National PTA has a wealth of tools to help your PTA build its membership. One tool that you might have missed is the Membership Minute short videos shared on social media. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an easy way or a location where you can find all of these videos in one place, so … Continue reading Build Your Membership with Membership Minutes
10 Steps to a Smooth PTA Transition
With the school year coming to a close, it’s time for current PTA officers and board members to wrap things up and hand them over to the incoming PTA leadership team. For incoming officers and board members, it’s time to what you need to do and what you need to know to be successful in … Continue reading 10 Steps to a Smooth PTA Transition
2 Minutes to Make a Difference
The spring session of the Illinois General Assembly wraps up soon, and there are several bills that Illinois PTA is advocating for that have already passed one house and need your support to help get them to the governor’s desk. The links to our campaigns for each of these bills are below. Taking action just … Continue reading 2 Minutes to Make a Difference
National PTA Survey Highlights Parents’ Concerns on Gun Violence and Mental Health
Today’s guest post is from National PTA, focusing on the results of a national survey of parents’ concerns during the 2022-2023 school year. It is the fourth survey by National PTA that has documented how families have experienced the pandemic with respect to their children’s schools. National PTA released the results of a national survey … Continue reading National PTA Survey Highlights Parents’ Concerns on Gun Violence and Mental Health
Go Beyond Grades this Summer
Our friends at Learning Heroes have just launched Go Beyond Grades, a program aimed at helping families support summer learning. Go Beyond Grades is a national campaign with a focus on six cities across the country, including Chicago. As with almost all Learning Heroes resources, the materials are available in Spanish as well. Go Beyond … Continue reading Go Beyond Grades this Summer
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
According the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving accidents killed over 3,100 people in 2020 and injured almost 325,000 more. Teen drivers (15-19 years old) accounted for 8% of those deaths, though only 5.1% of all drivers are teens. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the dangers … Continue reading April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
6 Keys to Running a Successful PTA Election
In January, we discussed the five keys to running a successful nominating committee. Now, as your school year nears the end, here are six keys to running a successful PTA election. Your election must be held at a general membership meeting. Much of the day-to-day running of a PTA can be handled by your PTA … Continue reading 6 Keys to Running a Successful PTA Election
Get Ready for Mental Health Month 2023
May is Mental Health Month, and once again the folks at Mental Health America have created a free Mental Health Month Toolkit that your PTA can use to raise awareness of mental health issues. This year’s toolkit, called Look Around, Look Within, is focused on how our surroundings affect our mental health. Topics addressed include … Continue reading Get Ready for Mental Health Month 2023
EBF Funding Works, But We Need to Do More
When the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula passed in 2017, it promised to direct more state resources to the school districts that had been historically underfunded and to students with greater needs. Now, a new report by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability shows that the EBF formula is doing exactly that. Educating Illinois: A … Continue reading EBF Funding Works, But We Need to Do More
Get Some Extra Credit from Texas PTA
While we generally focus on resources from National PTA and Illinois PTA here on One Voice Illinois (it is the Illinois PTA blog, after all), we have occasionally highlighted resources from other state PTAs. While other states might have laws or requirements that are different from those here in Illinois, many PTA resources on leadership, … Continue reading Get Some Extra Credit from Texas PTA
Understanding TIFs
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts have long been opposed by Illinois PTA, with our legislation platform supporting changes to the TIF law since 2009. But Illinois PTA has not made making changes to the TIF law an advocacy priority in the past for a variety of reasons: There hasn’t been any significant legislation in the … Continue reading Understanding TIFs
Top 5 Reasons to Attend the Illinois PTA Convention
The 2023 Illinois PTA Convention is coming up on Thursday, April 20 (7pm-9pm) and Saturday, April 22 (9am-2pm). Here are the top five reasons you should attend. It’s online. No need to travel, and if you don’t turn on your camera, no one will know you’re having a bad hair day. Plus, it’s only $15.00/person … Continue reading Top 5 Reasons to Attend the Illinois PTA Convention
Social Media and Teen Brains
Last week, Mitch Prinstein, the chief science officer at the American Psychological Association (APA), testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the role that social media plays in children’s mental health. His 22-page testimony is incredibly informative, and National Public Radio (NPR) has ten key points that families should know. Read the full article for … Continue reading Social Media and Teen Brains
Plan Now for Screen-Free Week 2023
Screen-Free Week this year is May 1-7, 2023. The week is planned to give children and families time to do things together, play, go outside, and engage in other activities rather than staring at a screen. Your PTA can offer programs during Screen-Free Week to give families an activity-filled night during the week. The Screen-Free … Continue reading Plan Now for Screen-Free Week 2023
Spreading Some Love on Valentine’s Day
This Valentine’s Day, Illinois PTA would like to spread a little love around. We love our local PTAs and PTA Councils. You all are where so much of what PTA is happens, and we couldn’t do this without all of you. We love being on this journey with all of you by our side. We … Continue reading Spreading Some Love on Valentine’s Day
Take Your Family to School Week 2023
National PTA’s Take Your Family to School Week is designed to help families become more engaged in their child’s education and foster connections between families, teachers, and administrators. Take Your Family to School Week is held the week of PTA’s founding on February 17, 1897. This year, Take Your Family to School Week will be … Continue reading Take Your Family to School Week 2023
What You Need to Know About the Proposed Illinois PTA Dues Increase
The Illinois PTA State Board of Directors has proposed a $0.50 dues increase starting July 1, 2023. Delegates to the Illinois PTA Convention will vote on the proposal as part of the business of convention on April 20, 2023. Here’s what PTAs need to know about the proposed dues increase. Why a Dues Increase? The … Continue reading What You Need to Know About the Proposed Illinois PTA Dues Increase
Living Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy
Last week, our country celebrated the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Amid all the social media posts mentioning the I Have a Dream speech and sharing other memorable quotes, we can lose sight of the challenge Dr. King put before everyone to do the hard work for peace and justice every day, … Continue reading Living Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy
5 Keys to Running a Successful Nominating Committee
Many PTAs elect their nominating committee at their January general membership meeting. Electing the nominating committee is one of items that must be done at a general membership meeting (along with accepting the audit report, adopting and amending the budget, adopting the bylaws, and electing officers). If you’ve just been elected to your PTA’s nominating … Continue reading 5 Keys to Running a Successful Nominating Committee
Tweaking Your PTA’s Course in the New Year
New Year’s is a time of fresh starts for a lot of people, but for PTAs, it’s the middle of the year. Your PTA doesn’t need a fresh start, but perhaps you could use a few minor “course corrections.” Here are three such changes your PTA should be considering now. Membership Your PTA got off … Continue reading Tweaking Your PTA’s Course in the New Year
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