In 2018, Illinois PTA Convention delegates passed a resolution on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). The resolution followed years of tracking the data and science surrounding ENDS use by youth, and Illinois PTA continues to keep its members informed about new developments. Once again, e-cigarettes are in the news, with reports of pulmonary illnesses and … Continue reading ENDS Update
News from National Convention—The Opioid Epidemic
One of the workshops at the 2019 National PTA Convention focused on the Opioid Epidemic. Misuse of prescription pain medication is one of the fastest growing health issues in the United States today, and the problem is on the rise at an alarming rate not just among the general population but among youth as well. … Continue reading News from National Convention—The Opioid Epidemic
KIDS Can Help You Support Your Kindergartener
Every year, about 150,000 Illinois five-year-olds have their first day of kindergarten. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has recently begun measuring kindergarten readiness as a way to improve this critical first year of school. The measure, known as Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS), uses teacher observation of daily classroom activities like playing, working, … Continue reading KIDS Can Help You Support Your Kindergartener
Helping Your Incoming Middle Schooler Prepare
Moving from elementary school to middle school can be a scary time. Whether it’s worrying about being a 20-year-old sixth-grader still trying to figure out how to open the lock on their locker, concerns about moving from class to class on their own, or how to deal with walking down the eighth-grade hall, middle school … Continue reading Helping Your Incoming Middle Schooler Prepare
Celebrating Our 2019-2021 Schools of Excellence
National PTA recently announced the 2019-2021 Schools of Excellence, and Illinois PTA is proud to congratulate our record number of schools being recognized. The 11 schools are: Frederick Douglass PTSA, Chicago George W. Lieb PTA, Inc, Bridgeview Glacier Ridge PTA, Crystal Lake Granger Middle School PTA, Aurora Greenbrier Elementary PTA, Arlington Heights Homewood PTA, Homewood … Continue reading Celebrating Our 2019-2021 Schools of Excellence
News from National Convention—Engaging Hispanic/Latino Families
National PTA ran the Hispanic/Latino Outreach Initiative from June 2018 to May 2019 in ten states to develop ways for PTAs to connect and engage with Hispanic/Latino families. The results of the initiative will be packaged in a toolkit for PTAs to use that will be released in early 2020. At the 2019 National PTA … Continue reading News from National Convention—Engaging Hispanic/Latino Families
CDC Offers Free Online Concussion Course
Concussions are a serious concern for children’s growing brains, and the risk is not just from playing football or soccer. Illinois PTA has published information on what parents need to know about concussions in the past. A new free online course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is designed to help parents, … Continue reading CDC Offers Free Online Concussion Course
Celebrating Apollo 11
Fifty years ago tomorrow, humans first walked on the moon. For some of us, it may have been one of our first memories of an historical event, with our parents waking us up a few hours after our bedtime or letting us stay up late to see those first steps. The Apollo missions also inspired … Continue reading Celebrating Apollo 11
Host a Summer Learning Listening Session
Summertime, and school’s out, so you may not be thinking about having your PTA host an event. And while school may be out, the summer also provides a unique opportunity to reach out to families that haven’t been involved with PTA or new families coming to your school and show them what PTA is all … Continue reading Host a Summer Learning Listening Session
News from National Convention—Proposed Dues Increase
Early this year, National PTA proposed an increase in national membership dues of $1.50/member, raising the total National PTA portion of dues from $2.25/member to $3.75/member. The original proposal was to make the dues increase effective July 1, 2019, but National PTA moved the proposed start date to September 1, 2019 based on feedback. The … Continue reading News from National Convention—Proposed Dues Increase
News from National Convention—Resolutions
At the 2019 National PTA Convention last week in Columbus, OH, delegates adopted one new resolution and amended two other existing resolutions. The first, dealing with financial literacy, came from Illinois PTA. The other two dealt with energy drinks and lead. The financial literacy and lead resolutions both had minor amendments approved by the delegates, … Continue reading News from National Convention—Resolutions
How to Respond to Your Teenager
The teenage years are often fraught with tests of a parent’s patience. As they struggle with their growing independence, they often say things that make a parent’s hackles rise. All Pro Dad details how to handle six things that teenagers often say that help you avoid an angry confrontation, turning it into an opportunity for … Continue reading How to Respond to Your Teenager
6 Summer Reading Challenges
With school out for the summer, your kids are probably looking forward to free time, swimming, and spending a lot of time with games, apps, and more online. Getting them to put aside all those fun activities and spend some time reading this summer can be a challenge, but reading is the most effective tool … Continue reading 6 Summer Reading Challenges
How School Districts are Using Their New Funding
Illinois enacted a new school funding formulain August 2017. Known as the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) model, it calculates what adequate funding for a district would be and directs the majority of additional state funds to those districts furthest from adequacy. The legislature has committed to providing an additional $350 million per year for the next … Continue reading How School Districts are Using Their New Funding
Teaching Your Kids Safe Online
Our children are often referred to as digital natives—people growing up immersed in a digital world. And while they may be comfortable with technology and online activities, they are not born knowing how to be safe in that digital world. Just like our parents taught us how to be safe running around unsupervised in our … Continue reading Teaching Your Kids Safe Online
Preparing for and Surviving a Tornado
This spring has seen a significant number of tornadoes across Illinois and the country. Today’s guest post comes from Ready.gov on how to prepare for, survive, and recover from a tornado. Tornadoes can destroy buildings, flip cars, and create deadly flying debris. Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to … Continue reading Preparing for and Surviving a Tornado
Summer Food Programs Help Fight Child Hunger
As school lets out for the summer, families’ thoughts turn to vacations, outdoor activities, and picnics, but for some, there is also thoughts of how to feed their family. For those families taking part in the free and reduced lunch program, the end of the school year means the end of the ten meals per … Continue reading Summer Food Programs Help Fight Child Hunger
UNCF Report Highlights Program Opportunities for PTAs
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) released a report detailing the results of conversations with low-income African-American students from across the country about their perceptions of their schools. That report, A Seat at the Table: African American Youth’s Perceptions of K-12 Education, presents compelling information on how PTAs can help support student success not just … Continue reading UNCF Report Highlights Program Opportunities for PTAs
12 Bullying Myths
Bullying at school is nothing new, but a lot of what we think we know about isn’t necessarily true. Great Schools has put together a list of 12 myths about bullying along with the facts that bust those myths. Those myths are: You’ll know when your child is being bullied. Bullying is always physical. The … Continue reading 12 Bullying Myths
Solving Your Lack of Volunteers Problem
Getting people to volunteer at your events is a continual struggle for many PTAs. In fact, fear of being asked to volunteer is one of the reasons people don’t join the PTA. While PTA membership doesn’t require someone to volunteer, we still do need some folks to step up to run things. So how do … Continue reading Solving Your Lack of Volunteers Problem
One Voice Illinois 