WSPTA Outreach Actions in 2013-14

In 2014 WSPTA outreach has been all about YOU! The board and the outreach team worked to help you better engage and serve diverse children and families in your communities by providing the resources you need.

1. Offered outreach skills training to build leadership capacity to outreach to and engage families. Specially-created training was designed to help you:

• Experience classes that give you the critical skills you need to effectively engage families.
• Form partnerships and strengthen relationships with outreach teams from across the state.
• Acquire skills in cross-cultural competence, community PTAs, community project management, community planning, scanning and organizing, public speaking, meeting facilitation, conflict management, and much more.
• Acquire credentials to engage families in accordance with WSPTA standards.

2. Identified regional projects that cultivate 2-way dialogue with families and communities and help them work together toward the academic success of their children. Here’s a summary:

Region Outreach Focus

• Region 1 - Address hunger and homelessness among teens
• Region 2 - Provide community resource information to families of children with special needs, financially struggling families and the PTA leaders who serve them
• Region 3 - Facilitate dual language early education reading group in Spanish and Russian
• Region 5 - Introduce middle and high school students to community professionals in a unique career-day program
• Region 7 - Expand outreach support to local units by hosting a day-long training intensive
• Region 9 - Collaborate with diverse community leaders to build outreach awareness and partnerships 
• Region 11 - Build partnerships throughout the region to address issues facing families and build stronger PTAs
• Region 15 - Conduct “Finding Your Voice” training for families

3. Will showcase outreach results in every outreach workshop at the WSPTA Convention in April: