year - thank you! 

With gratitude,

Andrea Angell

president@duniwayfoundation.org