Meridian Partners-In-Education

History of...

Meridian Partners-In-Education (M-PIE) was organized in the spring of 1993.  The purpose of this organization is 1) to support and contribute to the school’s needs and to its on-going programs, 2) to provide an additional avenue for parents to take an active role in their children’s education and 3) to enhance parent-teacher relationship.  This organization is an all-volunteer group.  Our first officers were: President – Patty Stauss, Vice-President – Patty Seitz, Secretary – Kathy Mau, and Treasurer – John Tilgner.   Other charter members were: Doris DeWald, Renae DeWald, Barb Baldwin, Martha Kujath, Elizabeth Liggett, Susan Thomas, Kathy Heidemann, Ken Stauss, Colleen Endorf, Linda Johnson, Katie Stewart, Judy Bartels, Maxine Strain, Bonnie DeWald, Amy Sales, and Erma Bennett.

One of this organization’s first projects was to compile the famous “Red Pocket Calendars” with the Jefferson County Bank to cover the cost of printing and Patty Stauss as chairman to compile all the information.  That spring the group provided jello frozen pops for the elementary students after their trackmeet.  Both these activities are still sponsored by M-PIE today.
As we are an organization to provide volunteer work, many projects were started in which most are still carried out today.  Volunteers came in to assemble the monthly newsletter, run off papers for the elementary teachers, listen to students read out loud, be ticket takers at home sporting events, help with homecoming, videotape the graduation ceremony, and help clean the trophy cases and park cars for graduation. Three of our first money-making projects were hosting a winter soup supper, having a fall and winter raffle, and making sports buttons.  Proceeds earned from these projects have supported and still support today annual scholarships, appreciation favors for the Meridian staff recognition for various educational and teacher appreciation weeks, funding educational programs that benefit the students in both elementary and high school, donation of Post Prom gift/s, monetary donations towards organizations, and various donations of classroom and school wide items.

In 1996, M-PIE started selling Meridian attire in various forms to help defray the cost of yearly activities and welcomed new teachers with a basket of goodies. For many years they hosted a Family Fun Night in which they sponsored an ice-cream social and fun activities.  In 2009, they compiled a Mustang Cookbook.  Presently, Meridian M-PIE sponsors the sports buttons, the red pocket calendars along with Jefferson County Bank, the elementary trackmeet snack and Easter Egg Hunt, soup supper and raffle, and book fair, provides educational programs, scholarships, and other monetary donations, recognizes the staff at various times throughout the year, and helps get graduation parkers and videotapes the senior graduation ceremony.
The organization is always looking for new members.  Current officers are: Megan Haake -President, Jamie Niederklein - Vice-President, Tami Filipi– Secretary, and Deb Schwisow – Treasurer.