Thank You For Your Service

June 1 marks a transition time for the State PTA Board of Directors and I would like to express my gratitude to the following individuals whose terms of service on the WSPTA Board of Directors is coming to an end on May 31. We appreciate your service and dedication to this association. Karen Madsen – Finance Officer DeeDee Loberg  - Program Director JMarie Johnson-Kola – Outreach Director Espie Badillo Di’Iorio – Region 4 Director Sarah DuCette – Region 6 Director Maggie Santos – Region 8 Director Patti DeRusha  – Region 10 Director Diane Call – Region 12 Director

Question of the Week

QUESTION:   

We are in the process of developing next year's budget and I'm trying to find information that explains / defines the required reserves.  Does the state PTA provide recommendations regarding reserves?

ANSWER:   

The WSPTA recommends PTAs maintain a minimum of six months operating expenses in reserves in either a savings or checking account—preferably a savings account. Your local unit standing rules should contain information on how many months of reserves are carried over each year and what account these reserves are kept. To calculate the figure for six months operating expenses, take your total budgeted expenditures and divide it by twelve, then multiply that number by six (or the amount of months your local unit decides to maintain in reserves).

The purpose of maintaining reserves is to cover operating expenses in the event the PTA doesn’t raise the amount of money budgeted. However, holding too much in reserves isn’t recommended because the money raised by PTA should be spent to benefit students.

There may be specific circumstances a PTA may need to carry over significantly more in reserves, such as a PTA that needs three years of operating expenses in reserve during a period a school is being rebuilt after a fire—during which time students are dispersed among other schools.

Charitable Organization Renewal Deadline May 31

It is time to complete your Charitable Organization Registration/Renewal with the Office of the Secretary of State Corporations & Charities Division. Forms and instructions on how to fill out the forms can be found at http://www.sos.wa.gov/charities/AllForms.aspx. If you have already filed this renewal form this year, please disregard this message.  More information and instructions available from the WSPTA office is available here.

Charity and Nonprofit Educational Symposium June 2

The Office of the Secretary of State is presenting a Charity & Nonprofit Educational Symposium on June 2, 2014 from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm at the Labor and Industries Building, 7273 Linderson Way SW, Tumwater, Washington. Attend to learn about the legal obligations and fiduciary duties of a nonprofit board, maintaining nonprofit status, registration and renewal requirements, Washington State tax requirements, and a representative from the IRS will present on federal tax requirements. Register at: www.sos.wa.gov/charities/training. The cost is $10 and includes lunch. Space is limited so register online today and reserve your spot! For more information contact: Teresa Glidden, Charity & Nonprofit Education Coordinator, teresa.glidden@sos.wa.gov or (360) 725‐0373.

WSPTA Endowment Established

Exciting things are happening for PTA! Late last week the Washington State PTA signed the paperwork for the WSPTA Endowment with the goal to further our vision to make every child’s potential a reality by eventually using interest earnings from the endowment for operating and providing grants within WSPTA. 

Send in Your Local Unit Officers

It is time to email the list of your local unit’s 2014-2015 officers to support@wastatepta.org. Please include the name of your PTA, your new officer’s names and email addresses. When we receive this information, these new officers will be added to the email list that receives Leadership News as well as information on training, updates, and instructions for the member registration process which we will begin sending in June. Please note that you don’t need to identify your new officers on the membership enrollment database, just email the list to the state PTA office. However, if you have already identified your new officers on the database, you do not need to send an email as well. Thanks for your help as we make sure your local unit continues to receive the information it needs from the state PTA office.

NEWS to State Supreme Court: Hold Legislature in Contempt

In response to a court-mandated legislative "progress" report from the State to the Washington Supreme Court, the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools today asked the high court to hold the Legislature in contempt.

"The State Supreme Court issues orders, not suggestions. And lawmakers have blatantly disobeyed those orders," said NEWS lead attorney Tom Ahearne. "The Legislature's own report shows they did not take 'immediate, concrete action' to make 'real and measurable progress' toward fully funding K-12 schools as the Court had ordered. That's why we are asking the Court to hold the Legislature in contempt, to prohibit the State from adding any further unfunded or underfunded mandates on its public schools, and to impose even more serious sanctions if the Legislature does not reconvene to obey the Court's orders by December 31 of this year."

In January 2014, the Court ordered the State to submit a report by April 30 showing that the Legislature's 2014 session had: 

• Taken "immediate, concrete action" to make "real and measurable progress, not simply promises" towards fully funding the State's K-12 schools by the 2017/2018 school year, and 
• Developed a complete full funding plan for each school year between now and the 2017/2018 school year.

The State admitted in its report that the Legislature had failed to comply with that order. NEWS, which has been authorized by the State Supreme Court to monitor and respond to the State's reports, today asked the Court to take firm, concrete action to compel the State's compliance with the Court's orders and with Washington children's constitutional right to an amply funded education.

NEWS listed in its response many types of enforcement orders issued by courts in cases in other states, and requested that, at the very least, the Supreme Court should:

• Hold the Legislature in contempt of court
• Prohibit the State from adding more unfunded or underfunded mandates on K-12 public schools, and
• Rule that if the State does not fully comply with the Court's January 2014 order by December 31, 2014, then the Court will issue strong judicial enforcement orders (that legislators will not be happy with) in January 2015.

Read NEWS's filing with the Supreme Court, May 21, 2014.

Read the State's filing with the Supreme Court, April 30, 2014

Golden Acorn Awards to Honor Local Unit Leaders and Contribute to the WSPTA Scholarship Program

As the school year winds to an end, I would like to encourage you to honor your local leaders with a Golden Acorn award or another recognition award and contribute to the Washington State PTA Scholarship Program. To order Golden Acorn awards or other recognition awards, go to the PTA store at http://store.wastatepta.org/. (There are no paper forms available for these awards. It is now an online process through the PTA store.)  For information on navigating the PTA Store award section, click here. For those of you who have been honored with a volunteer recognition award, such as the Golden Acorn award, I want to thank you for your service and dedication to the children in your school community, and to thank your PTA for donating funds, in your name, so that more deserving students could be awarded college scholarships.

Help Decide WSPTA's Positions: Proposals for Resolutions, Legislative Principles and Legislative Platform

Resolutions outline the opinion and will of WSPTA to address statewide problems. Proposals are due June 15 for consideration at the fall legislative assembly.  Form for new resolution or to amend or request retirement of existing resolution Current WSPTA resolutions & board positions National PTA resolutions  Legislative principles give long-term guidance to our legislative advocacy and can be updated at the fall legislative assembly. Proposals to amend are due June 15. Form to amend WSPTA's legislative principles Current WSPTA legislative principles Priority Platform“Top 5” : This short-term platform sets priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Issues are voted onto the platform for 2 years. In year one of the 2-year platform cycle, which is this year, delegates at legislative assembly will decide the Top 5 priorities. Deadline for proposals is June 15. Proposals will be reviewed over the summer by the legislative committee and the WSPTA board of directors. Legislative platform proposal form Current platform

National PTA President Otha Thornton Shares Op-Ed on Common Core State Standards

An op-ed by National PTA President Otha Thornton about the importance of the Common Core State Standards has been featured on FOX News. Visit http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/05/09/national-pta-president-parent-praise-for-common-core/ to read President Thornton’s important response to critics of the Common Core.

Review Smarts for Students: An Arts Education Guide for Parents and Families

Created in partnership with the Washington State PTA, the smARTS guide is a fantastic resource to help you bone up on how arts in schools will help your children succeed both now and in the future! It also offers up some great tips on simple ways to start advocating for the arts that every child deserves. Get smARTS here.

Bicycle Safety Resources

The Federal Highway Administration is pleased to announce the release of Bicycle Safer Journey, a new tool to educate teens and children about safe bicycling behaviors. Bicycle Safer Journey is a free, online education tool designed to help educators, parents and others who care about bicycle safety to get the conversation started with children and youth.

Preventing Childhood Injuries

Seattle Children’s Hospital offers great injury prevention information and resources: http://www.seattlechildrens.org/safety-wellness/safety-injury-prevention/

Question of the Week

QUESTION:  
Should the PTA write a check to the school or school district with the express purpose of the funds going to a particular project or event at a school, or is it better to write the check to the teacher/staff member and they provide receipts to show what they spent the money on?

ANSWER:
School districts are often not able to accommodate small grants for individual teachers, so the best way to grant money is to work with your school principal. Ask your principal about setting up a classroom grant for each teacher for specific purposes or about granting money to the building fund to help offset specific costs for the school as a whole. Your school principal will suggest the best way to set things up to be helpful and successful.

The other option is for PTAs to have a line item in their budget available for teachers up to a certain amount of money throughout the year. This option would require a lot of specific bookkeeping on the part of the PTA and the PTA would also need to be very clear about the process for submitting receipts for reimbursement and the type of items covered. One thing to note is that this option works best for perishables items, such as paper or supplies, but if they are purchasing books or cameras then those things are the property of the district/school and not the teacher. This distinction should be made clear to teachers as well.

Membership Service Fees Due May 25

Your final payment to the state office for current year state and national PTA membership dues is due by May 25th. Please go to the member registration site at http://www.wastateptambrs.org/customer/source/security/member-logon.cfm?section=Home. Login and select the Statement of Fees Due under Membership Reports to see if you have a balance due.  If there is a balance due please send at least the last page of this report along with your check to the state office at the address shown on that report. Remember, your unit may also owe council fees. If your PTA is a member of a council where local units pay the council a per member fee this information is for you. You can calculate the fees due to your council by multiplying the number of registered members 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.

Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week

This week (May 19-25, 2014) marks the tenth annual Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week. As outdoor pools and beaches open to get ready for a summer full of swimming, this is an ideal time to maximize the health benefits of recreational water activities by promoting healthy and safe swimming in your community.  National Swimming Pool Foundation partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide the 2014 Tool Kit on Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week.

Washington State PTA Wins Prestigious National PTA Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award

National PTA announced that Washington State PTA has won the very prestigious Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award, for our commitment to reach out to all families. A special thank you to WSPTA Outreach Director JMarie Johnson-Kola, region directors, and the region outreach team: Monika Scotti, Julie Haase, Brandi Dyment, Elizabeth Rogers, Ed Kyllonen, Michele Rufer, Sarah Smith, Raymond Kusumi, Holly Bocchi, Barbara Justis, Deb Roper, and Mirna Reyes! 

This award recognizes only one state, council, district, and local PTA, nation-wide, who works diligently to understand and embrace the diversity of all individuals, understands the differences yet commonalities in their communities, and to work to foster outstanding achievement in the areas of diversity and inclusion. 

This year, WSPTA had a five-phase outreach plan: phase one, holding two outreach summits, one on each side of the state, where PTA leaders, learned many facets of strengthening relations through outreach activities; phase two, conducting regional meetings to develop action plans to increase, retain and diversify PTA membership by reaching out to underrepresented groups;  phase three, holding a certificated outreach skills training workshop, that provided PTA leaders with critical training in cross-cultural competency, community project management, public speaking, social-emotional learning, and other areas to enhance communications; phase four, planning, executing, and implementing region outreach action plans; and, phase five, hosting an outreach luncheon at the 101st Annual WSPTA Convention, highlighting Outreach and Family Engagement.  

Department of Education Releases Family/Community Engagement Framework

The U.S. Department of Education recently released a new process—the Dual Capacity Framework—for schools and communities to support and build parent and community engagement. This framework helps to teach school and district teachers and administrators how to effectively engage families. It also shows families how to work successfully with schools to increase student achievement.

National PTA and Sylvan Learning Team up to Support Student Success

As part of their compatible missions to increase family involvement in education and ensure all children succeed, National PTA® and Sylvan Learning are teaming up to offer free and discounted resources for both students and parents. Among the initial benefits: All PTA members can receive 50 percent off a Sylvan Insight Assessment, which identifies a child’s academic strengths and weaknesses as well as his or her attitudes about school and learning. The assessment is designed to help families and educators determine the right support a child needs to excel. In addition to the discount, for every student who takes an assessment, Sylvan will donate $10 to the student’s local PTA. For more information on the current services and resources available to PTA members through Sylvan Learning, visit PTA.org/benefits.

Educate Your School Board About Arts Education in Three Simple Steps

1.     Find your school board contact emails. Most districts list them on their district websites, and you can also get more info about contacting your school board here. 2.     Paste the sample message into an email for your board members. 3.     Attach the Arts Education Resources document and hit send! If you’d like to do more to support Arts Education Month, visit ArtsEd Washington website for a toolkit of speaking points and ideas to engage your school board and community about the arts education that will help our students of today become the leaders of tomorrow. You can also help spread the word by Liking, Sharing, and Retweeting the ArtsEd Washington posts on Facebook and Twitter!

Question of the Week

QUESTION:   

Should we have the general membership approve our budget now or can we wait until after the new officers have started their work?

ANSWER:  

The budget should be approved in the spring, normally at the final membership meeting of the year.  The budget is usually developed by a budget or finance committee, chaired by the treasurer. Both incoming and outgoing officers may serve on this committee, since they have knowledge of what has occurred in the past and what plans are appropriate for the PTA in the future. After the budget has been drafted, it should be reviewed by the board of directors. Following the board’s review and approval, the budget must be presented to the membership for approval. Depending on when your final membership meeting is, this may occur before or after the transition of officers. A majority vote by the PTA’s general membership is required for approval of the budget at a general membership meeting. A PTA may modify the budget to meet its needs at a later date. More information on this process is found in the WSPTA Money Matters handbook.

National PTA and Schwan's Home Service Unit to Empower PTAs With Online Fundraising Network

With a shared commitment to giving back and making a difference, National PTA® and Schwan’s Home Service. Inc., through its Schwan’s Cares™ Fundraising Network, have joined forces to offer a new fundraising opportunity for PTAs across the country. Through this partnership, Schwan’s Home Service will: Contribute between 20 and 40 percent of each total purchase to the buyer’s preferred local PTA for all purchases made through a PTA campaign on the Schwan’s Cares™ Fundraising Network. Additionally, after the initial campaign period, PTAs can earn 5 percent on purchases for up to one year.  Coordinate the processing and fulfillment of all purchases made through a PTA campaign, delivering food orders directly to campaign supporters’ homes.  Offer PTA members a new-customer discount of $5 off $25 or $10 off $50 on their first Schwan’s® purchase.  Offer $25 off $75 on any PTA member’s first purchase during the month of May. For more information about the fundraising opportunities and discounts available to PTA members through Schwan’s Home Service, visit PTA.org/benefits.

Child Safety Focus: Preventing Window Falls

Temperatures are warming up across the state and we wanted to remind you of an important safety tip to be aware of at this time of year. Window falls account for approximately eight deaths and 3,300 injuries among children ages five and under annually, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. A local story highlights how quickly these falls can happen, and may occur even when the window has a screen: Toddler falls from second-floor window. The Stop at 4 website has lots of great resources for preventing window falls. www.stopat4.com. Please help us spread the word and keep our children safe.

New Rules on School Fundraisers

Beginning July 1, 2014, all foods sold to students on the school campus during the school day, including fundraisers, must meet nutrition standards under the Smart Snacks rule. Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, flexibility was given to provide exemptions for school-sponsored infrequent fundraisers that do not meet the standards. State Child Nutrition Agencies have the authority to set the number of exempted fundraisers permitted per school year. If the State Agency does not designate a number, it is assumed that there are no exempted fundraisers. For additional info, see the full memo.

Golden Acorn Award Reminder

A quick reminder about Golden Acorn awards, Honorary Life Membership awards, Outstanding Advocate, and Outstanding Educator awards is that they may be ordered online at http://store.wastatepta.org/. (There are no paper forms available for these awards. It is now an online process through the PTA store.)  For information on navigating the PTA Store award section, click here.

Charitable Organization Renewal Deadline May 31

It is time to complete your Charitable Organization Registration/Renewal with the Office of the Secretary of State Corporations & Charities Division. Forms and instructions on how to fill out the forms can be found at http://www.sos.wa.gov/charities/AllForms.aspx. If you have already filed this renewal form this year, please disregard this message. 1. To help you with this renewal process your WSPTA state office staff offers the following information:  If your PTA’s gross solicited income last year (sum of lines 1, 6a, 6b, and 7a from your Form 990EZ for the year ended June 30, 2013) was $50,000 or more, or if you hired an independent contractor during the year ended June 30, 2013,  you need to complete the Charitable Organization Registration/Renewal Form - including the Washington State Combined Fund Drive found by clicking: Charitable Organization Registration and Renewal Form. a.       Instructions for this form here. b.      Guidelines to complete the form here. c.       You will find line by line instructions prepared by WSPTA staff here. d.      Fill out the form, print, sign and mail to Secretary of State Corporations & Charities Division PO Box 40234 Olympia WA 98504-0234 with a check for the $40 renewal fee payable to “Secretary of State”. e.      Note: If you did not file the Charitable Organization Registration/Renewal Form last year you will need to check the “Initial/Re-registration” box and pay $60 (rather than $40). f.        The registration/renewal is due at the Secretary of State’s office by May 31, 2014 – be sure to leave time for mail delivery. If the renewal is not received by May 31 and additional $50 late fee is owed. 2.       If your PTA’s gross solicited income last year was less than $50,000 you qualify to complete the Optional Registration – including the Combined Fund Drive found by clicking: Optional Registration Form. a.       Instructions for this form here. b.      This is a much shorter form, and there is no fee for this filing. While not required annually, having a current version of this form on file helps the Secretary of State’s office better respond to inquiries from the public. At the very least you should file this form one time. c.       Fill out the form, print, sign and mail to Secretary of State Corporations & Charities Division PO Box 40234 Olympia WA 98504-0234. d.      If your PTA normally has gross solicited income of $50,000 or more but did not this past year, consider filing the Charitable Organization Registration/Renewal Form - including the Washington State Combined Fund Drive anyway (rather than the Optional Registration) in order to avoid having to pay the re-registration fee the next year income is $50,000. If after trying these instructions and guidelines you have questions please feel free to contact Tatia Vasbinder at the Washington State PTA office at (253) 214-7410 or email tvasbinder@wastatepta.org.

Membership Service Fees Due May 25

Your final payment to the state office for current year state and national PTA membership dues is due by May 25th. Please go to the member registration site at http://www.wastateptambrs.org/customer/source/security/member-logon.cfm?section=Home. Login and select the Statement of Fees Due under Membership Reports to see if you have a balance due.  If there is a balance due please send at least the last page of this report along with your check to the state office at the address shown on that report. Remember, your unit may also owe council fees. If your PTA is a member of a council where local units pay the council a per member fee this information is for you. You can calculate the fees due to your council by multiplying the number of registered members 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.

Grant Opportunities

National PTA 14 in ’14 Drawings for $1,000 -- Your local PTA could win $1,000 in the National PTA 14 in '14 Membership Challenge. Recruit 14 members for your PTA by May 31 and enter your PTA to win dollars to help build programs and events in your community. Get 14 in '14!  Questions? Contact National PTA Membership.  School Kitchen Improvement Grants -- The USDA recently announced that they are awarding $25 million in grants to help schools purchase kitchen equipment required to serve healthy meals to students. Download the list of funding stats by state for FY13 and FY14. The Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project released issue briefs that detail the types and costs of kitchen upgrades that each state needs to better serve healthy school meals.  Healthy Lifestyle Grant -- Apply today for a $2,000 Healthy Lifestyles Grant available to 50 local PTAs. Learn more and apply online by June 6. You can apply for two Healthy Lifestyles Grants: Pre-K: Smart from the Start; K-5 grade: Energy Balance 101

Dr. Mike Brophy Honored as 2014 Outstanding Educator

Dr. Mike Brophy is Superintendent of the West Valley School District in Yakima, where he has served since 2011. Earlier in his career he worked in the Bethel District, the Eastmont District in East Wenatchee and in Aberdeen. His personal mission is to maximize the potential of all students. To achieve this, he is not only reaching out to the school aged children in his district, but he is also reaching out to students before they start school. Dr. Brophy established a training that occurs four times a year for those who operate daycares or preschools to learn more about how to prepare kids for entering the school system.

Help Decide WSPTA's Positions: Proposals For Resolutions, Legislative Principles and Legislative Platform Now Being Accepted

Resolutions outline the opinion and will of WSPTA to address statewide problems. Proposals are due June 15 for consideration at the fall legislative assembly.  ·         Form for new resolution or to amend or request retirement of existing resolution ·         Current WSPTA resolutions & board positions ·         National PTA resolutions Legislative principles give long-term guidance to our legislative advocacy and can be updated at the fall legislative assembly. Proposals to amend are due June 15. ·         Form to amend WSPTA's legislative principles ·         Current WSPTA legislative principles Priority Platform“Top 5” : This short-term platform sets priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Issues are voted onto the platform for 2 years. In year one of the 2-year platform cycle, which is this year, delegates at legislative assembly will decide the Top 5 priorities. Deadline for proposals is June 15. Proposals will be reviewed over the summer by the legislative committee and the WSPTA board of directors.  ·         Legislative platform proposal form ·         Current platform

PLEASE SEND THE WSPTA YOUR NEW LOCAL UNIT OFFICERS

It is the time to email the list of your local unit’s 2014-2015 officers to support@wastatepta.org. Please include the name of your PTA, your new officer’s names and email addresses. It is very important the Washington State PTA receives this information so your local unit will continue to receive the information it needs from the state PTA office. When we receive this information, these new officers will be added to the email list that receives Leadership News as well as information on training, updates, and instructions for the member registration process which we will begin sending in June.

Seattle Council PTSA Named 2014 WSPTA Outreach Champion

Seattle Council PTSA received the WSPTA’s Outreach Champion award, in addition to being awarded a National PTA Urban Family Engagement Network Grant earlier this year. As part of their outreach efforts, they identified and engaged diverse families by partnering with their school district, community leaders, and representatives from the diverse communities they wanted to engage. In addition, they researched their demographic populations and created a nine-week family training program, utilizing their leadership team to get the word out. As a result, 24-30 individuals of diverse cultures were trained on family engagement and the results they saw were immediate. “Before the training sessions were even complete, some of the parents who formally were afraid to go into their children’s schools, had made appointments with teachers, talked to school officials, and addressed long standing issues,” said JMarie Johnson-Kola, WSPTA outreach director.

National PTA Reflections Winners From Washington State

Congratulations to the following Washington State Students who won an award!  We here at WSPTA are excited and incredibly proud of each of you! Thank you to all of the parents, and leaders who supported these students to achieve one of the highest honors in the Reflections Program.  Celebrate your success!! Primary Division: Award of Excellence Dance/Choreography - Sidhya Ganesh, “A Journey of a Blind Girl!” - Spiritridge Elementary PTA 2.3.85  Primary Division: Award of Merit Literature - Elise Moe, “The Little Seed” - Penny Creek PTA 7.3.42 Visual Arts - Kavya Chandrasekar, “A Better Future” - Discovery PTSA 2.6.9 Intermediate Division: Award of Merit Visual Arts - Vatsal Chandel, “All Within My Reach” - Endeavour PTA 2.6.20 Middle School Division: Award of Merit Visual Arts - Jessica Yu, “Even the smallest bird can have the biggest dream” - Brookside PTA 6.12.15 High School Division: Award of Merit  Music Composition - Nora DeWater, “Draw My Life” - Redmond High PTSA 2.8.10 Photography - Alexandra Hanesworth, “The Magic of Words” - Anacortes High PTSA 8.2.70

Pre-Convention Session a Success

Delegates who arrived early to convention had a choice to attend one of two pre-convention sessions on Friday morning, April 25th. Laura Katen, president of a NY-based training company shared strategies for strengthening communication and building rapport with others; and facilitated interactive exercises and discussions to help attendees more fully understand, practice, and apply key techniques presented.  There were numerous positive comments on how the speaker’s remarks truly resonated with the members, and that Laura’s presentation “was truly outstanding.”  JP Pohl, Teen Truth’s Executive Producer & Co-Founder challenged attendees to think about how they treat others and empower you to find ways to be the difference in your school community to prevent bullying. These sessions were well received by attendees as evidenced by many comments, including the one that follows: “Heard (JC Pohl) speak and got to see the video….This can potentially change and SAVE lives. It’s real, the video has some raw moments from Columbine and it’s definitely not set up for us here at the elementary level, but I will tell you what, my daughter WILL see this movie and hopefully witness the tour (Teen Truth) when she is old enough to process the footage and the reality of what went on there.” For more information on the Teen Truth program, go to  http://www.teentruth.net/

National PTA President Otha Thornton Highlights NPTA Family Engagement Programs

National PTA President Otha Thornton encouraged and challenged PTAs to increase family engagement at their schools. “When we talk about family engagement, it can save us so much money in schools. For every parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent that is engaged, it saves schools about $1,000 per student,” he explained. Thornton pointed PTAs to the National PTA website, www.pta.org/programs, for programs and grants to jump start efforts to increase parent engagement. One of the best examples of a parent engagement program is the National PTA Schools of Excellence program. This involves going online and completing a survey, which is assessed by the NPTA, and provides customized suggestions for PTA units to increase parent engagement. A video clip of Thornton’s message will be available on the WSPTA website soon.

Olympic Swimmer Wendy Boglioli Encourages Convention Attendees to Take Advantage of Opportunities

Olympian Wendy Boglioli, the featured speaker who kicked off the convention in the first general session, spoke of a defining moment in her life in 1976, when her relay team won an Olympic gold medal, and how that moment lives on in her life to this day.  Boglioli also spoke of the years of preparation, taking advantage of the opportunities she had, and the significance of the encouragement of her parents and teammates as contributing factors in reaching her dreams. An audio recording of her presentation will be available on the WSPTA website soon.

May: Arts Education Month

      May is Arts Education Month. To celebrate, we hope you’ll consider reaching out to your school board with valuable information about the importance of arts education and helpful tips on how to incorporate the arts into your schools. We’ll make it easy!

   

     Educate Your School Board about Arts Education in 3 Simple Steps

1.  Find your school board contact emails. Most districts list them on their district websites, and you can also get more info about contacting your school board here.
2.  Paste the sample message below into an email for your board members.
3. Attach the “Arts Education Resources” pdf and hit send.       

      If you’d like to do more to support Arts Education Month, visit our website for a toolkit of speaking points and ideas to engage your school board and community about the arts education that will help our students of today become the leaders of tomorrow. You can also help spread the word by Liking, Sharing, and Retweeting our posts on Facebook and Twitter!

Thank you for being a champion for arts education and once again, Happy Arts Education Month!


Sample Message for School Board Members

Dear [School Board Member Name]:

May is Arts Education Month as proclaimed by Governor Jay Inslee. This is an annual, statewide celebration of the importance of arts learning, so I’d like to take this opportunity to share some valuable information with you.

As you may know, the arts are defined in Washington as a core subject required by law to be taught in every school. Attached is a packet of materials about the importance and impact of arts education in schools on both student success and school success. These materials, compiled by ArtsEd Washington, also include links to compelling research from a variety of sources demonstrating just how much arts learning can do to help our students, schools, and communities to thrive. Clearly, the arts matter a lot!

The attached materials include links to resources that will give you some ideas about how to incorporate the arts into your curriculum plan. I know that ArtsEd Washington can also provide additional information on other programs and resources to assist you in your work.

One great way to get the ball rolling, if you haven’t already done so, is to issue your own Arts Education Month board resolution! You can find a sample here, and then send it to office@artsedwashington.org to be posted online with Governor Inslee’s and others.

I know that you have many priorities to juggle in our school district, but I also know that when students learn the arts in schools, they stay more engaged, do better academically, have fewer discipline problems, and graduate at higher rates. So I hope you will make arts education one of those priorities in the coming years!

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Katie Brown, Washington State Teacher of the Year

Katie Brown was in Washington DC for the National PTA Teacher of the Year program at the time of the convention, but sent a video message to WSPTA convention attendees since she couldn't be there in person. As Washington State Teacher of the Year, Brown hopes to advocate for needs of parents as well as students. As part of the Washington State Teacher of the Year program, teachers submitted a short story about students who inspire them for the OSPI publication, "From Seed to Apple." Brown decided to write a poem about all of her students and she shared her touching poem, "If You Really Knew Me" with convention attendees at the conclusion of her presentation. To view her presentation, go to the You Tube link: http://youtu.be/yJWX6rHlbB8. To view a copy of the OSPI publication, “From Seed to Apple,” click here.

Seattle Seahawk Doug Baldwin Featured Speaker at Convention

The Washington State PTA, sincerely appreciated Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of Seattle Seahawk Doug Baldwin, as the keynote speaker at our 101st Annual WSPTA Convention. He spoke candidly about his teachers, family and the influential people in his life. Additionally Baldwin answered questions from attendees. When asked how to help kids cope with loses, he responded that he learns from loses and enjoys the challenges they bring. "You never really loose, you win and you learn," he said. Video clips from this presentation will be posted on the WSPTA website soon!

Kenmore Jr High PTA: Outstanding Secondary Local Unit of the Year

Kenmore Jr High PTA attributes their success this year to maintaining focus on their mission to support all students and providing connection and community at the school. “We made a concerted effort to ensure every student was set up for success and were intentional about establishing our PTA budget to make an impact on all the students at the school,” said Cindy Jensen, PTA president. For example, the PTA provided a grant program for teachers to apply for extra money to fund projects for their classrooms. They also funded back to school supplies for students who began the school year without the supplies they needed. When they noticed that some students were coming to school hungry due to life circumstances, and not necessarily situations where free or reduced lunches would be applicable, the PTA secured a grant through Windermere to provide meals for these students. As a junior high PTA, it can be difficult to get parents engaged at the school, but Kenmore Jr High PTA was able to bring parents, and specifically dads in this case, into the school by launching a Watch D.O.G. program. Having volunteer dads at the school to be an extra set of eyes and ears at the school not only helps with security, it provides a great avenue for dads to get engaged at their kids’ schools. Another key component in their success is that Kenmore Jr High PTA developed goals that support and compliment the school’s goals and provided opportunities for the membership to review, discuss and vote on their PTA’s goals.

Meeker PTA: Outstanding Elementary Local Unit of the Year

One of the keys to Meeker PTA’s success was in developing very clear and measureable goals, with input from the principal and a teacher representative, so their goals were aligned to the school’s goals.  “We continually went back and revisited our goals at meetings, so we could address it if we weren’t on track,” said Megan Klein, president of Meeker PTA. A fun and creative way Meeker PTA chose to increase family engagement/outreach was their “Freaky Friday” event, which was held in February as part of the National PTA Take Your Family to School week. At this event, parents and students switched places for the evening—the parents became the students, and the student took on roles as parents. As “students,” the parents got a first-hand look at their child’s day at school by signing up for and eating a “hot lunch,” which was provided by a grant from Walmart; visiting the library to pick out an age-appropriate book (for their child’s age); taking a ready test; experiencing a lock down drill; visiting a PE class, music class, computer class; and attending a spirit assembly. They were able to do all of this in just two hours and had 100% positive parent feedback from this event. Another family engagement/outreach program increased male engagement at the school. Meeker PTA has participated in the WatchD.O.G. program for several years, but wanted to get new dads involved so they launched, “Running With the Pack,” a program which allows many dads to work on a specific project together to improve the school. Meeker PTA is planning another “Running With the Pack” event this spring to paint a shed on the school campus. To increase volunteer recognition, Meeker PTA created a volunteer of the month program, which honored recipients with a T-shirt reading, “I’m not just anyone, I’m a Meeker PTA volunteer of the month” and recognizing them by name on the electronic reader board and in their PTA newsletter. Meeker PTA is also passionate about membership and has achieved the 100% membership award for two consecutive years—one member for every student at the school! They make a concerted effort to communicate to parents all the things PTA is responsible for at the school, reinforcing the value of PTA. Finally, Meeker PTA was involved in grassroots advocacy. A couple highlights of their advocacy efforts included three of their board members sponsored the highly capable issue at last fall’s WSPTA Legislative Assembly and locally they were successful in advocating to have the state fund a lighted crosswalk in front of their school.