Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and the end of school is coming up fast. Are you at a loss for a gift for your child’s teacher? You know that another #1 Teacher mug is not the answer, but what is? Both National PTA’s Our Childrenmagazine and Great Schools! have suggestions for great teacher gifts. … Continue reading Teacher Gifts That Go Beyond the Coffee Mug
Five Ways to Teach Coding Without Technology
Coding and computational thinking are increasingly becoming part of our children’s education. For adults, though, coding may still be a mystifying skill. A recent article describes five ways to teach coding without using a screen or technology. Whether you are a parent or teacher, comfortable with programming or not, you can use these approaches to … Continue reading Five Ways to Teach Coding Without Technology
National PTA School of Excellence Sign-Ups Open Now
Show your community that something important is happening at your school—a new kind of welcoming process that extends beyond the building and into the homes of families who now feel prepared to help support their child’s success. Become a National PTA School of Excellence! This recognition program supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools … Continue reading National PTA School of Excellence Sign-Ups Open Now
New Resources from National PTA
One of the advantages of being a PTA is having both a state and a national organization to help provide resources and tools to make your job as a PTA leader easier. National PTA has recently released two new resources to help you recruit new membersand to show your appreciation to teachers. New Membership Resources … Continue reading New Resources from National PTA
Advance Illinois Launches Equity Dashboard
The new Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) model for school fundingin Illinois has had the first $350 million payment delivered earlier this month. This new funding begins the process of improving Illinois’s worst-in-the-nation funding equityby targeting the largest increases in state funding to the districts furthest from an adequate level of funding based on the EBF formula. … Continue reading Advance Illinois Launches Equity Dashboard
10 Things to Know When Talking About Sex with Your Child
It’s one of those parental responsibilities that many parents dread. It even has a singular name: The Talk. Mark Merrill, founder of iMom and All-Pro Dad, has ten things parents should keep in mind when talking to their child about sex. These touchpoints may help make the process go a little more smoothly. Fight the … Continue reading 10 Things to Know When Talking About Sex with Your Child
The Importance of Teacher Leadership for Student Success
It’s sometimes said that teachers reach the pinnacle of their career the first day they walk into their classroom. Unless they wanted to go into administration, a classroom teacher had no advancement track. But that is changing in many school districts as they begin to embrace teacher leadership. What is Teacher Leadership? Teacher leadership can … Continue reading The Importance of Teacher Leadership for Student Success
Nurture a Love of Nature and Health with These Resources
Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has a website to help nurture your child’s interest in the environment, science, and health. The site, Kids Environment Kids Health, provides resources for parents, teachers, and kids to explore these topics. Among the topics covered on the site … Continue reading Nurture a Love of Nature and Health with These Resources
28 Skills Students Need to Be Really Ready for Life After High School
A little over a year ago, Getting Smart partnered with Apex Learning to study what skills students need to truly be ready to face life after high school, whether in college, career, or just living as an independent adult. The resulting report identified 28 skills, which are summarized below. Critical Thinking Communication Growth Mindset Self-Directed … Continue reading 28 Skills Students Need to Be Really Ready for Life After High School
What to Expect at Your Child’s Checkup
You might have obsessively read the What to Expect When You’re Expectingbook when your first child was on the way. Perhaps you’ve used PTA’s Parents’ Guides to Student Successto be informed about what your child will be learning each year and what questions you should ask your child’s teacher. As your child grows, having an … Continue reading What to Expect at Your Child’s Checkup
Top 10 Reasons to Attend the Illinois PTA Convention
The 116thAnnual Illinois PTA Conventionis coming up May 4-5 at the NIU-Naperville Conference Center. If your PTA doesn’t have someone attending convention yet, here are the top ten reasons why you should. The early bird discount ends April 6th, so register today! Meet keynote speaker Dr. Devorah Heitner.In addition to giving the keynote … Continue reading Top 10 Reasons to Attend the Illinois PTA Convention
Illinois Student Advisory Council Launches Student Voices Microsite with ISBE
The Student Advisory Council (SAC), which provides feedback and insights to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), launched a new Student Voices microsite at http://www.isbe.net/studentvoices to create space for students statewide to ask and answer questions about preparing for their futures. The microsite links to resources such as the Illinois Reality Check personal budgeting … Continue reading Illinois Student Advisory Council Launches Student Voices Microsite with ISBE
National PTA Launches Center for Family Engagement
Last week, National PTA announced the launch of the Center for Family Engagement, a new initiative to embed transformative family engagement practices, programs and policies across the educational system. “We know families are essential to children’s success and school improvement efforts. However, traditional family engagement policies and practices do not always meet the needs of … Continue reading National PTA Launches Center for Family Engagement
How to Handle Bad Checks
It happens to almost every PTA every year. A check for membership, spirit wear, or a fundraiser gets returned. Depending on what the check was for, the PTA can be left responsible for full payment on merchandise already received. Here’s how to handle bad checks. Your PTA’s check handling policies should go in your PTA’s … Continue reading How to Handle Bad Checks
Essential Life Skills for Teens Before They Leave Home
We all hope our kids move out of our house at some point, whether off to college or a career. Great Schools has a list of 14 must-have life skills that teenagers need before they head off on their own. The time to teach them these skills is during those middle and high school years, … Continue reading Essential Life Skills for Teens Before They Leave Home
National PTA’s Family Guides
You might be aware of National PTA’s Parents’ Guides to Student Success that help parents understand what their child is learning, how to talk with their child’s teacher, and how to help support their child’s education. National PTA has partnered with the National Education Association to create additional family guides to help parents support their … Continue reading National PTA’s Family Guides
Helping Your Child When They’re Excluded
It’s a powerless feeling as a parent—your child is being excluded from a group at school, often a group they’ve been friends with for years. That exclusion is a form of bullying known as relational aggression, and can occur online and in person. It can include gossiping, spreading rumors, public humiliation, alliance building, and social … Continue reading Helping Your Child When They’re Excluded
USDA Provides School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit
Does your school or school district have a wellness policy? Chances are, they do, but families and even teachers may not know much about it. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service has created a Local School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit to help schools (or PTAs) engage staff and families on their … Continue reading USDA Provides School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit
Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters
If you have a college-bound senior, you might be dealing with one of the more confusing parts of helping your child decide which college admission to accept—figuring out what the financial aid award letter means and how those offers from different colleges compare. The SLM Corporation, known as Sallie Mae, the federal banking partner that … Continue reading Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters
Three Reasons Why ISBE’s FY 2019 Funding Request Matters
You may have seen in the news recently that the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) budget request for the 2019 Fiscal Year (FY) is $15.7 billion, an increase of $7.5 billion over FY 2018. With Illinois’s financial issues well known, even ISBE acknowledges that this request is not going to be fully funded. But … Continue reading Three Reasons Why ISBE’s FY 2019 Funding Request Matters
One Voice Illinois 