Thursday, October 31, 2013

Question of the Week

QUESTION:
What are the responsibilities of the president as the presiding officer or facilitator of a meeting?
 
ANSWER: 
The presiding officer should make every effort to main an appearance of impartiality so that members on both sides of any issue can feel confident that they will receive fair treatment. To this end, the chair does not participate in debate or bring forward a motion on any issue unless she has passed the gavel to another officer.
 
The presiding officer may participate in the voting in the following circumstances:
  1.  the vote is by ballot
  2.  the chair's vote will change the result of the vote (i.e. the vote can break a tie for a motion to either pass or fail or the vote can create a tie).

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

State Finalists for Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science

State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced that eight teachers from Washington have been selected as state-level finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Click here for more information.

Prescription Drug Abuse: Strategies to Stop the Epidemic

Trust for America’s Health has released a report outlining strategies to stop the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. A copy of the full report – including state specific information – is available here.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Resolutions Proposals Due

Resolutions Proposals to be considered at convention are due November 15, 2013.  Information about submitting a resolution proposal is here and amending/retiring a resolution is here. One of the means that PTA members can help shape Washington State PTA’s advocacy agenda is through the resolution process. Resolutions are long­term positions addressed to statewide issues or problems adopted by delegates to WSPTA’s Annual Convention or Legislative Assembly. You can review current resolutions are here.

Texting While Driving

A new study from the University of Washington found that 8 percent of drivers observed at intersections in six counties in the state were distracted by an electronic device behind the wheel, and among those, 45 percent were typing on their phones. Click read more.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Stop Bullying Now: A Safe Learning Environment for All Students

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Recently, a middle school student presented a petition to the State Board of Education (SBE) asking that schools include students in their anti-bullying efforts. In response, the SBE’s two student board members are drafting an anti-bullying resolution they will present to the board next month for possible adoption. You can read what these two students shared about their experiences with bullying and what they believe can be done to improve the situation here.

National PTA Advocacy Award Nominations Now Being Accepted

Each year during the National PTA Legislative Conference, awards are given for outstanding work in advocacy. Categories include: outstanding youth, individual, local unit/region/council, and state congress for outstanding work in advocacy. This year, advocates may nominate themselves for the youth and individual categories, and the winners in these categories will get the opportunity to act as advocacy ambassadors for PTA. Nominations must be for efforts made in the last year and are due by midnight on December 19, 2013. Visit www.pta.org/advocacyawards for more information on each award and to submit a nomination!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

PTA Store

The Washington State PTA Store is operated by an outside source. Green Benefits provides this service to the WSPTA and supplies local units with membership envelopes, spirit wear and supplies, and awards. If you have any problems receiving the items you’ve ordered, please contact derek@greenbenefits.com. Click here to visit the PTA store.

Pedestrian Safety

Unintentional pedestrian injuries are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 19. Talk to your kids about how to be safe while walking. It’s always best to walk on sidewalks or paths and cross at street corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Most injuries happen mid-block or someplace other than intersections. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.  Links for more school zone safety information:

Saturday, October 26, 2013

2014 Green Ribbon School/District Applications Now Open

Washington State Applications are now open for the 2014 Green Ribbon Schools and Districts Recognition Award! Is your school/district green? Then get recognized for your work! Applications, guides, and mentor list can be accessed here. The U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools award celebrates schools and districts making significant progress towards:
Pillar 1: Reducing environmental impact and costs.
Pillar 2: Improving the health and wellness of students and staff.
Pillar 3: Providing effective environmental and sustainability education, incorporating STEM, civic skills, and green career pathways.    

Friday, October 25, 2013

Is using something like the Square Reader allowed for PTAs?


QUESTION:
Our PTA is discussing the possibility of using a Square Reader for credit card purchases at our big events.  We currently use another provider that charges us monthly whether we use the machine or not.  Square Reader has an option to charge just when you use the reader, by transaction, which would save us money.   Is using something like the Square Reader allowed?

ANSWER: 
We love using the Square for our events. The Square has upfront pricing, uniform pricing and no equipment rental! For more information, click here.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

School Zone Crossing Guard Mini Grants Available

Does your school guard crossing program have the supplies they need to get the job done? Reflective gear, flags, cones, vest, rain gear, radios, gloves, helmets, award certificates, lapel pins and signs are all things your team needs to keep themselves and students walking to school safe. Washington Traffic Safety Commission can help your kids and safety program with $500 mini-grants to purchase those items. Take a look at the flyer and apply online: www.wtsc.wa.gov/programs-priorities/school-zones.

Membership Enrollment Instructions


TO RAPID RENEW (TO ACTIVATE RETURNING MEMBERS)

  • Login into the membership site
  • Click Rapid Renew
  • Leave the search field blank
  • Click search – this will bring up all past members from the last two years
  • Click on the box next to the returning members name
  • Click all names that have made a payment to the PTA
  • Click Update renewals at bottom


TO ADD/REMOVE OR UPDATE YOUR ACTIVE BOARD

  • Click on Search Active member
  • Enter last name
  • Click search
  • Click on their name
  • Click more info
  • Click individual
  • Click on board position
  • Click save


TO UPDATE AN ACTIVE MEMBER RECORD

  • Log into the membership site
  • Click Search Active Members
  • Either add name or leave the search field blank
  • Click on name
  • Click Edit
  • Make changes
  • Click submit



TO EMAIL YOUR ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP





  • Log into membership site
  • Click Membership Reports
  • Click "Current Members" under Email Members (bottom blue box on left)
  • Leave search field blank, click search
  • Search results comes up
  • Click Email Members
  • Add Subject Line
  • Add Message
  • Click Send
  • This will send to all active members.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Silver Level Membership Award

The Silver Level Membership Award recognizes local units with a 5% increase from the previous year’s membership enrolled and paid by October 25. Be sure to get the recognition you deserve for all the effort you’ve put into your membership campaign this year! You don’t need to apply for this award, just get those memberships in and remit the membership service fees by the deadline.

Membership Enrollment Information and Resources

For instructions to update an active member record or email your active memberships, or for frequently asked questions and tips on making the membership enrollment process as smooth as possible, click here.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

IRS Form 990/990EZ/990-N (e-postcard) Due on November 15

Tax-exempt PTAs are required to file an annual report with the IRS. The report for the fiscal year must be filed by the November 15 following the end of your fiscal year.  The form that is used to file the return (990-N, 990EZ, or 990) is determined by your PTA’s “normal” total income.  To determine your PTA’s “normal” income for purposes of the fiscal year 2012-2013 return, average in the previous two years’ income with the income your PTA received during the 2012-2013 fiscal year (July 1-June 30).  When determining which IRS tax return to file, deduct the membership service fees sent to a council or WSPTA from total income, and report total income in the same manner when completing the return. More information is in WSPTA Money Matters located on your Leadership Packet USB drive or online (password and user name required and is located on the cover pages of each of the leadership packet handbooks). If you have additional questions, please email tvasbinder@wastatepta.org.

Silver Level Membership Awards

Over the past two weeks the office has been receiving membership payments from local units across the state and the staff is working diligently to get them entered into the database.  We wanted to assure you that we will not be pulling the Silver Award membership winners until all of the mail that was postmarked on October 25th has been entered.  So as long as you got your forms and check into the mail and postmarked by the end of the day on October 25th you will be eligible to receive the Silver Membership Award if your PTA has had a 5% increase of the previous year's membership enrolled and paid. Thank you for your patience as we work to get everything entered.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Membership Service Fees Due on October 25

All local units--both PTAs in a council and non-council units, need to send membership service fees to the State PTA office by the October 25 deadline. To submit your membership service fees you can either use the weekly remittance forms you received in your email inbox or a new report called “Statement of Fees Due” which lists enrolled members for whom payment has not yet been received and recorded in the WSPTA membership database. This report is available on the membership enrollment website. For more information, go to the Leadership News blog. If you have questions, please contact the WSPTA at wapta@wastatepta.org.

Council Remittance Information

If your PTA is a member of a council where local units pay the council a per member fee this information is for you. Each week your unit is emailed a report called the Council Fee Remittance Form that lists the members registered during the past week and the fees due to council for these members. The instructions say to print and send the form along with the payment to council. Local units are free to choose how to process dues payments, including the following options:
  1. Units may choose to pay from this report weekly (check with council to see if they accept weekly payments – we understand some prefer monthly or less often).
  2. Or units may choose to save these reports and add them together to pay all at once.
  3. Or units may choose to ignore this report altogether. If a local unit chooses to ignore this report the unit can calculate the fees due by multiplying the number of registered members multiplied by the council per member fee and subtracting prior payments of council fees. An Excel spreadsheet which you may use for this purpose can be found here. You can find the number of registered members on any of the following reports available on the membership site.
  • the Membership Roster has the total enrolled on the last page
  • total enrolled can be found on the Legal Information report
  • the member roster export lists all active members of the unit and can be used to get a count.
  • NOT the online Statement of Fees Due which lists all members of the unit for whom state has not recorded state and national dues payment. This only reflects the status of state and national dues. The state database does not track council fees paid.

National PTA President Otha Thornton Featured on NBC Nightly News

National PTA president, Otha Thornton, was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams on Tuesday, Oct. 8. If you missed this presentation and would like to see it, click here.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

October Issue of WSPTA's The Child Advocate Now Available

The October 2013 issue focuses on effective family engagement in raising successful students. As always, feel free to cut and paste articles or portions of articles as handouts at PTA events or to reprint in PTA newsletters.  To read this month’s issue, click here.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Are You Using the Rapid Renew Function to Enroll Returning Members?

The “Rapid Renew” function can save you a lot of time when enrolling your unit’s members on the online membership enrollment website, so be sure to use it if you are enrolling returning members and returning board members. How does it work? Click here for instructions. Please remember to double check the email address so the member will receive their PTA membership card/welcome email.

Help Bring High Speed Internet to Every Student!

Support expansion of E-rate to bring high speed internet to 99 percent of students in 5 years! The FCC is accepting commentary on the E-Rate program, which helps bring technology to schools at discounted rates. Visit www.99in5.org to fill out a brief questionnaire and let the FCC hear your thoughts on making technology more accessible for every student!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Kidwind Challenge at the USA Science and Engineering Festival

To spark the competitive spirit of students while helping them study and build environmentally friendly energy options, KidWind is launching the inaugural National KidWind Challenge. The event will take place at the USA Science & Engineering Festival on Saturday, April 26, 2014 in Washington D.C. For more information, visit: http://challenge.kidwind.org.

Bronze Level Membership Award Recipients

Congratulations to the PTAs who received the Bronze Level Membership award by enrolling 50% of last year’s membership total by September 30. The WSPTA has 547 local units receiving this distinction this year, which is the most the WSPTA has seen since 2010-11 when the award was started!  Click here to see the PTAs who received this award!

Membership Enrollment Tips


  • This year officers should be treated like all other members in that you need to register them once they have paid their dues. The easiest way is to use rapid renew.
  • Email is an important way to communicate with members. Please take time to enter email addresses accurately. Only one email address should be entered for each member. Email addresses should have no spaces, only one @, no repeating periods (..), it should be just like you would enter it when sending an email to that person.
  • Is this a duplicate? When looking at the rapid renew list you might see the same name, address, etc. listed more than once, and think this is a duplicate. It is possible that the same person was entered more than once in prior years. Only activate a member once - you don't want to pay for the same person twice.
  • You can look under Membership Reports on the member enrollment web site for some new reports, including a list of enrolled members state shows as not yet paid (payment not yet entered, it takes some time to keep up).

Thursday, October 17, 2013

State PTA Officer Recommendations

State PTA Officer Nominations are due on November 8, 2013. The form is available here. Delegates to the 2014 WSPTA Convention will elect the following WSPTA officers: Secretary, Finance Officer, Leadership Director, Program Director and Outreach Director. In addition, three at-large members of the nominating committee will be selected at the 2014 convention. Please review the eligibility requirements listed on the recommendation form for each of the positions.

"Ozzie and the Art Contest" Book Drawing

The WSPTA is providing a chance for five PTAs, to win a copy of “Ozzie and the Art Contest” by Dana Sullivan, for their school library. If you would like to enter in this drawing for a chance to win this charming book for your school library, send an email to dhines@wastatepta.org  stating your name and PTA (one entry per PTA), contact information and why you would like to have this book for your school library. The deadline date to enter this drawing is October 31, by noon.  Entries will be placed into the drawing, and the five selected PTAs will be announced on the afternoon of November 1. 

School Board Candidates Address Arts Education

Election Day is around the corner and hundreds of School Board positions will be filled across the state. District school boards are incredibly important, often determining the extent to which students have access to arts education. Before you vote, get vital information about which candidates are committed to providing the high quality, sequential arts learning that every student deserves and that the law requires. 

Candidates in over 34 districts have responded to the ArtsEd Washington’s survey on arts education. See what your candidates said by visiting ArtsEd Washington’s website at www.artsedwashington.org/candidate_responses.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Send WSPTA Your Contact Email

Have you seen the important email sent on Friday, October 4, 2013 to membership chairs, and presidents of units without a membership chair about the email address the state office will use for the membership emails? That email has important information you can use to tailor how we communicate with you about the member welcome email and remittance forms. Click here to read the letter.

Pedestrian Safety: Distracted Walking

Take a moment, watch and share this special video from Safe Kids Worldwide honoring Christina Morris, a teen that lost her life to distracted walking.  Moment of Silence.

Legislative Assembly Scholarships Announced

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Legislative Assembly scholarship drawing as announced in last week’s Leadership News. We had 15 entries. The following local units won the lottery for two registrations:
•             Shoreline Special Needs PTSA 6.12.215 
•             Totem Middle School 9.4.92  
•             Rainier Beach PTSA 6.15.490   
•             Eastside Homeschool PTSA 2.3.40

Congratulations!

Sports Safety: Resources on Concussions


  • Many more children are showing up at emergency departments with traumatic brain injuries -- such as concussions -- from sports activities, a new study finds. Click here to read more.
  • The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has recently revised its position statement on concussion in sports. Click here to read an article from the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Membership Service Fees

What are Membership Service Fees?

Membership service fees are collected by a PTA local unit and must include Washington State PTA’s membership service fee and the National PTA’s affiliation fee (sent to the Washington State PTA and forwarded by WSPTA to National PTA). If the local unit belongs to a council, it must also remit a separate council service fee directly to the council.


When are Membership Service Fees Remitted to the State PTA Office?

The service fee remittance due dates are October 25, January 25, and May 25. These are the only times your PTA is required to pay state and national service fees, although best business practice is to pay these dues monthly. All local units--both PTAs in a council and non-council units, send membership service fees to the State PTA office. New this year: Those units who are in a council will also send the per member council fees directly to the WSPTA office. (The WSPTA will collect these fees and send them to the councils.) If the council charges an annual unit fee you will be billed by the council directly for the unit fee.

Each month your unit will receive via email a remittance form (or invoice) which includes the per member dues for national, state, and council if applicable. This remittance form includes a summary page which shows the number of members registered the past month and the state national and council dues for those members along with information about where to send your payment. You should print this one page summary and send it along with your check. The pages following this summary page list the names of the members included on this invoice, and are included for your records.

The state office will send a statement listing unpaid invoices if payment is past due. At the end of each fiscal year, memberships entered online must balance with memberships paid by the local unit. If they don’t reconcile, the local unit will be billed for the balance. Be aware, however, that only checks in an amount matching the invoice will be accepted, and over payments cannot be refunded once fees have been forwarded to NPTA, so monitor your registrations and notify the state office immediately if you find duplicates.


QUESTION:

Our membership service fee remittance form is several pages long, is there a way to send this to the WSPTA office electronically to eliminate the added expense of postage?

ANSWER:

Yes. Please mail your PTA check to the WSPTA office using the regular mail, and send an electronic copy of your remittance form attached to an email addressed to dhines@wastatepta.org with a cc to support@wastatepta.org, stating in the body of the email the dollar amount of the check mailed and the check number as well as your PTA’s name.

As always, if you have a PTA-related question, please contact the WSPTA office at (253) 214-7410. We are here to help you!


Advertising from Religious Affliations

QUESTION:    

We are putting together our school directory and ask our school community for advertisements to include in it. A local church would like to place an advertisement in this directory. Is there a rule with regards to advertising religious affiliations?
 

ANSWER:

PTA is nonsectarian.  If you allow one religious group to advertise then you are obligated to allow all religions to advertise. To avoid any confusion about PTA’s nonsectarian policy, you may choose to include the following statement if you allow religious advertisements:

“PTA welcomes into membership people representing a diversity of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and political and religious beliefs. The purposes of the PTA acknowledge the importance of a spiritual life in the development of children and youth. We recognize that in this pluralistic nation not all members share the same beliefs and we welcome advertisements from all religious groups in our community.”

Monday, October 14, 2013

Membership Awards

The next membership award deadline—for the Silver Level award for achieving a 5% increase of the previous year’s membership—is due on October 25th (which is also the deadline for the initial payment of service fees to the WSPTA office). Be sure to get those members entered so you can receive the recognition you deserve!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Important Reminders


  • Initial payment of service fees to the WSPTA office, due on October 25, 2013. For more information on this process, click here.
  • Silver level membership award, October 25, 2013. More information on membership awards, click here.
  • Proposed bylaw amendments, due November 1, 2013, form is available here.
  • Applegate grant applications, due November 1, 2013. For information on the WSPTA Applegate grants and the application form, go to the WSPTA website.
  • State PTA officer nominations, due November 8, 2013, form is available here. To find out which State PTA officers will be elected at the convention in May and the eligibility requirements, click here.
  • Liability insurance deadline, due to Association Insurance Management (AIM) November 10, 2013, click here for form (user name and password on the covers of the Leadership Packet handbooks).
  • Resolutions proposals, due November 15, 2013, information about submitting a resolution proposal is here and amending/retiring a resolution is here. Current resolutions are here.
  • IRS Form 990/990-EZ/990-N (epostcard), November 15, 2013 (to IRS). For more information, go to information in the Leadership News blog.
  • 100% teacher membership award, due on November 15, 2013, form is available here.

October is Bullying Prevention Awareness Month

Learn about the role you play in bullying prevention. Visit www.StopBullying.gov for tips on how to talk about bullying with kids; organize prevention efforts at school; develop community-wide strategies for local stakeholders; and lead bullying prevention trainings and events.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Where Do Your School Board Candidates Stand on the Arts?

Thanks to your terrific efforts, many School Board candidates have responded to the School Board Candidate Survey on Arts Education and their responses are now online. Find out where your school board candidates stand on the arts by clicking here.

Partnership With Verizon/etrak

Verizon/eTrak, the world’s smallest location tracking device, is now available to PTA parents for $199, offer includes device plus 1 year of service. NO MONTHLY FEE.  Plus, each subscription order earns a local unit $6 and $2 each for state and National PTA.

·         The size of a domino, it fits pockets, backpacks, purses, glove compartments, on belts or keyrings, or can be worn as a pendant.
·         Patented GPS+ technology is accurate indoors or outdoors.
·         Shows your child’s location on any smartphone or computer.
·         Create a Safety Circle where you expect your child to be. If he/she leaves the Safety Circle, eTrak notifies you and two others with a map of its exact location and turn-by-turn directions.
·         e-Trak’s Alert allows a child who is lost, hurt, or afraid, to notify up to three people via email and text. The message, “Emergency, send help to this location,” includes a map and directions. If eTrak moves, it updates the location and directions.

Please visit www.etrak.com/pta or call (800) 279-1261 to obtain a free device, subscribe to the tracking service, and earn PTA donations. For an informational flyer to distribute to your membership, click here.

Friday, October 11, 2013

New! Order PTA Individual Awards Through the PTA Store

The Washington State PTA Store, operated through a cooperative venture with Green Benefits, is your source for PTA supplies, from membership envelopes to spirit wear, and now the source for ordering individual awards, such as Golden Acorn, Outstanding Educator, Outstanding Advocate, and Outstanding Student Advocate awards. Click here to visit the PTA store.

Submit Proposed Bylaw Amendments by November 1

Proposed Bylaw Amendments to be considered at the 2014 WSPTA Convention are due on November 1, 2013. The form is available here

Special Section on Membership Enrollment

TO RAPID RENEW (TO ACTIVATE RETURNING MEMBERS)

  • Login into the membership site
  • Click Rapid Renew
  • Leave the search field blank
  • Click search – this will bring up all past members from the last two years
  • Click on the box next to the returning members name
  • Click all names that have made a payment to the PTA
  • Click Update renewals at bottom


TO ADD/REMOVE OR UPDATE YOUR ACTIVE BOARD

  • Click on Search Active member
  • Enter last name
  • Click search
  • Click on their name
  • Click more info
  • Click individual
  • Click on board position
  • Click save


TO UPDATE AN ACTIVE MEMBER RECORD

  • Log into the membership site
  • Click Search Active Members
  • Either add name or leave the search field blank
  • Click on name
  • Click Edit
  • Make changes
  • Click submit


TO EMAIL YOUR ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP

  • Log into membership site
  • Click Membership Reports
  • Click "Current Members" under Email Members (bottom blue box on left)
  • Leave search field blank, click search
  • Search results comes up
  • Click Email Members
  • Add Subject Line
  • Add Message
  • Click Send
  • This will send to all active members.



MEMBERSHIP ENROLLMENT PROCESS

The membership enrollment website is located by clicking on “membership enrollment” in the top right corner of the WSPTA website. Your PTA president, treasurer and membership chair received a login and password for the membership enrollment website, along with detailed instructions on how to navigate the website and enter your new members and renewals for next year. Membership enrollment instructions are located here.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ACTIVATE RETURNING MEMBERS (USING RAPID RENEW FUNCTION)


  • Login into the membership site
  •  Click Rapid Renew
  • Leave the search field blank – click search – this will bring up all past members from the last two years
  • Click on the box next to their name
  •  Click Update renewals at bottom

HINT: Do rapid renew of returning members and officers before entering new members. Work in small numbers by renewing 10 to 20 members at a time. This way in case you lose your internet connection before clicking on the renewal button, you will only have to go back and reactivate a few instead of the whole list. Please check to make sure the email addresses are current.

ENROLLING NEW MEMBERS (NOT MEMBERS LAST YEAR)


  1. From the main screen click on Sign Up New Members. The following instructions are for enrolling
  2. NEW PTA members.
  3. Leave the Preferred boxes (mailing or billing) blank. They are not used.
  4. After entering a member’s information, click the Submit button at the bottom of the screen.
  5. The “Confirm Information” screen appears next. If the information is correct, click Submit. If not, click Edit to go back and revise.
  6. This screen also allows you to add additional information by clicking on More Info. Both of these sections have optional fields.
  • Individual: This page provides a list of Officer/Chair Info (e.g., president, secretary, treasurer, LU chair, etc.). Click in the box to the right of the applicable officer/chair held by the member and then click Update.
  • Misc_Info: This is where you can enter Child/Teacher/Misc-Info. After you enter the pertinent information, click on Update to submit.

Also on this screen you should see two links that say Sign Up Another Member, Review Today’s Sign-Ups.
  • To continue entering members click the Sign Up Another Member link.
  • To view your entries click Review Today’s Sign-Ups.


USING THE CLONE FUNCTION

The Clone Member feature is a useful tool when enrolling several members from the same household. Note: state and National PTA fees are due for each member.

To sign up a new member with the same contact information as this member, go to Sign Up New Members and click on Clone Member, then type in the information you need for the new member.

NOTE: If you find you have inadvertently entered a member twice, please email the ID numbers to support@wastatepta.org to have the duplicate removed. For security purposes, the enrollment program does not allow for deletions except by a staff member.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ACTIVATE YOUR BOARD

First, to Rapid Renew (returning members):


  • Login into the membership site
  • Click Rapid Renew
  • Leave the search field blank – click search – this will bring up all past members from the last two years
  •  Click on the box next to their name
  • Click Update renewals at bottom

Then you can add or update your board by:


  • Click on Search Active member
  • Enter last name
  • Click search
  • Click on their name
  • Click more info
  • Click individual
  • Click on board position
  • Click save

HOW TO SEARCH AND EMAIL ACTIVE MEMBERS

The easiest way to begin is with the Search feature. This allows you to review which members are currently listed as active in your database and helps eliminate accidentally entering duplicates. This is also where you would begin when you need to select a member whose address, phone, board position, etc. needs updating/editing.

This feature allows you to perform a search for one particular member, or a complete list of all your members, or members whose last name contains characters you enter.

Search of all active members:

Click on Search/Email Active Members from main menu.
  1. To view a list of all members, leave all the fields blank and click on Search.
  2.  The results on your screen should show a list of all your active PTA members (alphabetically), 100 at a time.
  3. You can:
  • Review the active names for the purpose of knowing which members you do not need to reactivate;
  • Click on an individual’s name to display the members’ address, contact information, board position, etc.; or
  • Create and send an email to all members (provided you entered an email address for them) by clicking on Email Members at the top and middle of the screen.

NOTE: To enter your LU email address, click on the ID number located under the Your Profile menu. You can also update your LU’s address and pertinent contact information.

Search for one PTA member only:

  1. To review information on one PTA member, either enter their Member ID number (You can find the member ID number by pulling up the membership roster from Figure 4), or type in the member’s last name and click on search. You can also type in the first several letters of a last name to see all members with last names starting with those letters. This is a way to more easily find someone if you aren’t sure how the name is spelled.
  2. The returned results on your screen should show the name of the person you were searching for. To review their contact information, click on the name.

UPDATING OR CHANGING MEMBER INFORMATION

You can make email address, phone, etc. changes to a member’s information at any time. However, if you discover duplicate entries, email the ID numbers to support@wastatepta.org to have the duplicates removed.
  • To update or change a member’s information, first retrieve the active member list by clicking on Search/Email Active Members on the top menu bar.
  • At the search screen, type in either the member’s ID number or their last name followed by a comma and then their first name. (You can also search by typing the first few characters of the last name). Click on the Search button to continue.
  • If the search displays the correct member, click on the member’s name. Be sure to select the right member.
  • When the screen comes up with the member’s information, click on either:
  •  a) Edit to change the member’s personal information (i.e., phone number, address, or email) or,
  • b) More Info branches into two optional fields:
  • o   Individual: This page provides a list of Officer/Chair Info (e.g., president, secretary, treasurer, LU chair, etc.). Click in the box to the right of the applicable officer/chair held by the member and then click Update.
  • o   Misc_Info: This is where you can enter Child/Teacher/Misc-Info. After you enter the pertinent information, click Update.
After completing all edits, click on Submit to update the record.

REPORTS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE ONLINE ENROLLMENT PROGRAM

There are several reports available on the online enrollment program. When looking at the membership screen look to the lower left hand side; you’ll see a Membership Reports menu. Note: Sometimes information will stop streaming to the screen in the middle of a report. If you notice this click refresh until the complete report is displayed. Following is a list of the reports and their descriptions.
  • Statement of Fees Due: Lists the enrolled members for whom WSPTA has not yet recorded receipt of state and national dues. (These are members for whom you still owe payment to the state office according to the database; but the payment might be in the mail so to speak. If you think some or all of these have been paid you can check with the state office to see if the payment is in the queue waiting to be entered.) See more about this below under membership remittance instructions.
  • Legal Information: Displays legal facts that the WSPTA has on file for your PTA, including: IRS, Secretary of State, Membership history, etc…
  • Membership Roster: An alphabetical roster of all PTA members in your unit. You should see the total number of members enrolled this year and last year at the bottom of the report. NOTE: If you find you have entered a member twice, please email the ID numbers to support@wastatepta.org to have the duplicate(s) removed. For security purposes, the enrollment program does not allow for deletions except by a staff member.
  •  Board Roster: Provides a roster of the LU officers and chairs that were enrolled. If information is incorrect, email support@wastatepta.org or call the WSPTA office to make corrections.
  •  Paid Memberships Is a list of members for whom state office has recorded receipt of state and national dues for the current year. You should see the total amount paid, total count paid, and number of members enrolled last year at the bottom of the report.
  •  Exports – Current or Expired Members: This is useful in designing documents using mail merge. You can also create sign-in sheets for meetings, and envelopes using this information. Click on the export of your choice, then click LU_Export.csv and select Open then Save As. It is best to save the file to your desktop or to a convenient and easily accessible location. You can then open the file using a spreadsheet program like Excel.
NOTE: It is important that you keep the officer information, including email address, accurate and up-to-date as this information directly effects who receives WSPTA mailings for your PTA.

USING EXCEL SPREAD SHEETS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR MANAGING YOUR MEMBERSHIP LISTS


  • Once you have downloaded the Excel spreadsheet of all your active members, here are a few ways you can use this spreadsheet.
  • Sort by teacher: This will help if your PTA is promoting a classroom membership contest as part of your membership campaign. Track the teachers who join to qualify for 100% Teacher Membership Award
  • Sort by grade level: Track PTA parents by grade level (e.g., room parents, yearbook, etc.)
  • Alphabetical: Verify members when conducting meetings that require voting; Verify members when hosting events/activities that provide reduced fees for members.
  • Maintain current copy in secretary, treasurer and membership chair notebooks.
  • Sort by student
  • Sort by committee: Track committees and members
  • Track volunteers by interest (e.g., phone bank, baking, sewing, assist in school office, sporting events, concession stand, school store, library, etc).


PTA MEMBERSHIP CARDS

Once your members have been entered into the membership database, those members will receive a welcome email to indicate that they are now PTA members. The welcome letter will include their unit name and number, information about affinity programs and the link to activate their membership to take advantage of those programs, and a blank membership card they can print at home (and cut out and fill in) if they would like to carry a card with them in their wallets. Of course, in order for members to get the welcome letter, their email address must be accurately entered in the database. This welcome letter for any member whose email address is not in our membership database will be sent to the “primary email address” for the unit (usually the membership chair or president or a master email for the unit). Be sure to keep your email information up to date and accurate in the database, and to tell the state office your PTA’s preference for the “primary email address”. 

MEMBER REGISTRATION INFORMATION, HINTS, AND TIPS

  • Remember you can save entry time by using rapid renew to register those who were members in the past few years. We suggest you do rapid renew first to reduce the number of members you have to enter as new. Only members who have not yet been activated will show on the rapid renew list. Active members (those already registered) will show on the roster and when you search for members.
  • This year officers should be treated like all other members in that you need to register them once they have paid their dues. The easiest way is to use rapid renew.
  •  Email is an important way to communicate with members. Please take time to enter email addresses accurately. Only one email address should be entered for each member. Email addresses should have no spaces, only one @, no repeating periods (..), it should be just like you would enter it when sending an email to that person.
  • Is this a duplicate? When looking at the rapid renew list you might see the same name, address, etc. listed more than once, and think this is a duplicate. It is possible that the same person was entered more than once in prior years. Only activate a member once - you don't want to pay for the same person twice.
  • You can look under Membership Reports on the member enrollment web site for some new reports, including a list of enrolled members state shows as not yet paid (payment not yet entered, it takes some time to keep up).

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Membership Duplicates


QUESTION:
We are told to email the WSPTA office to remove any membership duplicates. What are membership duplicates?


ANSWER:
A membership duplicate is a member who was inadvertently entered twice, so his/her name is listed twice on your online membership roster (see reports above). If you find you have entered a member twice, please email the ID numbers to support@wastatepta.org to have the duplicate(s) removed. For security purposes, the enrollment program does not allow for deletions except by a staff member.

Sending in Remittance Forms Electronically


QUESTION:
Our membership service fee remittance form is several pages long, is there a way to send this to the WSPTA office electronically to eliminate the added expense of postage?


ANSWER:
Yes. Please write the weekly LU Remittance date on the memo line of your PTA check and mail the check to the WSPTA office using the regular mail. Forward the Local Unit Remittance form to dhines@wastatepta.org with a cc to mmason@wastatepta.org, stating at the top of the email the dollar amount of the check mailed and the check number.

Clarifying the Due Date for the Remittance of State and National Service Fees


QUESTION:   
Would you please clarify what the due dates for state and national membership fees are? The email sent to local units about the membership remittance fees, states that the local unit will be billed weekly, if they input any new member during the week (there is no due date on this e-mailed remittance form).  Money Matters shows the remittance dates as Oct, Jan, & May 25th.  


ANSWER:
The service fee remittance due dates are still the same as before (October 25, January 25, and May 25). These are the only times your PTA is required to pay state and national service fees for members, although your unit may choose to submit service fees more often if you’d like. The reason for the monthly email remittance forms is that it gives timely information about member registrations in smaller groupings that should be easier to reconcile, and provides units options of when to pay, as follows:  
  •  Some units find it useful to pay membership dues each month. They appreciate that the weekly remittance form provides a concise list of members they have just recently entered making it easier to reconcile while it is fresh in their mind, and is documentation of the payment amount.
  • Some units prefer to pay the dues once a month when they get together with the co-signer to pay bills. 
  • Some units will choose to wait to pay dues until shortly before October 25th. They may use the weekly remittance form for reconciliation as mentioned above, or they may use the new statement described below.
The member web site now includes a new report called “Statement of Fees Due” which lists enrolled members for whom payment has not yet been received and recorded in the WSPTA membership database. Local units may use this report instead of the remittance forms as documentation supporting dues payment, and use the remittance form for weekly reconciliation of entry, or not at all.


Membership Cards


QUESTION:
When do we receive the membership cards?

ANSWER:
We do not have “paper” membership cards this year.  Each member enrolled will receive a welcome email that will include their membership card which they can choose to print & fill out themselves. If a member does not have an email then that membership card will be sent to the unit primary email address to print and distribute to the member.

Welcome Emails


QUESTION:
Why do I keep getting welcome emails for other people?

ANSWER:
If a member has no email on file then the welcome letter goes to the President of the PTA (or primary email address listed on file) for distribution to the member.