SUMMER SESSION PTA CHIEF ENDER IS READY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR.

Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer

Most teachers and students get the summer off, but Laurie Ender, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Council PTA, spent her summer meeting with local PTA leaders and getting them ready for the new school year.

Since taking office July 1, Ender has met with the president of each of the 34 local PTAs, held workshops for other PTA officers and hosted a back-to-school brunch Aug. 12 for PTA presidents and executive board members.

``We got together (for the brunch) just to have fun, but everyone was talking about PTA,'' Ender said. ``I was happy that everyone seemed excited about it.''

The mission of the SCV Council PTA is to provide training and leadership to local PTAs, and to help each individual PTA come up with ideas for programs that will meet the needs of their students.

Ender, the mother of three boys - Jason, 12, Griffin, 10, and Davis, 5 - first got involved in the PTA when her oldest son started kindergarten. She served as PTA president at Charles Helmers Elementary School for two years and has been on the Council Board for four years.

Ender was balancing a career as a television producer with her PTA work until her youngest son was born. It was then that she decided to retire from television and make the PTA her second career.

``I try to keep certain hours and be professional, but the most important thing of all is family - that always comes first,'' Ender said.

Ender's second career may have a different paycheck than her first, but it is just as rewarding, she said.

``All you have to do is walk on a campus and watch the kids and see their faces,'' she said. ``The looks on their faces - that's my paycheck.''

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Photo:

Santa Clarita Valley PTA President Laurie Ender welcomes a hug from her son, Davis, 5, at Helmers Elementary School.

David Crane/Staff Photographer