Hello and welcome again,
Don’t forget to #Thankateacher during this Teacher Appreciation Week. They are the lifeline of our children’s learning experience! As we finish up and come to the end of our terms let’s make sure our hand-off goes as smooth as possible. We all should have our books in order and gear towards finalizing our school year. Most schools are ending the first week of June. Please ensure your treasurer has all the receipts and expense forms that need to be addressed. Other things I suggest are the procedure books, instructions, lists and any other pertinent info be given to the next chair or officer coming in. Some units have an old/new board meeting. This is a great way to make sure everyone meets their new teams and start building those communication/relationship blocks.

There are some things that I also want to mention as key news happening in this crazy world of education. As we, along with NPTA, are disappointed in the movement backwards on nutrition standards, I would hope we continue to reduce the amount of children facing obesity in the state of Illinois. Our most vulnerable children facing scarcity in meals are also going to be impacted and I don’t know about you but it breaks my heart to know food is a luxury in the land with the most abundant resources.

Attached you can read the NPTA’s statement

There is quite a bit of concern with the billion-dollar budget cut to education just announced. Yes that is billion with a B! With education never being fully funded and teachers not being paid as much as they should be there is much work to do in our advocacy efforts for our children’s education sake!! While some good things came out of the funding bill such as more funding for Special Education, Title I, Student Support and Academic Enrichment other crucial areas are far from being adequate. We have advocated and are still voicing our support for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC’s) to be funded as per the ESSA Plan Title IV Part E. We reached out to Senator Durbin and Senator Duckworth as well as had a follow up conversation with Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois District 8 here at home. He again personally stated his support.

Attached you can read the NPTA’s statement

Thank you so much for all that you have done this year,

Matthew John Rodriguez

Illinois PTA President