Improving student success depends on a lot of different variables—poverty, accountability, school climate, teachers, curriculum, and more. One piece of the puzzle that doesn’t get much attention is access to college advising. The Economic Mobility Project notes that in schools serving predominately low-income students there are more than one thousand students per counselor. Those counselors … Continue reading First Lady Michelle Obama Launches Campaign to Help Students Go to College
New Guide Helps Hispanic Families Navigate the College Application Process
Latino students are graduating high school and enrolling in college at the highest rates in our history, and they are now the largest minority group in our nation’s colleges and universities. However, only 23% of Hispanic adults 25 and older have an associate degree or higher, and only 12% have a masters or doctorate. In … Continue reading New Guide Helps Hispanic Families Navigate the College Application Process
College Changes Everything Month and the New FAFSA
The US Department of Education has changed when students heading to or already in college can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA can be filed as of October 1, 2016, three months earlier than in years past, and will use 2015 income and tax information. In conjunction with this … Continue reading College Changes Everything Month and the New FAFSA
Strikes and PTA
While K-12 education has been funded by the state throughout the ongoing budget crisis, uncertainty over future funding levels and potential changes to the school funding formula have made it difficult for school districts to plan their future spending. This uncertainty has made negotiating new contracts more difficult for districts. As a result, unions are … Continue reading Strikes and PTA
Illinois PTA Launches PTA Essentials Video Series
Illinois PTA offers free training, both in person and online, but realizes that not everyone’s schedule aligns with training opportunities. Today, Illinois PTA launches its PTA Essentials video series with two financial help videos on its YouTube channel: Handling PTA Funds The PTA Audit PTA Essentials is a series of short videos that provide critical … Continue reading Illinois PTA Launches PTA Essentials Video Series
Turn Your PTA into a Social Media Powerhouse
Social media is the place for PTAs and other organizations to engage their members. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or some other platform, social media lets PTAs keep their members informed about events, share information, and connect in ways that printed newsletters in backpacks never could. Now, Skills Platform and several nonprofit social media … Continue reading Turn Your PTA into a Social Media Powerhouse
New PTA Election Guides Help PTA’s One Voice Be Heard—Add Yours
Election Day is November 8th, and given the state’s budget crisis, your school district may have a referendum on the ballot. Your PTA may also want to ask candidates about their positions on education or other issues affecting children. Illinois PTA has covered the do’s and don’ts of elections for PTAs, and now National PTA … Continue reading New PTA Election Guides Help PTA’s One Voice Be Heard—Add Yours
Master the Art of the PTA Meeting
We’ve all attended them—PTA meetings that seem to drag on forever, don’t get anything done, and leave you dreading the next meeting. Poorly-run meetings can drive away potential PTA volunteers and leaders. If you’re a new PTA president, or even an experienced one, here are some tips to help you master the art of the … Continue reading Master the Art of the PTA Meeting
Free Popular Events Idea Booklet from USDA Team Nutrition
We all want our children to be active and to make healthy food choices, and PTAs are always looking for new program ideas. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service’s Team Nutrition, which supports improving Child Nutrition Programs, has collected 20 themed events from real-life events at Team Nutrition schools in a … Continue reading Free Popular Events Idea Booklet from USDA Team Nutrition
Join Us for Illinois PTA Advocacy Day in Springfield on November 15th
November 15, 2016 is Parents Day as part of American Education Week. It is also Illinois PTA Advocacy Day in Springfield, an opportunity for PTA members from across Illinois to speak up for children. While you may not feel like you can be a PTA advocate, you likely already have been one. If you have … Continue reading Join Us for Illinois PTA Advocacy Day in Springfield on November 15th
Another Year of Legislative Success for the Children of Illinois!
From youth safety issues to juvenile justice, from children’s health to readiness for college and the work-force, from childhood hunger to an interim budget in a year of fiscal deadlock, the Illinois PTA has advocated successfully for all our children. The highlights are below. Illinois PTA will continue to advocate for every child, and urges … Continue reading Another Year of Legislative Success for the Children of Illinois!
Help ADHD Students Concentrate by Letting Them Fidget
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 11% of children ages 4 to 17 have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as of 2011, and rates of diagnosis have increased an average of 5% per year from 2003 to 2011. Many of these students have 504 Plan or Individualized Education Plan … Continue reading Help ADHD Students Concentrate by Letting Them Fidget
10-Minute Film Festival: Back to School Edition
Illinois PTA has mentioned the NBC News Education Nation Parent Toolkit before, but the toolkit has continued to grow in the past two years, adding videos and more to the toolkit. Here’s a 10-minute film festival of videos from the toolkit, each a minute or less, to get you and your child ready to go … Continue reading 10-Minute Film Festival: Back to School Edition
Use the Super 5 to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start
Be a Learning Hero has launched The Super 5: Back-to-School Power Moves to help families get their school year started right. Families know their child’s interests, habits, and personality, but they may not know what their child is expected to learn. The Super 5, in both English and Spanish, provides families with resources to address … Continue reading Use the Super 5 to Get Your School Year Off to a Great Start
5 Things You Need to Know About the PARCC Score Release
Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released preliminary score reports for this spring’s PARCC assessment. Here are five important points to understand about these scores. The scores are only preliminary. The scores are aggregated at the state level, and school districts have not yet checked the data to eliminate duplicate student records … Continue reading 5 Things You Need to Know About the PARCC Score Release
Understanding ESSA
President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law last December. ESSA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and made substantial changes to the previous version of the law known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Many of these changes focused on moving responsibility for improving education from the federal government … Continue reading Understanding ESSA
President’s Corner
With Constitution and Citizenship Day approaching on September 16th itThe Black Star Project’s Million Father March will be happing in cities across the Country on September 15th. The Million Father March is an opportunity for Black men to show their commitment to the educational lives of their children on the first day of school and … Continue reading President’s Corner
September is Attendance Awareness Month
It’s been said that the first secret to success is showing up. That is certainly true for children attending school. Research indicates that missing 10% of the school year—just two or three days each month—can translate into third-graders unable to read, sixth-graders failing classes, and ninth-graders dropping out of high school. Yet many families, students, … Continue reading September is Attendance Awareness Month
President’s Corner
Greetings, We are happy to inform you that AIM now has a new type of coverage. Social Media Liability Coverage is a new product available if you have any worries about social media liability. As exemplary digital media citizens we sometimes don’t realize that the words we or others use may open us up to an … Continue reading President’s Corner
5 Ways to Fire Up Your Middle School or High School PTA
PTAs and PTSAs at the middle school and high school level often struggle. It’s not that families are no longer involved with the school, it’s that they are now spread out among athletic boosters, band, orchestra, drama, and other groups as well as the PTA. Here are some ideas to fire up families to engage … Continue reading 5 Ways to Fire Up Your Middle School or High School PTA
One Voice Illinois 