Every PTA that takes in money ends up having a check that was written to the PTA returned by their bank for non-sufficient funds (NSF). When NSF checks are part of a fundraiser that includes merchandise, the costs can be significant as the PTA is liable for full payment on all of the fundraising products … Continue reading What to Do When Your PTA Gets a Bad Check
Helping Your Child Deal with Stress
Children are often stressed about school, whether it is an upcoming test, not understanding a homework assignment, or something mean that a friend said to them the day before. For students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or other learning disorders (LD), stress can often make school issues worse. The magazine ADDitude has published an article … Continue reading Helping Your Child Deal with Stress
Preventing Theft, Fraud, and Embezzlement
From National PTA It is hard to acknowledge that theft, fraud and embezzlement are pervasive in today’s society. In many cases, the person who commits these acts is someone you know, like and trust. Convincing a nonprofit to prosecute is often difficult. A nonprofit’s duty to its members, the community, and its donors are significant … Continue reading Preventing Theft, Fraud, and Embezzlement
Reading to Young Children is More Important than You Thought
From the Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics’ Fall, 2015, Child Development Newsletter The journal Pediatrics recently published a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study brain activity in children between the ages of three and five as they listened to age-appropriate stories. Researchers found differences in brain activation according to how much the … Continue reading Reading to Young Children is More Important than You Thought
The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction
From the National Institute of Mental Health Introduction One of the ways that scientists have searched for the causes of mental illness is by studying the development of the brain from birth to adulthood. Powerful new technologies have enabled them to track the growth of the brain and to investigate the connections between brain function, … Continue reading The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction
Busting 7 Common “I Can’t Volunteer” Myths
We’ve talked about valuing your volunteers as a PTA leader, but how do you get people to volunteer in the first place? There are all sorts of tips out there on volunteering like breaking jobs down into bite-sized pieces or attaching how much time commitment is required for each volunteer opportunity, but those ideas still … Continue reading Busting 7 Common “I Can’t Volunteer” Myths
Navigating the Illinois School Report Card
Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released the 2014-2015 version of the Illinois Report Card. This online, interactive version of the report card was launched last year and provides significantly more information for parents about their child’s school than the old paper report card you might have seen a few years ago. … Continue reading Navigating the Illinois School Report Card
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