Backpacks that are too heavy or worn incorrectly can cause problems for children and teenagers. Improperly used backpacks may injure muscles and joints which can lead to more severe back, neck and shoulder pain as well as posture problems. However, when used correctly they are a good way to carry the necessities of the school … Continue reading September 20 is National School Backpack Awareness Day
Keeping Kids Safe in the Car
Next week, September 17-23, is Child Passenger Safety Week, with September 23 being National Seat Check Saturday. Here’s some information on how to keep your child safe in the car and what PTAs can do to support child car safety. Did You Know? Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 … Continue reading Keeping Kids Safe in the Car
Aligning National PTA and Illinois PTA Legislative Priorities: Juvenile Justice
The 2017-18 Federal Public Policy Agenda Checklist of the National PTA calls for the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), reducing the number of youth unnecessarily involved in the justice system. Reauthorization must include that the juvenile justice system: Incentivize family and community based alternatives to incarceration Eliminate certain exceptions to … Continue reading Aligning National PTA and Illinois PTA Legislative Priorities: Juvenile Justice
Student Banking 101
Starting a first bank account is an important part of growing up. Whether it is to handle money from a summer job or to have local banking when going away to college, such accounts often last longer than originally anticipated. The US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has some tips for setting up that first bank … Continue reading Student Banking 101
Planning and Running Your First PTA Meeting
If you’re a new PTA president, you probably have your first meeting of the year coming up soon. Here are some tips to get you ready to run that first meeting. Planning the Meeting Make sure your meeting date doesn’t conflict with other events. Get announcements of the meeting out early. Remember that not everyone … Continue reading Planning and Running Your First PTA Meeting
Illinois PTA Statement on SB1947
Today, Governor Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 1947 (SB1947), the negotiated agreement of Senate Bill 1 (SB1), into law. While Illinois PTA supported SB1, we called for an override of the governor’s amendatory veto of SB1 and did not support SB1947. Illinois PTA has long supported adequate, equitable, and sustainable funding of public schools, and … Continue reading Illinois PTA Statement on SB1947
Aligning National PTA and Illinois PTA Legislative Priorities: School Funding
Primary goals of both the National PTA and Illinois PTA are the adequate funding of education programs. The National PTA puts funding front and center in the 2017-18 Federal Public Policy Agenda Checklist with a call for a regular appropriations process replacing the current practice of sequestration “with a balanced approach to deficit reduction that … Continue reading Aligning National PTA and Illinois PTA Legislative Priorities: School Funding
New Resource for School Projects
Whether you’re a teacher looking for a class project or a PTA leader looking for an activity station at an event, Instructables has a new resource to help. Instructables has long been a website full of do-it-yourself projects of all sorts, and now with Instructables Education, projects suitable for students are grouped by appropriate ages … Continue reading New Resource for School Projects
Painting Outside the Lines
Welcome to our 48th year of PTA Reflections! I want to briefly introduce myself. I have been involved in the Reflections program for the last 9 years, first as a local Reflection’s Chair and then as Southern Region Chair. I am excited to serve as the Illinois PTA Cultural Arts Director. Since 1969, the National … Continue reading Painting Outside the Lines
Safely Watching Monday’s Solar Eclipse
On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the country from Oregon to South Carolina, passing through southern Illinois during its journey. While the total eclipse will only be visible in a narrow path and only for about two and a half minutes, all of Illinois will see a partial solar eclipse. … Continue reading Safely Watching Monday’s Solar Eclipse
Aligning the National PTA Public Policy Agenda and the Illinois PTA Legislation Platform
Want to know how positions of the National PTA and the Illinois PTA align on advocacy issues? Over the next several months, we will be providing you with information on the Public Policy Agenda of the National PTA and offering insights into how the Illinois PTA Legislation Platform fits into advocacy efforts at the national … Continue reading Aligning the National PTA Public Policy Agenda and the Illinois PTA Legislation Platform
9 Back to School Pro Tips
This article was originally published on the US Department of Education’s Home Room blog by Dorothy Amatucci. The photo is copyright 2015 by Geoff Livingston under Creative Commons license, provided and modified by Illinois PTA. Back to school time can be a hectic time for both you and the kiddos. These are some of our … Continue reading 9 Back to School Pro Tips
FAQ: Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 1
Last week, Governor Rauner issued an amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1 (SB1) that significantly changed the provisions of the bill to the point where the Illinois PTA cannot support the amended version of the bill. As a result, Illinois PTA is calling for members to contact their legislators to override the governor’s veto. Here’s … Continue reading FAQ: Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 1
Illinois Public Schools Rank 11th Nationally
Illinois’s public schools face a lot of challenges—inequitable funding, underfunding by the state, and more. But a recent report released by WalletHub indicates when it comes to a broad measure of how public schools are doing, Illinois does better than most. The report didn’t focus solely on school funding or academic outcomes, but aggregated two … Continue reading Illinois Public Schools Rank 11th Nationally
Tell Your Legislators to Override the SB1 Veto Today to Keep Our Schools Open
Today, Governor Rauner vetoed part of Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which would have fixed Illinois’s inequitable school funding formula. Key elements of Illinois PTA’s support of SB1 are that no school district receives less funding and that all school districts are treated in the same manner regarding current (but not legacy) pension costs. The governor’s … Continue reading Tell Your Legislators to Override the SB1 Veto Today to Keep Our Schools Open
Illinois PTA Urges Governor Rauner to Sign SB1
Illinois PTA president Brian Minsker spoke on Tuesday at a press conference in Decatur calling on Governor Rauner to sign Senate Bill 1 (SB1), a bill that would change Illinois’s school funding formula. His remarks are below, and you can view a video of the press conference courtesy of the Decatur Herald and Review (President … Continue reading Illinois PTA Urges Governor Rauner to Sign SB1
Parent Guides for the New Science Standards
You may be familiar with PTA’s Parents’ Guides to Student Success, which highlight what your child will be learning in Math and English/Language Arts from kindergarten through high school. During the 2016-2017 school year, Illinois required the use of its new science standards, based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Now the NGSS developers … Continue reading Parent Guides for the New Science Standards
Helping Your Child Cope with the First Day of Kindergarten
The first day of kindergarten is a big transition for your child. Some children are excited and ready to go, perhaps because they finally get to do what their big brother or sister has been doing. Others can find it a source of worry and fear. Edutopia has an article about how to ease your … Continue reading Helping Your Child Cope with the First Day of Kindergarten
Understanding SB1: Changing the Illinois School Funding Formula
Senate Bill 1 (SB1) is aimed at improving how Illinois distributes money to local school districts. The bill uses an Evidence-Based Funding Model, as recommended by Governor Rauner’s Illinois School Funding Reform Commission to distribute new state education funding in a more equitable manner than the existing formula. SB1 has passed both houses and awaits … Continue reading Understanding SB1: Changing the Illinois School Funding Formula
Ending the Expulsion of Preschoolers in Illinois
“Expelled from preschool” sounds like a headline from a humor website like The Onion, but in fact preschoolers are expelled nationwide at more than three times the rate of students in K-12 classes. More significantly, these expulsions are disproportionately given to boys and to African-American and Hispanic students. Preschool education is critical to preparing students … Continue reading Ending the Expulsion of Preschoolers in Illinois
One Voice Illinois 