PBAT Retreat

The Piney Branch Action Team is made up of diverse parents, teachers and administrators from Takoma Park's Piney Branch Elementary School. Team members have come together to embark on a nine-month journey of self-discovery, team building, cultural awareness, visioning, and acting. The goal of the program is to create a community-owned culture that supports and celebrates Piney Branch's multicultural identity.

The program kicked off on September 25th with an overnight retreat at the Smith Center in Rockville, Maryland. MCPS Community Superintendent Bronda Mills joined the group for the opening session. She started the evening by sharing her personal story and why she believes the work of the Action Team is important. Piney Branch's principal, Bertram Generlette also attended the opening session of the retreat. He is a member of the Team and will be on the school-year long journey as well.

Team members spent a day and a half getting to know themselves and each other better through group discussions, sociometric exercises, physical activities, and just hanging out together. Personal awareness and relationships of trust are essential to working together effectively as a group. Time was also spent on beginning the visioning process that will ultimately guide the actions of Team members.

By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around the disparate group of parents, teachers and administrators were exhausted, but more closely bound together. One parent commented that normally she was an introvert who met one new person a year, but because of the retreat she'd managed to make eleven new friends in one weekend!

The first Piney Branch Action Team work session is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30th. Team members will meet every other week for the next several months. Stay tuned for updates on their work to create a more inclusive, celebratory culture at Piney Branch.