Create tees, sweatshirts, joggers, and more at the brand new Bear Path Spirit Wear Shop! There are 12 different Bear Path logos from which to choose, and hundreds of different clothing items. Mix and match your favorite logo, color, and clothing item to create something that is uniquley YOU.

The shop is open year round: www.BearPathSpiritWear.com

Promos change frequently, so be sure to check back soon! Don't want to miss a sale? Sign up here for all of the promo emails!

Membership in the Bear Path PTA is a great way to stay involved in your student's education!

Membership in the Bear Path PTA will get you discounts on activities throughout the school year.

Members can vote on important topics like fundraising, financial management, and the election of our PTA Officers.

Membership does not require you to take an active role in the PTA.

Membership in the Bear Path PTA entitles you to membership in both National and CT PTAs.

Collaboration: We will work in partnership with a wide array of individuals and organizations to broaden and enhance our ability to serve and advocate for all children and families.

Commitment: We are dedicated to children’s educational success, health, and well-being through strong family and community engagement, while remaining accountable to the principles upon which our association was founded.

Diversity: We acknowledge the potential of everyone without regard, including but not limited to: age, culture, economic status, educational background, ethnicity, gender, geographic location, legal status, marital status, mental ability, national origin, organizational position, parental status, physical ability, political philosophy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and work experience.

Respect: We value the individual contributions of members, employees, volunteers, and partners as we work collaboratively to achieve our association’s goals.

Accountability: All members, employees, volunteers, and partners have a shared responsibility to align their efforts toward the achievement of our association’s strategic initiatives.​

Learn more here.

In a "normal" school year, the Bear Path PTA budget includes:

• Classroom Allotments: $7000 total needed 

• Field Trips: $9300 total needed 

• Grade Based Allotments: $5000 needed 

• School Wide Enrichment: $11,800 needed 

• Community: $7,800 needed 

• Operating (Dues, Insurance, Fees): $3,000 needed 

That is a total of over $40,000 needed to continue making Bear Path the amazing school that it has become. When broken down on a per-pupil basis, the PTA will be spending about $100 per student at Bear Path this year.

Classroom Allotment

Every year your student’s teacher has to purchase supplies to make their room more comfortable more organized, more productive, and most importantly, more educationally enriching for your child. None of these items are covered in the school budget.  In most schools, teachers pay out of pocket for these expenses that are vital to running a welcoming, constructive, and enriching classroom.

The Bear Path PTA, with your support, offers teachers an allotment of $15 per student to cover these costs, allowing our school to be filled with classrooms that have been lovingly designed to welcome our children each year.

Grade Based Allotments

Each grade has different needs and activities throughout the year. The PTA supports some of these needs, by providing each grade with an additional $400 to use toward grade based activities (Invention Convention, Writing Books, State Fair, and More). This allows each grade to customize their year, feeling secure that they will have the funds needed to provide these extra activities.

Every grade works each year to expand their Guided Reading Library.  These books help to cultivate our young readers, creating a love of reading that will last a lifetime. The PTA gives each grade $200 to use toward these libraries.

Field Trips

Did you know that the cost per bus for our students to leave Hamden on a field trip is nearly $350?  And most grades require at least two buses.  That is almost $700 in transportation costs alone.  When admission fees are added in, the field trips that your student attends can easily cost over $1000.   

In order to encourage more field trips, and still keep the costs down for students, the PTA, with your support, gives each classroom a $20 per student field trip budget.   It does not always cover the entire cost of the trips, but it allows our teachers to plan more enriching activities for our children.

School Wide Enrichment

The PTA believes that our students’ education does not come from the classroom alone.  Each year the PTA, with your support, gives money toward our Art, Music, and PE programs.  We give an allotment of money to our Literacy and Math Specialists, our Special Services staff and the Media Center.   The PTA pays for our students to attend Math & Literacy nights, Field Day, and the Art Show.

Community

The Bear Path PTA is a proud supporter of our Bear Path, and Hamden community.  The PTA, with your support, allows the Butterfly Garden and Nature Trail to be possible, the 6th Graders to attend an end of year celebration at Holiday Hill, gives a Scholarship to a deserving alum as they graduate from Hamden High, support for our local, and national educational programs, and offers sympathy and congratulations to our staff in times of joy and need. The PTA also thanks our hard working, dedicated teachers each year with luncheons and gifts during Teacher Appreciation Week.